Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why use the term “Father?”
LAMA SING: What shall you be called? Shall you be called Human? Woman? Man? Child of God? Child of the Creator? Creation of the Consciousness of Life itself? An evolutionary position? What? Perhaps, by your given name in the present? Any of these and many more might be the truth for you.
Would you not think it to be so, as well, for the Father? That each of His Children might from their uniqueness see their Creator, their God, their Father, their Source, their Oneness, the well-spring of Life?
What you choose to speak when you reach out with hope, when you call out in despair, when you strive to give love, when you wish to express gratitude — Would it not be known that thy Creator knoweth this before it can be spoken? Thus has it magnitude what name might be applied?
It does have magnitude. It is very important for that one who Knoweth their Creator in a state of intimacy and love that has always been theirs. Then, that name which they use is sacred.
And, if you hear it spoken by a brother or a sister, honor it in the same manner as do they.
__________
AL MINER: Some think the use of Father is sexist at a time when women are continuing to seek equal status in today’s society, and I do empathize with this. Some prefer the use of Mother or Mother-Father, but others cringe at it this, too, because it feels New-Agey or contrived. Others feel that the use of any term that personalizes Source carries the connotation of being human rather than divine, which then could also evoke the old image of a big guy sitting on a cloud with a scroll and pen in hand marking us humans for Judgment Day. And still others are repulsed by the use of the word God because it evokes religiosity. You could go on and on with any term you’d use — Allah, Abba …
Alas, what’s a person to do when talking about the topic?
Aren’t we at a time in which we’re being called to set aside our differences and live our Oneness? It’s a choice to stumble over a term and color what a person is saying because of a single word. Another choice might be to gulp and just get past a term such as God so you can do the best you can to hear the meat of what that one is saying.
Perhaps the choice we’re being called to make now would be to be One with that person and their spirit and hear from that Oneness. Then they could even use a word like Papa and mean an African-American woman; Jesus, a Jewish carpenter; and Sarayu, an Asian woman representing the Holy Spirit, all rolled into one; and you would appreciate them and what they are sharing with the joy and totality of your BE-ing.
Po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to, it’s still the same vegetable. Lama Sing and I often use the term Father. We mean no reference to gender or human form. We use it interchangeably with God and Lord God. For us, it’s a term of endearment and deep respect for our Greatest Love.