# Christians: when you think of the Deity guiding & protecting you, do you think of... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 8, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320 "2011-11-08T21:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/1 "2011-11-08T21:54:23Z")
God the Father? Jesus? The Holy Ghost/Spirit? I promise I have no agenda here; I am simply curious. I apologize in advance if another atheist starts something. Poll in a moment. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/2 "2011-11-08T22:04:58Z")
Hmm, I haven’t voted yet. I think _instinctively_ I think of God the Father, but if I give it any thought I would more correctly attribute it to the Holy Spirit. I don’t know if I’m completely on board with the “guiding and protecting” language either. Guiding, sure, in the sense of inspiring me. Protecting me – well, in some ways I guess. But I don’t believe that God keeps me out of the path of moving vehicles while he lets pagans get flattened. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/3 "2011-11-08T22:08:02Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Hmm, I haven’t voted yet. I think _instinctively_ I think of God the Father, but if I give it any thought I would more correctly attribute it to the Holy Spirit. I don’t know if I’m completely on board with the “guiding and protecting” language either. Guiding, sure, in the sense of inspiring me. Protecting me – well, in some ways I guess. But I don’t believe that God keeps me out of the path of moving vehicles while he lets pagans get flattened. I don’t necessarily mean obvious, Superman-to-Jimmy-Olsen-type protection. You can as leave change it to “God being an active, beneficient force in my life.” ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/4 "2011-11-08T22:15:49Z")
I’m a Christian, but I don’t believe in the Trinity nor do I believe in an interventionist God, so I just think of God. I guess the closest in the poll is the first choice as everything is more or less a direct result of either his creation or my spiritual connection with him. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/5 "2011-11-08T22:16:37Z")
Gotcha. Okay, when I think of God’s active influence in my life, I ascribe that to the HS (if I bother to be more specific than just “God.”) ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/6 "2011-11-09T00:09:34Z")
I voted for God the Father. However I ascribe active communication to the Holy Spirit. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/7 "2011-11-09T00:18:53Z")
Since there’s no option for The Holy Trinity I didn’t vote. I usually pray in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/8 "2011-11-09T00:22:33Z")
I think mostly of the Holy Spirit because that’s what I think of as my conscience. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/9 "2011-11-09T01:03:49Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > Since there’s no option for The Holy Trinity I didn’t vote. I usually pray in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. :smack: Sorry for leaving you out. That wasn’t intentional. I blame whoever I’m scapegoating this week. Probably the Spartans. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/10 "2011-11-09T03:17:25Z")
Jesus is a nice boy, but I don’t imagine him having anywhere near as much bearing on my life and well-being as his dad. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/11 "2011-11-09T03:50:40Z")
I wonder if there had been options for “The Virgin Mary” or “One or More of the Saints,” anyone would have voted for them? I know a Catholic who told me she felt unworthy of asking God’s help when she was in trouble, and asked for Mary’s help instead. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christians-when-you-think-of-the-deity-guiding-protecting-you-do-you-think-of/602320/12 "2011-11-09T04:15:53Z")
You used the word “guide” and that makes it a bit more complicated… I voted “Jesus”, as he is my intervener, being both man and god, and our gateway to salvation and union with God. When I pray, I mostly pray to Him, and I see him as acting and intervening in my life and the world around me. But when I ask for guidance, for wisdom, for direction, then I ask the Holy Spirit. The Lord acts, the Spirit guides… The one major exception where I feel the spirit really acted in power in my life was after my son was diagnosed with autism, and wasn’t really verbal (3 words, at 3 years). I figured the Spirit gave the apostles the gift of multiple languages at pentecost, so he could give my son the ability to speak a single one, English, and started asking him to give my son the gift of speech. Starting in holy week that year, a few days before Easter, trusquirt experienced what the speech pathologists called a “major word explosion” During a period of 5 to 6 weeks, he acquired about 400 words, and continued to make (much slower but regular ) progress. afterwards. Today he functions quite well in a regular school, with a bit of extra coaching on social skills on the side.