Is 'our Father' in the Lord's Prayer problematic?
- Is simply 'seeing and knowing' people enough, or does loving them require action?
The hosts discuss a Christian Post article reporting that the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, suggested the word 'father' in the Lord's Prayer can be distressing for victims of abuse or those who suffered under oppressive patriarchy. One host takes a hard line that earthly experience should not redefine God; the room lands on 'trauma informed, not trauma excused': God the Father is the standard, not a projection of broken fathers, and refusing to change the language lets people reclaim it. The discussion widens into the limits of 'seen and known' without action (the hosts say they play the priest and the Levite in the Good Samaritan story when they acknowledge suffering but walk by), Job's friends, and God's sovereignty — 'we're not that important... we're just along for the ride.'