God Views
Week 10
God as a
“grandfather”
http://www.pjteaches.com/GodViews.htm
What’s wrong with the notion
of God as a “grandfather”?
Well, actually,
there are a lot of
things right with
the concept.
When I think about a grandfather, many
wonderful associations flood to mind.
Immediately, I see a strong, gray-haired man
sitting on a wooden dock, flanked by two
grandchildren. All three are holding cane
poles. A trio of red and white floats are riding
ripples on the face of a small pond. It’s a
scene that would make Norman Rockwell
smile and unpack his paints
As I continue to gaze at this picture
of a grandfather spending an
afternoon with his grandchildren,
several words flash across my mind:
approachable, benevolent, patient,
wise, loving, focused on the needs of
others. There is a lot of love and
knowledge to share.
What’s wrong with the view
of God as “grandfather”?
As we’ve mentioned earlier, each of the false
God-views we are examining contains at least
a kernel of truth—and Scriptural support.
Heresy is not all false. It is instead the
exaggeration of a truth at the expense of
TRUTH.
What’s wrong with the view
of God as “grandfather”?
There are a lot of things right with picturing
God as a grandfather. Unfortunately, there can
be at least three things wrong with such a
view. And it is to these areas we will now turn
our attention.
Problem #1: Seeing God as
Old-Fashioned
Do you think God knows anything about
Web page design, or infrared data transfer
between two laptop computers? If you are
like a lot of folks, your first impulse may
have been to say, “No.” (Perhaps your
second impulse was to laugh at your first.)
Problem #1: Seeing God as
Old-Fashioned
And there’s the first problem with viewing
God as an old man—the tendency to imagine
that God is not merely “old,” but “oldfashioned.” Sure, He was impressive a long,
long time ago. But that was then, and this is
now. The most recent ink in His book is
almost 2,000 years old.
Problem #1: Seeing God as
Old-Fashioned
Freezing God in the past
(Divine cryogenics) is
no doubt made worse
when church life and
practices tend to
encourage the “oldfashioned” concept.
Problem #1: Seeing God as
Old-Fashioned
The powerful, world-shaking God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob is the God of today. He not
only knows about radar and infrared data
transfer now, He knew about it when fire was
first discovered. God may be older than
Gibraltar, but He neither sleeps nor slumbers,
and still remembers the names of all His
children.
Exercise 5-A
Make a list of every positive association
you can think of for the concept of
viewing God as a grandfather. Then
have them brainstorm potential negative
associations
Problem #2: A False God-View Can
Affect Our Worldview—And Vice Versa
In his book, The Universe Next Door, James
Sire describes seven different worldviews,
devoting a chapter to each—Christian theism,
deism, naturalism, nihilism, existentialism,
Eastern pantheistic monism, and the new age.
Problem #2: A False God-View Can
Affect Our Worldview—And Vice Versa
His chapter on deism is titled “The Clockwork
Universe: Deism.” Viewing God as the
designer of the universe, the great clock maker
in the sky, who is now on a coffee break, is
very similar to Curt’s portrayal of God as “the
grand old (and forgetful) man in the sky.”
Problem #2: A False God-View Can
Affect Our Worldview—And Vice Versa
Philosophical deism leaves us with something
less than God—perhaps with the image of a
compassionate but absent-minded clock maker
in the sky. And the reverse can also be true,
viewing God as a senile grandfather leaves us
only a short drive from deism.
Exercise 5-B
Complete exercise 5-B
as a means of better
understanding the
relationship between
philosophical deism and
the view of God as a
feeble-minded
grandfather.
Problem #3: Seeing God as a
Grandfather Can Diminish His “Omni’s”
Exercise 5-C
Use Exercise 5-C as a way to meditate on
God’s many-splendored character.
In this DVD
segment we see
Curt portray God
as a grandfather
(or, if you prefer,
a grand old man in
the sky).
How can the
church
inadvertently
perpetuate
the image of
God as oldfashioned?
What can you
do to help
dispel the
notion that
God is weak
or feebleminded?
Bible Study
Exercise 5-D
Revelation 12:7-12
Revelation 12:7-12
This passage from Revelation reveals a
cosmic conflict that makes Star Wars
imagery look tame by comparison. It’s
warring imagery orchestrated by a
powerful and warring God. This battle is
not for the faint of heart—and certainly
not for a feeble grandfather.
Revelation 12:7-12
Satan is overcome by the power of the
heavenly hosts, the blood of The Lamb,
and the word of testimonies. This passage
is intended to highlight God’s power and
encourage Christians to strengthen one
another’s faith through the sharing of
testimonies of the strength and goodness
of God.
Revelation 12:7-12
(1) What does this passage tell us
about the nature of God?
Revelation 12:7-12
(2) Verse 11 states, “They overcame him
[Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony; they did not love their
lives so much as to shrink from death.” Relate
to the other members of your group the last
time you heard a testimony from a fellow
Christian that strengthened your faith.
Revelation 12:7-12
(3) Concerning the discussion of
testimonies (question #2 above), also
share the effect of the testimony on
your view of God.
Revelation 12:7-12
(4) Discuss how a deistic
view of God might benefit the
goals of Satan.