I will be taking on to teach some college students in my church on Christian theology. I'd rather do biblical studies but I agree with my fellow partner teacher that young people do need a good theological foundation in their Christian life journey.
I will only take about 10 classes and I'm now reading up on the names and attributes of God, which I will be taking on next month.
In my sourcing for articles, I found an interesting one written by James Barr, entitled "Abba Isn't Daddy". I use the term "Abba" in my prayer journal and I totally agree with that. I find it uncomfortable when people call God "daddy". It's just not right, but I don't have the technicalities as to why it is not right. Now there's this article but the problem is that it is not available online, not even in ATLA, the journal repository which I have access to.
But I did find this other useful article from here:
Sigve Tonstad, “The Revisionary Potential of ‘Abba! Father!’ in the Letters of Paul,” Andrews University Seminary Studies, Vol. 45, No. 1 (2007): 5-18.
The portion on Abba isn't daddy is only at the end of the article but on the whole, it covers the various readings and understanding of the term Abba Father. I understand it better now in light of Jesus using it when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsamane - there is nothing childlike about that term. It's as matured as it can be as Jesus called out to the Father in intense mental agony.
pearlie
"there is nothing childlike about that term"
ReplyDeleteI like that Pearlie. To me, the term conveys the idea of a loving relationship built on trust and respect. Much like many have for their earthly fathers.