Excerpt from the book Copyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Is God a Good Father?
“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”
– Francis Bacon
The Scriptures (particularly those in the New Testament) were written by people who often portrayed God as a parent using the term Father. If God is Father and if He is love, then His love for His children must at least be better than the love I have for my children.
I published Apparent Faith in 2019, a few years after Chris Tomlin released his song “Good, Good Father.” When it was released, we adapted the worship song to our small Baptist worship team and sang it with tears in our eyes. What most of us were crying about was that we knew our fathers in our families of origin were not always good, and especially not “good, good!” So, at first, we sang with tears in our eyes, but not too long after, Laura and I began to ask the probing question, “Is God really a better father than me?”
My fodder for this cannon-like question was many of the wonderings in this essay. What kind of father would withhold information that was critical to my spiritual walk and then blame it on me when I couldn’t understand what he was being so coy about? What kind of father would eternally punish their children for minor offenses? Why would a good father create a system that was destined to fail and then kill all of his children when they failed at that system? Why would he create an adversary for us that would inevitably lead to our downfall and leave us with shame and more unanswered questions? Why does he choose favorites?
During our 20 years of ministry, I experienced various family issues. You can tell when the father of a family is not doing well. The primary indicator is that the family members continually make excuses for him. Similarly, it is a good method to identify a bad politician by lemmings that explain what he said and did. However, I also found that to be true regarding religion and spirituality. I mean, we even call it apologetics. Think about that for a while.
God, like a good father, should be able to be experienced as authentic, and shouldn’t need thousands of theology books, sermons, and conferences to make excuses for him. The question eventually became, “Isn’t he at least better than me?”
I’ve decided to address one question at a time so the reader can digest it before moving on to the next inquiry. At this point, I have about 15 questions that I will release one by one. Hopefully, these questions will challenge you and help you begin or continue to evolve in your journey of discovery.
Try making a list of questions you have. Then, compare your experience as a parent to the narrative of modern Christianity concerning God as a Father. My book, Apparent Faith, is also helpful in probing these questions. It also has more questions for further thought at the end of each chapter.
Questions About Questions
What belief(s) did you inherit concerning this question?
How is your response to this question changing?
Learn to be Where You Are (Presence)
Are you serious about deconstruction and asking bigger questions?
If that’s the case, this book was created for you. As a former pastor, I made the mistake of deconstructing a bit and then trying to start something new, as I was trained to do. The problem with that approach is that I wasn’t ready to begin something new.
I hadn’t delved deeply enough or asked enough questions. The first stage of deconstruction typically includes assessing our beliefs regarding hell and the afterlife, supporting queer individuals and women in their fight for equality, and achieving a better understanding of racism and privilege.
Many people in deconstruction communities expend significant effort criticizing Evangelicals and attempting to gain a following. While I believe they deserve intense criticism, this strategy fails to effectively tackle the problem because they generally don’t listen to us!
Our tendency to punish our former organizations sometimes overlooks the challenging process of healing and growth. It is the same trap we fell into in our former associations.
Campfires occupy a special spot in the mosaic of history. They act as communal hubs across different cultures and faiths. The campfire’s circular design fosters equal participation within the collective group. The flames at the center draw our focus and encourage face-to-face interactions as we exchange experiences, wisdom, and insights about the world beyond. It is where legendary myths and tales are born.
Order Now – Study Questions in each chapter!
This book is named Campfires in the Desert as it stems from nearly 400 discussions we held with individuals on our podcast, The Desert Sanctuary, and our aspiration to improve.
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Thanks for considering us, autographed copies are $20
Karl Forehand Campfires in the Desert – A Soft Book Release. Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Out into the Desert, Leaning Forward, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart, The Tea Shop, and Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity. He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary podcast and community. He has been married to his wife Laura for 35 years and has one dog named Winston. His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply! You can read more about the author here.
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