Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
Samantha described God in her Catholic upbringing as “very distant” and as someone who “did things for me if I did the right things”; what picture of God does that create in a person, and how does it compare to the God Samantha later describes as “good and faithful” who “will shepherd us very wisely and lovingly”?
Another way to ask: If you grow up thinking God is distant and only helps when you do the right things, what kind of view of God does that create? How is that different from Samantha’s later view of God as “good and faithful” who guides us with love?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Samantha’s early picture of God was transactional and far away—more like a Judge you try to satisfy than a Person you know. Later, she describes God as personally involved, steady, and caring—“good and faithful,” like a shepherd who leads wisely and lovingly.
- She says God “was never presented to me as someone… I could have a relationship with.”
- Instead, God was “a God who did things for me if I did the right things,” naming practices like “reciting the rosary and confession to the priest.”
- She summarizes the result: “So God was very distant.”
- At the end, reflecting on her whole story, she calls it “really just God’s story.”
- She emphasizes God’s character: “he’s just so good and faithful,” and “he will shepherd us very wisely and lovingly.”