Have you ever heard someone address God as “daddy” before?
Is this wrong? Well, I don’t know if I would go so far as to say it’s “wrong,” but I also wouldn’t say it’s right either.
Most people go directly to verses like Mark 14:36 where Jesus said “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.“
The popular interpretation is that “Abba” (ἀββά) is a more intimate expression of the idea of “father.” The problem with this view is, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Abba is simply the Aramaic word for “father.” There aren’t other words in first century Aramaic for “father.”
In 1971 a scholar named Joachim Jeremias proposed the idea that “abba” was something a small child called their father (New Testament Theology p.67), but it seems he didn’t have any hard evidence for this position. Though his view has been critiqued by many (e.g Geza Vermes, “Jesus and the World of Judaism, 1983, p.42; George Schelbert “ABBA Vater,” 2011) and was even abandoned by Jeremias himself, it has persisted in popular Christin culture. James Barr’s article “Abba Isn’t Daddy” sums it up well “[abba] was not a childish expression comparable with ‘Daddy’: it was a solemn, responsible, adult address to a Father.” (Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. 39, 1988, p.46)
What’s happening in Mark 14:36 is much like other instances of the use of Aramaic words in the New Testament where the Aramaic word is written as a Greek transliteration and then translated into Greek so the reader would understand what the word meant.
A good example is Matthew 27:46 “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’“
I don’t believe Jesus is speaking in both Aramaic and Greek in these instances, though he certainly could speak both languages, that would seem to be awkward, rather he’s just speaking in Aramaic and the Gospel writer is explaining what he means to his readers.
So, how should we address God? With respect and gratitude, after all “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). So, is it “wrong” to call God “daddy?” That’s a language issue. If you can do so with all due respect to him, I don’t suppose it’s wrong… however, there isn’t really an example of anyone addressing God that way in the NT, not even Jesus, so we can’t simply say it’s OK either.
My advice? Just address him as Father, that’s who he is, if you are in Christ.
