--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The God understood as a father figure…" description: "\"The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and promised rewards and punishment based upon our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-shelby-spong-1488_aging_the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-wh_1635197.png" --- # The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate… ![“The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and promised rewards and punishment based upon our behavior was not designed to call anyone into maturity.” quote by John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-shelby-spong-1488_aging_the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-wh_1635197.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-shelby-spong-1488_aging_the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-wh_1635197.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-shelby-spong-1488_aging_the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-wh_1635197.png) > “The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and promised rewards and punishment based upon our behavior was not designed to call anyone into maturity.” [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The divine is portrayed as a parental guide, not a force that forces maturity, suggesting faith should inspire growth rather than impose obedience. **In simple terms:** God is a guide, not a maturity enforcer. Key Takeaway Seek personal growth through faith. Themes theology faith spirituality Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - religious study - personal reflection - ethical decision-making Key Concepts divine guidance moral development Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect your spiritual practice? - Can guidance coexist with personal responsibility? A Different Perspective Interpretations of divine intent vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Answered prayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answered-prayers/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father figure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-figure/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [God Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-understood-519432/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Our prayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-prayers/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Personal decisions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-decisions/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayers Promised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayers-promised-519433/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Reward and punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reward-and-punishment/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Ultimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-father-273229/) ## Related quotes > [It absolutely helped - to write the father in both 'Juicy' and 'Beasts,' I had to see the whole story from his point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-alibar/it-absolutely-helped-to-write-the-father-in-both-juicy-and-beasts-i/) [Lucy Alibar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-alibar/) > [“As a child, my father was a god to me—at times I loved him, at times I feared him, but I always wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/as-a-child-my-father-was-a-god-to-me-at-times-i-loved-him-at-times-i/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Tom finally understood why his father saw humanity as worthless. It was hard to see much fundamental value in anything when the bad guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid/tom-finally-understood-why-his-father-saw-humanity-as-worthless-it/) [S.J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid/) > [I don't think hell exists. I happen to believe in life after death but I don't think it's got a thing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-don-t-think-hell-exists-i-happen-to-believe-in-life-after-death-but/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-hope-for-life-after-death-must-be-separated-forever-from-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wonder if my watching him from the armchair is what it's like to be God, if there is a God. He sits back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/i-wonder-if-my-watching-him-from-the-armchair-is-what-it-s-like-to-be/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [“God, understood in this proper sense, is essentially beyond finite comprehension;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/god-understood-in-this-proper-sense-is-essentially-beyond-finite/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [I believed that there was a God because I was told it by my grandmother and later by other adults. But when I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-believed-that-there-was-a-god-because-i-was-told-it-by-my/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [A God you understood would be less than yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/a-god-you-understood-would-be-less-than-yourself/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“To speak of “God” properly, then—to use the word in a sense consonant with the teachings of orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Bahá’í,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/to-speak-of-god-properly-then-to-use-the-word-in-a-sense-consonant/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-word-of-god-well-understood-and-religiously-obeyed-is-the/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“As we read the Bible, we see that God's role is not that of a scientist managing robots. Neither is God a frustrated artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gaston-barton/as-we-read-the-bible-we-see-that-god-s-role-is-not-that-of-a/) [Sara Gaston Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gaston-barton/) > [“God figured out when he separated us from the rest of the creatures that if we have the power to reason and justify and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-uris/god-figured-out-when-he-separated-us-from-the-rest-of-the-creatures/) [Leon Uris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-uris/) > [As soon as I came to believe there was a God, I understood that I could not do otherwise than live only for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-foucauld/as-soon-as-i-came-to-believe-there-was-a-god-i-understood-that-i/) [Charles de Foucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-foucauld/) ## More by John Shelby Spong > [The way that I see Christianity is that its role is to enhance the life of every person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-way-that-i-see-christianity-is-that-its-role-is-to-enhance-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Sins of Scripture is an interesting title; most people don't put sins and scripture together in the same title. 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Does it build up or does it tear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/my-basis-of-morality-is-this-does-this-action-enhance-life-or-does-it/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [I want the traditional family upheld, but I don't want it upheld to the detriment of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-want-the-traditional-family-upheld-but-i-don-t-want-it-upheld-to/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [We live in a very pluralistic society today. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Christians like me. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/we-live-in-a-very-pluralistic-society-today-there-are-buddhists/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Bible was written between 3,000 and 2,000 years ago, and it's filled with the knowledge that people had in that period of time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-bible-was-written-between-3-000-and-2-000-years-ago-and-it-s/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [We are in a survival mentality, and that's hard-wired into our humanity, because we are the winners of an evolutionary struggle of millions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/we-are-in-a-survival-mentality-and-that-s-hard-wired-into-our/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [Some people think prayer stops bullets or rockets or land mines. It doesn't. That's magic, that's not God. Sometimes, you're just in the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/some-people-think-prayer-stops-bullets-or-rockets-or-land-mines-it/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Hebrew scriptures say it's okay to enslave anybody except your fellow Jews. It says you should enslave only your neighbors. I say to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-hebrew-scriptures-say-it-s-okay-to-enslave-anybody-except-your/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [ I know Jerry \[Falwell\] fairly well, and he's probably not bright enough to recognize all of the implications of what he said. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-know-jerry-falwell-fairly-well-and-he-s-probably-not-bright-enough/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [Benedict XVI kept saying that homosexuals are deviant. They're not deviant. They're deviant only if you say that anyone who is different from me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexuals-are-deviant-they-re-not/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [ I find it fascinating that Paul \[the apostol\], writing to the Galatians, responds to the question, "What does it mean to live in Christ?"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-find-it-fascinating-that-paul-the-apostol-writing-to-the-galatians/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Explore all 236 John Shelby Spong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and promised rewards and punishment based upon our behavior was not designed to call anyone into maturity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-who-guided-ultimate-personal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-who-guided-ultimate-personal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-shelby-spong-1488_aging_the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-wh_1635197.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-shelby-spong-1488_aging_the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-wh_1635197.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/john-shelby-spong-1488_aging_the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-wh_1635197.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The God understood as a father figure, who guided ultimate personal decisions, answered our prayers, and…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Shelby Spong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The God understood as a father...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-who-guided-ultimate-personal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-god-understood-as-a-father-figure-who-guided-ultimate-personal/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```