As most people familiar with Scott Hahn know, Hahn has been a bastion of Catholic apologetics and teaching since his conversion to Catholicism in the mid 1980’s. Coincidentally, I just recently happened to listen (again) to his conversion story on Matt Radd’s YouTube channel, Pints with Aquinas. I also recently happened to watch a tour of Scott Hahn’s house, which features the largest home library (as in an entire wing of his house!) I have ever seen. And it makes me wonder if it *is* the largest home library here in the U.S — or at least the largest home library on Christianity and religion in general? (It is a must-watch!)
Regardless, it does not take a detailed observer to see that Hahn is unquestionably passionate about his faith in God and showing how God loves us, despite life’s web of beauty, complexity, and tragedy. Hence the case in Hahn’s book, A Father Who Keeps His Promises: Hahn takes an unflinching look at the history or our plight as human beings; how God chose the Hebrews as a “first born son” to help lead humanity through this roller coaster ride we call life; and how God’s Covenants with humanity were not just pacts to help us grow in our spiritual journey, but also to show God’s all-encompassing, unending love for His creation.
In our modern world of meme like platitudes that overuse terms such as “connection”, “chemistry”, “transparency”, and “real love” – and worse, in an age of social media that has ironically left us more socially disconnected than connected – it can be overwhelmingly tempting to get inside our own heads and scoff at a world that often avoids practicing what it preaches. It can make us wonder: Is love in fact real? And how do we know?
While we as a society mistakenly use secularism to work through the philosophical mechanics of love, Hahn gives us a complete picture of finding love through God, of how God created us as *one* family of creation to know and love him in return – and of how the God of the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the epitome of a father who eternally loves his family, as he fully invests Himself into raising us properly and building the most intimate relationship possible: Loving a Divine family.
As such, A Father Who Keeps his Promises takes us on that journey of that Divine love. And though reviewing the entire journey could be a separate book alone, the rest of this paper will cover two core takeaways: the importance of God’s Covenants, and our relationship within the Divine family – which are cornerstones for understanding God’s ultimate Covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Namely, God’s love begins with establishing a commitment to His creation: God created us in His image. He created us to partake in this world and holistically enjoy the fruits of His labors. Yet we divided with God on one crucial matter to human existence: our own entitlement versus God’s will. This was the defining, first major decision as God’s creation: enjoy the Paradise that God created — or find out if we can become gods ourselves. We chose the latter. We fell from Grace. Which led to the first of several Covenants that God would establish with us: That although we fell into a grave sin, God remains our *Father* and will never stop guiding His family.
After all, God loves his family. And that is key to understanding the sometimes complicated, often painful to read ways in which He has raised us fallible beings. On this point alone, Hahn helps us understand that all of God’s Covenants are parallels to our Salvation. Further, Hahn shows how God’s purpose has not been to be a celestial commander-in-chief who is a fan of barbaric actions; or that God is stretched out on a couch somewhere, enjoying a bag of popcorn while watching His creation constantly manipulate and slaughter one another.
Rather, God is a father who is guiding a family that is not only having to deal with the biological and environmental aspects of human evolution, but also having to learn how to uphold God’s Covenants. And sometimes that involves a confusion of logistics to get us there. It also helps explain why the Old Testament is filled with laws and a bit of tough love. They were not just Divine injunctions: They were to help humanity learn how to overcome transgressions, how to purify ourselves in various rites of passage or periods of times to contemplate and then carry out God’s Covenants (Noah spends 40 days in the Ark, Moses spends 40 days atop Mount Sinai, Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness, we Catholics observe Lent for 40 days, etc.).
I liken this somewhat to my time in Army Basic Training: The first few weeks seemed nothing less than the closest definition to Hell; and that the drill sergeants were sociopathic, sadistic monsters who revel in your pain and misery. That, of course, is from the subordinate perspective. From the drill sergeant’s perspective, they are trying to get a unit of ~180 strangers to work as one, unwaveringly solid, exceptionally team-oriented group of people who consistently have each other’s back. That each soldier’s life is just as important as every other soldier; and that the drill sergeants will stop at nothing to build outstanding platoons and units.
Of course, Army life is probably not the best analogy to Catholic Christian life and God’s message for us, though it does illustrate how we humans are often so deep in our own entitlement – which then leads to all kinds of sin – that we are often a train wreck in how we deal with each other and work together.
This circles back to why Hahn so emphatically talks of God’s love throughout A Father Who Keeps His Promises: We learn that God has had our backs (so to speak) since our creation – and that whether He institutes laws, the meaning of sacrifice, some heavy-handed guidance, or bountiful rewards, he does this to love his family. What’s more, He sent His Son to complete the ultimate act of love for humanity.
It reminds me of the reading in this week’s liturgy from Paul to the Corinthians: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Isn’t that real love from a *Father who keeps His promises*?
Can you elaborate a bit on the second topic you mentioned?
Certainly! But first, which topic specifically? 🙂