From: Randall Parker 

In <38c7207f{at}w3.nls.net>, the sagacious richhong{at}hawksci.com Richard
Hong perspicated:
> Um... the father in the parable is GOD.  The parable is a demonstration of
> what God does.  All you're saying is that if you were God, you'd roast the
> kid.

No, I wouldn't roast the kid. After all, the kid didn't directly harm me.
I'd just not give him stuff so easily. He's spoiled and likely to remain
that way if he can get a free lunch.

The reason I think this is a bad parable is that a human being father is
used in a role that is supposed to symbolic of God. Whereas, while God may
be able to afford to give freely and completely a real father is going to
have to think about the hard facts of life (eg money doesn't grow on trees)
and a real father would be very unwise and impractical to do what the
father did in that story.

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