Replies

... (I believe Quix calls God the Father "Daddy," how "cute"), ... [FK:] That's what "Abba" means, Kosta. It is also another excellent illustration of the personal and familial relationship God wants to have with us. When referring to someone else's father, the word would be "ab". But with the addition of "ba" it would only make sense to refer to one's own father, "Daddy". This is the family of God. Only believers can properly say "Abba, Father"

"Ab" is Hebrew; "Abba" is Aramaic, Chalean. They both mean "Father." It's not English, FK!

I know "abba" is Aramaic, Kosta. I gave you construction. Look, here is the transliteration of "AB". Now, notice is has a simple one word definition, "father". That's all we know. However, look at the entry for "BA" . Here it says the father of an individual, or head of a family. Put them together and the closest thing in English we have is "Daddy" or "Papa".

God is the Father because we believe that He is the source of everything and the Creator of every one of us, including the Son and the Spirit.

[A friend of mine said this to me once:] "LOL! ROTFLOL! Wow! Did you just make that up? Or did the "inner voice" reveal this to you? If the latter, I would watch out..."

When Christ is quoted by Mark as crying out "Abba, why have you forsaken Me?" He is not saying "Daddy."

Why would that offend you so much. It doesn't seem to offend the Orthodox Research Institute. Here is an excerpt from The Name of God: Abba by Fr. Paul Tarazi. "Father Paul is Asst. Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at St. Vladimir Orthodox Seminary and pastor of St. George Antiochian Church of Danbury, Conn." :

In the whole New Testament the Aramaic word “Abba” appears only three times: once on the lips of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Mk. 14:36) and twice in the letters of St. Paul where we read that the Spirit of Christ is Himself the one who cries in us: Abba. (Rm. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6) Moreover, in the three instances the authors give the Greek translation* of this word, which is Father. But precisely this fact brings to our mind the question: Why didn’t the authors merely use the Greek word for “Father” since the whole text is in Greek? Finally, the fact is noteworthy that, in all the ancient liturgies of the Church, the exhortation of the priest to the faithful before the Lord’s prayer runs similar to the one we hear today in the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, namely, “And vouchsafe, 0 Lord, that with boldness and without condemnation we may dare to call upon thee, the heavenly God, as Father…..”

The result of all this is the following: Jesus Christ’s use of the Aramaic “Abba” made such an impression on His disciples in that it was a unique instance in 1st Century Jewish piety; this explains why it stamped the apostles’ memory. Moreover, it was an exclusive use to the extent that the early Church was aware that, only through Jesus and in His Spirit, one could utter that word, that is, she was aware that its use was ultimately reserved to Christ Himself. This explains why the early Christians considered it daring to call God “Father” and prayed not to be condemned for such boldness.

But why? Why all this fuss about a simple Aramaic word? Well, it is because — and modern biblical research has convincingly shown that —“Abba” actually means “Daddy”! Shocking even to the most remote and possibly unused grey call of the coolest and most objective human brain: A young man of 1st Century Palestine called God “Daddy.” Unbefitting, scandalous, blasphemous, crazy, unreal! … Maybe! But he did it, he did call the Almighty One “Daddy”! He addressed God as a child his own father!

Open then your catechisms, teachers, and bring your books, theologians . . . Add to the question “What is God?” and to the chapter entitled “God” that He is also “Daddy,” a “Daddy,” even if He is so only to Jesus . . . Add it! And if this shatters your whole mental conception of what God is, then be it so! “Abba” prayed the man of Nazareth when He felt the bitterness of suffering and death at Gethsemane. . . “Abba” prayed He and that moment has forever been inscribed in the flesh of our human history! A man of our own flesh and blood considered Himself to be in a unique way the child of the Most High!

From that moment on every child baptized and chrismated in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Son of God, has [been] daring to call God “Daddy,” that is with the same expression he uses to address his own earthly father. ... (emphasis added)

From this excerpt it may sound like Fr. Paul only thinks it would be proper for Jesus to use the word, but he goes on to show that it works for all of us.

"Daddy" is an intimate word, expressing love of family. Do you not want an intimate relationship with God as your Heavenly Father?

First, on a personal note, I am not impressed with titles and positions. Let's not forget that such theological giants as Origen and Tertullian ended up falling into heresy. Don't forget that Arius and Marcion were bishops, and that many sho strayed were a Patriarchs of Contsantinople! (that's a lot higher than the very reverend Fr. Tarazi). No one is ever high enough not to be subject to error.

I am also very supsicious of clean shaven Orthodox priests. There is a "message" behind it.

More importantly, he is not a spokesman for the entire Church. To the best of my knowledge no Church Council has ever accepted such a definition. His statements are no different that the statements of Church Fathers whose speculations, although not heretical, did not make it to the Councils, and were never elevated to doctrine or dogma.

You are creating a straw man, FK. His opinions are just that, theological opinions, Orthodoxy calles them theologoumenna. I submit that no serious Orthodox priest would ever say that Chirst called the Father "Daddy."