ABSTRACT
The Christian understanding of God is expressed in the doctrine of the Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons in one community. If the fatherhood of God is expressed as provider, forgiver and protector, then it becomes an article of faith and an example to human fathers also to relate to their offspring as provider, forgiver and protector. The theological model of fatherhood where the man provides for forgives and protects his children appeals to intellectual, emotional and physical attributes. Indeed, in some households the mother may earn considerably more than the father and be the chief breadwinner. The father is called to protect, which engages both wit and at times physical strength. The physical energy evident in alienated young men is often directed in anger and frustration against authority and even self. Interestingly, the other person of the Trinity, namely the Spirit, is in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament a feminine word.
