"God has not always been worshipped as a Father, even among Christians, as we well know. Men have always been inclined to think that they honor God by placing Him on a distant throne, much more than by investing Him with the mild luster of parental goodness. They have made Him a stern sovereign, giving life on hard terms, preferring His own honor to the welfare of his creatures, demanding an obedience which He gives no strength to perform, preparing endless torments for creatures whom He brings into being wholly evil, and refusing to pardon the least sin, without an infinite satisfaction." William Ellery Channing. 

 The author provokes me to think and consider how I perceive God and His ways among men. I believe it's good to have our established thoughts challenged, and certainly the unbelieving world considers these very thoughts, and "always having an answer for the hope that is within us" demands we understand what we share as Gospel.