"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24
I never understand why people get so up in arms about the gender of God. Yes, Jesus refers to God as Father and Abba, but the Bible also refers to God as being like a mother hen. The fact of the matter is that God is not flesh and blood. God is spirit and as such neither pees standing up nor sitting down.
So, why father language or mother language? I believe that it is our human need to understand both the attributes of God as well as an understanding of the relationship between God and us. We are God's children and God is the ultimate parent.
Unfortunately we encounter quite a few problems when we decide to assign gender to the Almighty. First, is the ever changing roles of fathers and mothers in our world. Attaching ourselves to father or mother limits our understanding of God. Saying God has attributes that are found in males and females is a lot different than saying God is a male or female, we need to remember which came first. Second, we have left behind and at times cast out those people who have been incapable of assigning the same gender that we have. These people have often been physically or sexually abused and carry massive pain, which we have at times added to with our immovability. Third, we also need to remember that the Bible was written and lived in a male dominated society, to this end it is really amazing that God as mother language got through at all.
By letting go of our need for gender specific language we can widen our understanding, accept people, and interact truthfully with the scriptures.
+ How have you used gender language in connection with God?
+ Is there room in your theology for people who see it differently?
So, why father language or mother language? I believe that it is our human need to understand both the attributes of God as well as an understanding of the relationship between God and us. We are God's children and God is the ultimate parent.
Unfortunately we encounter quite a few problems when we decide to assign gender to the Almighty. First, is the ever changing roles of fathers and mothers in our world. Attaching ourselves to father or mother limits our understanding of God. Saying God has attributes that are found in males and females is a lot different than saying God is a male or female, we need to remember which came first. Second, we have left behind and at times cast out those people who have been incapable of assigning the same gender that we have. These people have often been physically or sexually abused and carry massive pain, which we have at times added to with our immovability. Third, we also need to remember that the Bible was written and lived in a male dominated society, to this end it is really amazing that God as mother language got through at all.
By letting go of our need for gender specific language we can widen our understanding, accept people, and interact truthfully with the scriptures.
+ How have you used gender language in connection with God?
+ Is there room in your theology for people who see it differently?
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