John Gray is famous (and RICH!) for making the observation that “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.” Men and women are different – men do some things well – women do others well. Men are good at hunting/killing/problem solving – women are generally more nurturing and can multi-task!
From the outset I am going to confess that the note in the margin of my Bible next to Deuteronomy 32:18 has a mental question mark next to it.
“You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth” (Deut 32:18 – NIV)
Clearly, God refers to Himself (Herself?) as having both male and female attributes. In fact the first hint of this is in Genesis…
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:26 – NIV)
There are a lot of other references in Scripture attributing female attributes to God. (a selection….Hosea 11:3-4, Hosea 13:8, Deuteronomy 32:11-12, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Jeremiah 44:25, Psalm131:2, Psalm 123:2, Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34, Luke 15:8-10)
Jewish mystical traditions, including Kabala, have a belief that the Shekinah – the settling or dwelling presence of God in the tabernacle and temple – was an expression of the “femaleness” of God. It is possible that what we have translated as “God Almighty” – El Shaddai - could actually mean “God the multi-breasted one” – a very female description of God. (Strong’s H7736)
Another thought…If Jesus is the Head of the church – and the church is His bride – he has a male head and a female body!
So, is Scripture culturally conditioned? – is God referred to as predominately male because of the patriarchal societies in which Judaism and later, Christianity were formed in? It is easy in Polytheistic religions to have both male and female gods – not a problem! When it comes to mono-theism however, it gets a little trickier.
It is interesting to note as well that the main ‘deity’ of the New Age movement is the “goddess” or the “mother goddess.” This is not a new concept – the goddess existed in the religions of the Egyptians, Sumerians, Mesopotamians and Greeks. Maybe the writers of Scripture were inspired to refer to God in the masculine as a deliberate direct contrast to the other prevailing contemporary beliefs.
There are a couple of problems – to go to the extreme and adopt a feminist theology and refer to God in gender-neutral terms probably just waters Scripture down – and maybe we shouldn’t be fiddling around with the Bible too much anyway. (see Rev 22:18!)
By referring to God in the masculine are we tacitly implying that females are inferior to males? What do we make of the teachings of Paul about women in leadership? (not going here today – maybe another post!)
I for one am glad that God made women – I like women! I sincerely believe that God is my Father – but I also believe that he loves me so much that he looks after me like my mother looked after me – God has an intimate connection to me like the intimate connection mothers have to their children.
God relates to us entirely. He has a relationship with us that is all-encompassing – He loves us in a way that encompasses how mums and dads love their children.
Clearly, God refers to Himself (Herself?) as having both male and female attributes. In fact the first hint of this is in Genesis…
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:26 – NIV)
There are a lot of other references in Scripture attributing female attributes to God. (a selection….Hosea 11:3-4, Hosea 13:8, Deuteronomy 32:11-12, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Jeremiah 44:25, Psalm131:2, Psalm 123:2, Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34, Luke 15:8-10)
Jewish mystical traditions, including Kabala, have a belief that the Shekinah – the settling or dwelling presence of God in the tabernacle and temple – was an expression of the “femaleness” of God. It is possible that what we have translated as “God Almighty” – El Shaddai - could actually mean “God the multi-breasted one” – a very female description of God. (Strong’s H7736)
Another thought…If Jesus is the Head of the church – and the church is His bride – he has a male head and a female body!
So, is Scripture culturally conditioned? – is God referred to as predominately male because of the patriarchal societies in which Judaism and later, Christianity were formed in? It is easy in Polytheistic religions to have both male and female gods – not a problem! When it comes to mono-theism however, it gets a little trickier.
It is interesting to note as well that the main ‘deity’ of the New Age movement is the “goddess” or the “mother goddess.” This is not a new concept – the goddess existed in the religions of the Egyptians, Sumerians, Mesopotamians and Greeks. Maybe the writers of Scripture were inspired to refer to God in the masculine as a deliberate direct contrast to the other prevailing contemporary beliefs.
There are a couple of problems – to go to the extreme and adopt a feminist theology and refer to God in gender-neutral terms probably just waters Scripture down – and maybe we shouldn’t be fiddling around with the Bible too much anyway. (see Rev 22:18!)
By referring to God in the masculine are we tacitly implying that females are inferior to males? What do we make of the teachings of Paul about women in leadership? (not going here today – maybe another post!)
I for one am glad that God made women – I like women! I sincerely believe that God is my Father – but I also believe that he loves me so much that he looks after me like my mother looked after me – God has an intimate connection to me like the intimate connection mothers have to their children.
God relates to us entirely. He has a relationship with us that is all-encompassing – He loves us in a way that encompasses how mums and dads love their children.
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