On viewing God with a parental hangover...
"If he is lucky enough to have a good father this is all to the good, provided of course that the conception of god grows with the rest of personality. But if the child is afraid (or, worse still, afraid and feeling guilty because he is afraid) of his own father, the chances are that his Father in Heaven will appear to him a fearful Being."
"It is interesting, though rather pathetic, to note here that the success of a certain type of Christianity depends almost wholly on this sense of guilt. For the "gospel" will be accepted only by those in whom the sense of guilt can be readily awakened or stimulated. Indeed, missioners of this type of Christianity (flying incidentally in the face of Christ's own example) will go all out to induce and foster "conviction of sin" in their hearers. The results of such efforts are usually small, a fact attributed by the missioner to the hardness of the hearts of his hearers. It is really due to the healthy reaction against artificial guilt-injection possessed by all but those few whose unhappy childhood has left them peculiarly open to this form of spiritual assault."
On viewing God as a grand old man...
"This is partly due, of course, to the fact that a child's superiors are always 'old' to him and God must therefore be the 'oldest' of all. Moreover, a child is so frequently told that he will be able to do such-and-such a thing or understand such-and-such a matter 'when he is older,' that it is only natural that the Source of all strength and wisdom must seem to him very old indeed."
"But there is nevertheless a very real danger that the child will imagine this God not merely as 'old,' but as 'old-fashioned'; and may indeed be so impressed with God's actions in 'times of old' that he may fail to grasp the idea of God operating with unimpaired energy in the present and leading forward into a hopeful future."
"The 'Grand Old Man' is treated with reverence and respect - look what a help He was to our forefather! - but He can hardly be expected to cope with the complexities and problems of life today!"
"Sermons and addresses again and again are stuffed with religious jargon and technical terms which strike no answering chord in the modern heart. It is no doubt a joy to the preacher to know that he is not only serving the same God as the saints of the past, but even using the time-honoured phrases which meant so much to them. But to his modern hearers (if they can be got within earshot!) he will only seem to be in love with the past. His words may have beauty and dignity, but it is the beauty and dignity of a past age; and his message often appears to be wholly irrelevant to the issues of today."
"Where people have been 'conditioned' by a Christian upbringing the worship of the average Church may to some extent satisfy. In all probability they are, through long practice, 'translating' as they go along."
"No figure in history, however splendid and memorable, can possibly satisfy the mind which is seeking the living contemporary God."
"If he is lucky enough to have a good father this is all to the good, provided of course that the conception of god grows with the rest of personality. But if the child is afraid (or, worse still, afraid and feeling guilty because he is afraid) of his own father, the chances are that his Father in Heaven will appear to him a fearful Being."
"It is interesting, though rather pathetic, to note here that the success of a certain type of Christianity depends almost wholly on this sense of guilt. For the "gospel" will be accepted only by those in whom the sense of guilt can be readily awakened or stimulated. Indeed, missioners of this type of Christianity (flying incidentally in the face of Christ's own example) will go all out to induce and foster "conviction of sin" in their hearers. The results of such efforts are usually small, a fact attributed by the missioner to the hardness of the hearts of his hearers. It is really due to the healthy reaction against artificial guilt-injection possessed by all but those few whose unhappy childhood has left them peculiarly open to this form of spiritual assault."
On viewing God as a grand old man...
"This is partly due, of course, to the fact that a child's superiors are always 'old' to him and God must therefore be the 'oldest' of all. Moreover, a child is so frequently told that he will be able to do such-and-such a thing or understand such-and-such a matter 'when he is older,' that it is only natural that the Source of all strength and wisdom must seem to him very old indeed."
"But there is nevertheless a very real danger that the child will imagine this God not merely as 'old,' but as 'old-fashioned'; and may indeed be so impressed with God's actions in 'times of old' that he may fail to grasp the idea of God operating with unimpaired energy in the present and leading forward into a hopeful future."
"The 'Grand Old Man' is treated with reverence and respect - look what a help He was to our forefather! - but He can hardly be expected to cope with the complexities and problems of life today!"
"Sermons and addresses again and again are stuffed with religious jargon and technical terms which strike no answering chord in the modern heart. It is no doubt a joy to the preacher to know that he is not only serving the same God as the saints of the past, but even using the time-honoured phrases which meant so much to them. But to his modern hearers (if they can be got within earshot!) he will only seem to be in love with the past. His words may have beauty and dignity, but it is the beauty and dignity of a past age; and his message often appears to be wholly irrelevant to the issues of today."
"Where people have been 'conditioned' by a Christian upbringing the worship of the average Church may to some extent satisfy. In all probability they are, through long practice, 'translating' as they go along."
"No figure in history, however splendid and memorable, can possibly satisfy the mind which is seeking the living contemporary God."
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