The Father Almighty

October 23, 2012 by Tim Muldoon

Continued from Page 1

Christian tradition places a strong emphasis on retaining the language of the Bible and the early creeds, but this emphasis is certainly not absolute: we seldom use the language of slavery, for example, although the word doulos (as in 1 Cor. 7:22) is not infrequent in the New Testament (fifty-eight times, to be exact). In the case of calling God "Father," though, I think it is important to retain the language. And here we find another critical theological point: we never treat the language itself as an ossified, detached reality; it is a living Word animated by the Church itself. As a Church, let us call God Father not as a hammer against extreme feminism, but rather as a metaphor for a God who aches to enter into loving relationship with us, his children.

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About Tim Muldoon

Tim Muldoon holds a Ph.D. in Catholic systematic theology and is an award-winning author and Catholic theologian of the new evangelization.

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