Due Influence Part Two: Big Daddy

In my Fathers Day article Due Influence, I wrote:

Whether we love them or hate them, we cannot deny their influence on the choices we make and even on what we become. Especially if we hate them. We may think that it is our own choice to not follow their footsteps and to avoid repeating their mistakes, but it is exactly because of what we see of our fathers that we made this “choice”.

Since I’ve been reading and commenting on some atheists blogs lately, I could not help but relate our fathers to our God. What I find interesting is that among the articles I’ve read, the atheist writer was attacking the fundamentalists’ idea of God, which is very similar to a little boy’s idea of his daddy – big and strong and brave and wise and good and always there for him with just one call.

Then the boy grows up into his teenage years and discovers that Daddy is not really always strong, Daddy is not really always wise, and sometimes Daddy even lies or at least refuses to answer your questions, after which Daddy leaves you. So the boy learns to hate his father.

And when a man hates his father, he will try to become the exact opposite in terms of attitude and principle. If his father is a strict disciplinarian, the son will tend to become lax and free wheeling when he moves out. Now please correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is a major reason why atheists attack the belief in God with zeal. I mean, it’s one thing to not believe in God, but when one comes close to actively preaching atheism, there must be a reason.

I am sure the atheists are fed up with religious rules, rituals and dogma, and the threat of eternal fire in hell. They experienced religion as a tyrant enslaving them, forcing them to abandon reason and free will. More importantly, they saw how the Philippines, the only Christian nation in Asia, became the Sick Man of Asia because its people keep on relying on a Sky Daddy instead of taking responsibility for the betterment of their lives (paraphrased from Thoughts To Provoke Your Thoughts). They have a good point actually, and this must be their reason for hating Christianity. Like a child hates his rod-wielding, absentee father.

For this I think some churches are at fault for instilling this Big Daddy concept of God (do not question what we say, do not try to reason; God will provide, now give us your money). In short, they gave God a bad name.

But I don’t believe that the same God who gave us intellect would demand that we abandon it. We have to tread the path in search of Truth. So as we grow intellectually and spiritually, we might come to see God more like a Partner, perhaps a senior partner, with whom we enjoy a nourishing personal relationship.

And as the boy becomes a father himself, he finally begins to understand his own father.

And sometimes he might even get to see his father as a real human being, complete with weaknesses and bad choices, instead of an invincible super hero. (from Due Influence)

If you liked this article, you might also like What Return Can I Make.