The Old Testament God was no "Daddy," FK. His way of dealing with misbehaved children was rather extreme. He wants to be worshiped and feared. Some, in their twisted ways, call that "love."
The Jews did not have a "personal God." That is a Protestant innovation, or rather perversion, that is consistent with their whole "me-myself-and God" ego-centric, self-serving, self-made church and theology.
I truly believe that God wants to have this type of relationship with us rather than one where we are a drone reporting through ten layers of hierarchy to get to Him
I respect your belief, and I believe it is genuine, but where do you find that in the Bible? The authority of a father in the Middle East society of the 1st century was that of a master and not of a "daddy."
Those fathers didn't change diapers, or burp their babies, for sure. Disrespect, let alone disobedience, to the parents, was punishable by death! So, a God being "Daddy" is also an innovation from the historical and cultural facts about the Middle East of Jesus' time. Fr. Tarazi cannot be taken seriously, not as an Orthodox priest.
We don't know God through "layers of hierarchy," but through praise, prayer, fasting, and in life trying to imitate Christ.
But he DOES represent the website called the "Orthodox Research Institute". If you know, is this website a fraud?
Is PC USA a fraud? What's a fraud, FK? There are liberal bishops or bishop-equivalents in all Christian communities. Arius was a bishop, and so was Marcion.
I found some guy from an official looking website and I fully linked to it. If it should be trashed then I gave you the opportunity. :) There is no sneakery on my part here. :)
You can find anything on the Internet. That's why we need to verify and research the information. For all you know an "official-looking" site may be a one-man operation such as the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia site. I once fell for it too, believing it represnted official Vatican views. It doesn't.
"Daddy" is an English equivalent. The point is a showing of intimacy and personality and family. The idea behind it is that God WANTS a personal relationship with us, His children
This is a 21st century American idea and sterotype. This is completely false when taken in context of the 1st century Israel, culturally, socially and religiously. The Protestant approach is an innvation that was unknown to the world then, and is a perfect exmaple of how, void of traditional guardrails, the Bible gets distorted in the light of modernism and personal values of each indivdual interpreter.
Well, I suppose one could make a case with David, but I am guessing that you are talking about the accounts of God killing whole towns and villages, etc. They were NOT His children. But there are tons of examples of God acting as a personal beloved Father in the OT. Three are God providing a ram to Abraham at the key moment, God leading the Jews out of Egypt in response to their prayers, and God testing the mettle of His son Job, and then MORE than fully restoring him.
FK: I truly believe that God wants to have this type of [personal] relationship with us rather than one where we are a drone reporting through ten layers of hierarchy to get to Him.
I respect your belief, and I believe it is genuine, but where do you find that in the Bible?
Thank you. I would say that I find this type of relationship EVERYWHERE in the Bible. In the OT, God communicated directly to His prophets. He didn't lead them as we might lead a pet. He talked to them, personally. Not only that, but He interacted with them, as opposed to issuing commands and then leaving. He suffered their idiocies and played them along. Even though it was presumably a waste of His time, He still "worked" with them.
And then, of course, we have Jesus. For Jesus, being 100% God, to have personal relationships with His followers was nothing new. It was just in a new form, and even more personal. He cared about His disciples in ways that we fully recognize. He ate with them, sang with them, cried with them, and laughed with them. Except for taking a wife, it just doesn't get any more personal. Jesus COULD have been a very impersonal King, but He WANTED to have personal relationships with them then, and with us now.