--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we misconceive God as Father…" description: "\"“If we misconceive God as Father Protector,...then each disappointment reduces what may confidently be affirmed about God. And this is how most people ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-sloane-coffin-4839_faith_if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protecto_427756.png" --- # If we misconceive God as Father Protector,...then each… ![“If we misconceive God as Father Protector,...then each disappointment reduces what may confidently be affirmed about God. And this is how most people lose their faith.” quote by William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-sloane-coffin-4839_faith_if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protecto_427756.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-sloane-coffin-4839_faith_if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protecto_427756.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-sloane-coffin-4839_faith_if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protecto_427756.png) > ““If we misconceive God as Father Protector,...then each disappointment reduces what may confidently be affirmed about God. And this is how most people lose their faith.”” [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing God as a protector leads to disappointment when expectations fail, weakening faith. **In simple terms:** Expectations of protection can erode belief when unmet. Key Takeaway Balance expectations with realistic understanding of the divine. Themes faith theology expectation Mood contemplative serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal crises - interfaith dialogues - pastoral counseling Key Concepts human vulnerability spiritual resilience theodicy Questions to Reflect On - How can believers maintain faith amid unmet expectations? - What alternative views of God support resilience? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on protection may ignore other divine aspects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Father Protector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-protector-3777823/) [God father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-father/) [Lose Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-faith/) [Misconceive God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misconceive-god-3777822/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [My father's a protector. My father's old-school. He's a cowboy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-walker/my-father-s-a-protector-my-father-s-old-school-he-s-a-cowboy/) [Paul Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-walker/) > [You may sometime feel that you're lost on the way, but if you dont lose faith in yourself and dont stop moving on, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/you-may-sometime-feel-that-you-re-lost-on-the-way-but-if-you-dont/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [By the time I was about ten, I had started to lose faith with church ways. I was educated in some ways by my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronee-blakley/by-the-time-i-was-about-ten-i-had-started-to-lose-faith-with-church/) [Ronee Blakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronee-blakley/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If you wake up in the morning and your favorite artist isn't on the service that you're paying ten dollars a month for, sooner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-carter/if-you-wake-up-in-the-morning-and-your-favorite-artist-isn-t-on-the/) [Troy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-carter/) > [“Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/sometimes-life-is-going-to-hit-you-in-the-head-with-a-brick-don-t/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Just like there's nothing wrong. That's why I'm thumbing through these pages They say the answers are in red And I believe they're in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brantley-gilbert/just-like-there-s-nothing-wrong-that-s-why-i-m-thumbing-through-these/) [Brantley Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brantley-gilbert/) > [“If you are a pastor there is no way you can lose faith without losing face, you are considered the devil incarnate by your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-are-a-pastor-there-is-no-way-you-can-lose-faith-without-losing/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [When you read the news, and you see all this bad stuff happening, there's a tendency to lose faith in humanity. But I meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-galecki/when-you-read-the-news-and-you-see-all-this-bad-stuff-happening-there/) [Johnny Galecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-galecki/) > [“I learned that once you make a decision, you need to see it through. If you don't, you'll lose faith in yourself, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/i-learned-that-once-you-make-a-decision-you-need-to-see-it-through-if/) [Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/) > [“The fastest runners don't always win the race and the greatest heroes don't always win the battles. But just keep running and fighting if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/the-fastest-runners-don-t-always-win-the-race-and-the-greatest-heroes/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [I lose faith in everything else, but rarely in my work. If I start to get bored, I change it to make it more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/i-lose-faith-in-everything-else-but-rarely-in-my-work-if-i-start-to/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [You may lose faith. You may lose love. You may lose courage. But never lose hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-may-lose-faith-you-may-lose-love-you-may-lose-courage-but-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“-make them lose their faith in happiness as the Sovereign Good and take to believing instead, that the goal was somewhere beyond, somewhere outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/make-them-lose-their-faith-in-happiness-as-the-sovereign-good-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Even when I lose faith in myself there is something in me that speaks through and says I am not finished yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/even-when-i-lose-faith-in-myself-there-is-something-in-me-that-speaks/) [T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/) ## More by William Sloane Coffin > [“Joy is the most important Christian emotion. Duty calls only when gratitude fails to prompt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/joy-is-the-most-important-christian-emotion-duty-calls-only-when/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [Every nation makes decisions based on self-interest and defends them on the basis of morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/every-nation-makes-decisions-based-on-self-interest-and-defends-them/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [It is one thing to say with the prophet Amos, "Let justice roll down like mighty waters," and quite another to work out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/it-is-one-thing-to-say-with-the-prophet-amos-let-justice-roll-down/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [“A friend...risks her friendship for the sake of her friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/a-friend-risks-her-friendship-for-the-sake-of-her-friend/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [“We are not slaves but children of our Father, free to do good, free to sin. So when in anguish over any human violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/we-are-not-slaves-but-children-of-our-father-free-to-do-good-free-to/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [In our time all it takes for evil to flourish is for a few good men to be a little wrong and have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/in-our-time-all-it-takes-for-evil-to-flourish-is-for-a-few-good-men/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [We have sold our birthright of freedom and justice for a mess of national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/we-have-sold-our-birthright-of-freedom-and-justice-for-a-mess-of/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [“And if we exalt freedom as Christians, we must remember that freedom is grounded in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/and-if-we-exalt-freedom-as-christians-we-must-remember-that-freedom/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [“It is terribly important to realize that the leap of faith is not so much a leap of thought as of action. For while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/it-is-terribly-important-to-realize-that-the-leap-of-faith-is-not-so/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [We must be governed by the force of law, not by the law of force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/we-must-be-governed-by-the-force-of-law-not-by-the-law-of-force/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [Only reverence can restrain violence - reverence for human life and the environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/only-reverence-can-restrain-violence-reverence-for-human-life-and-the/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [“But what I am beginning to suspect is that most guilty people reject the possibility of forgiveness not because it is too good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/but-what-i-am-beginning-to-suspect-is-that-most-guilty-people-reject/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [Of God's love we can say two things: it is poured out universally for everyone from the Pope to the loneliest wino on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/of-god-s-love-we-can-say-two-things-it-is-poured-out-universally-for/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [“And if God is a suffering God, if this whole universe is borne on a heart infinite in compassion, then the more we suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/and-if-god-is-a-suffering-god-if-this-whole-universe-is-borne-on-a/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [“...love does have a reward. Just as the proper benefits of education are the opportunities of continuing education, so the rewards of loving are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/love-does-have-a-reward-just-as-the-proper-benefits-of-education-are/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) [Explore all 106 William Sloane Coffin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) ## More Faith quotes > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The only limitations for your life are the limiting beliefs in your mind. —Matt Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-morris-1/the-only-limitations-for-your-life-are-the-limiting-beliefs-in-your/) [Matt Morris (1](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-morris-1/) > [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. The eternal truths of the Kingdom aren’t altered or affected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/just-because-your-faith-is-shaken-doesn-t-mean-the-faith-is-shaken/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) [Browse all 37,796 Faith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we misconceive God as Father Protector,...then each disappointment reduces what may confidently be affirmed about God. And this is how most people lose their faith.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Sloane Coffin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protector-then-each-disappointment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faith" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protector-then-each-disappointment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-sloane-coffin-4839_faith_if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protecto_427756.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-sloane-coffin-4839_faith_if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protecto_427756.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-sloane-coffin-4839_faith_if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protecto_427756.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we misconceive God as Father Protector,...then each disappointment reduces what may confidently be…” — William Sloane Coffin", "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": "William Sloane Coffin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If we misconceive God as Father...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protector-then-each-disappointment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/if-we-misconceive-god-as-father-protector-then-each-disappointment/#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 } } ] } ```