Dear Gordon,

Thank you for sharing about your father's struggle with the church, I bet they are common, and still no perfect medicine for it.I know you can explain in clear term about the "total depravity of man", yet it aid nothing more to the argument your dad might raise.

One of my lifelong spiritual mentor read me, C.S. Lewis "The Screwtape letters" while I was still a rookie to the Christian faith(decade ago). The Devil(Screwtape) share the secret with his nephew, a junior associates in the tempter's business, about how "Church congregations" can be "alliance" to their devil's deed. Recently I read the following quote: 人的問題不是想消滅看不見的神, 而是殺死那看得見的弟兄。- Claus Westermann

It does goes with the 1 John 4:20 quote: "for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (KJ version did give the scripture some spice)
I think we will always struggle with our brothers & sisters, I feel your dad's pain.

The mentor who read me C.S.Lewis, left our Church with tears decade ago (it was my Canada days), we met 2 years ago, while she had a brief visit to HK, I was very glad to meet, but she still carried the old scar and bitterness toward the people in our old church, but they are people no longer in our life, I barely remember their names, and felt very sad for her still holding onto the old grudge. she just went on and on about how the church had hurt her and such. To the point, I can't help but wondering, can we all just get along?

That really made prayer the crucial way, right? I will for certain pray for your dad.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
2 Corinthians 10:4-5

In Christ,
Peter