I have not heard of the "slave surrogate" parallel, and it makes sense that that would be a comparison to avoid! Similarly, I have had conversations with people struggling with maintaining any faith at all, after a lifetime of being taught that God set us up for failure by dooming us to a "sinful heart" and then punishes us for what we can't help unless we hear the instructions and do exactly as he says to avoid the punishment prescribed for those who don't hear and obey. On top of that inherited view of God, they endured an abusive marriage in which submission and obedience and rightness of abuse were modeled and justified by this view of God. Or similarly, a God who demands his son die (rather than a God who gives HIMSELF). When you realize these narratives of God reflect abusive structures, it becomes so vital to know a bigger, better story! The number of theories is definitely mind-bending to me, but so hope-sparking!
As the stories begin to shift, many of us find ourselves in mid air, having let go of the old trapeze bar and reaching for the new. Dropping into free fall is a very real possibility and perhaps a necessary part of the process.
However, somewhere in the resulting tumble through uncertainty, I found a parachute well packed by an expert in new stories for Western Christians. His name is David Bentley Hart.
You summarized all that really well. It's a terrible story to think God "doomed us to a sinful heart" and then holding humans to strict instructions, and it does affect how churches form people in that story, leading to higher risk of abuse. I agree that shifting God stories sparks much more hope!
I have not heard of the "slave surrogate" parallel, and it makes sense that that would be a comparison to avoid! Similarly, I have had conversations with people struggling with maintaining any faith at all, after a lifetime of being taught that God set us up for failure by dooming us to a "sinful heart" and then punishes us for what we can't help unless we hear the instructions and do exactly as he says to avoid the punishment prescribed for those who don't hear and obey. On top of that inherited view of God, they endured an abusive marriage in which submission and obedience and rightness of abuse were modeled and justified by this view of God. Or similarly, a God who demands his son die (rather than a God who gives HIMSELF). When you realize these narratives of God reflect abusive structures, it becomes so vital to know a bigger, better story! The number of theories is definitely mind-bending to me, but so hope-sparking!
As the stories begin to shift, many of us find ourselves in mid air, having let go of the old trapeze bar and reaching for the new. Dropping into free fall is a very real possibility and perhaps a necessary part of the process.
However, somewhere in the resulting tumble through uncertainty, I found a parachute well packed by an expert in new stories for Western Christians. His name is David Bentley Hart.
Releasing one trapeze bar while stretching for the new one is a terrifying metaphor but so accurate for how people actually feel during faith shifts.
You summarized all that really well. It's a terrible story to think God "doomed us to a sinful heart" and then holding humans to strict instructions, and it does affect how churches form people in that story, leading to higher risk of abuse. I agree that shifting God stories sparks much more hope!