Is God Male?

[EricH]

I know I'm repeating myself but I still maintain:

This topic has NOTHING to do with God

It has EVERYTHING to do with the way we percieve God

and it's a great topic

Shalom Hupo,

Yes, that is the question - how we perceive G-d. And it is a very good question.

Actually it has to do both with what God intends to communicate about Himself, and our perceptions of those things that He has communicated

And had God intended that we understand divinity as male the Almighty would have surely communicated it by plainly saying so!

I think using the male case, and referring to God as Father are pretty good indications of what God intended

[Ovedya]

I don't know if my previous question was answered.

Was it intentional that God incarnated Himself as a man? Is it significant? Would it have been different if He were incarnated as a woman?

Okay, that's questions...

[hupo]

Yes, that is the question - how we perceive G-d. And it is a very good question.

This is a question that can only be answered on a personal level.

We each percieve God in a different and very unique way.

Actually it has to do both with what God intends to communicate about Himself, and our perceptions of those things that He has communicated

Well, to percieve God, there has to be something there to percieve.

Is part of that "something" - God's Gender?

It goes without saying that God wants us to percieve Him, yet, the Gender part? I don't know....

Language has it's limitations. We as human beings have a problem explaining things with media beyond language.

One of the limitations of language is gender.

God has no problem with Gender. If anyone has, it would be us

And had God intended that we understand divinity as male the Almighty would have surely communicated it by plainly saying so!

Well, God doesn't always convey His message by plainly saying so...

In fact there were times God hardened people's hearts (for His reasons) so they wouldn't "get it".

............

Besides, human beings tend to make things complicated, and God provides that too

I think using the male case, and referring to God as Father are pretty good indications of what God intended

My feeling is that God intended for us to deal with the question, not neceserily find any answers

(Something I personaly have such a hard time with )

[Vickilynn]

Yes, that is the question - how we perceive G-d. And it is a very good question.

This is a question that can only be answered on a personal level.

We each percieve God in a different and very unique way.

Shalom Hupo,

Not necessarily so. We are given indications by Scriptures, as has been posted previously. We perceive His nature, His attributes, His will and Who He is by what we know of Him, by His Word. These things we know because they are truth. It is not so much perception as in recognizing truth.

To the question of gender, I believe it is reflective of G-d describing Himself as male and thus that is what is perceived.

Edited March 14, 2007 by Vickilynn

[hupo]

Yes, that is the question - how we perceive G-d. And it is a very good question.

This is a question that can only be answered on a personal level.

We each percieve God in a different and very unique way.

Shalom Hupo,

Not necessarily so. We are given indications by Scriptures, as has been posted previously. We perceive His nature, His attributes, His will and Who He is by what we know of Him, by His Word. These things we know because they are truth. It is not so much perception as in recognizing truth.

To the question of gender, I believe it is reflective of G-d describing Himself as male and thus that is what is perceived.

Hi Vickilynn

I guess this is one of the controversial issues going on.

On one hand we know God as the only True God. Yet His nature is seen differently by different people. Not that God is different. But we see different sides of His nature, depending on where we are, what we have learned so far, how close we are to the Spirit etc..... That part is all personal.

The scripture that indicates who God is, is naturally percieved with our minds, and whatever faculties we use for it. That too is personal and varies from individual to individual. It does not deny God's Oneness and Omni-presence.

Fact is, no two humans see/hear God in the same way.

Our recognition too, is based on how we percieve the truth, and without denying this Truth, we do percieve it in different ways....

What I'm trying to say is....

God is like the wind.

We don't see the wind.

We do see the effects of the wind's presence by the way the clouds move in the sky,

the way the trees bow their branchess, by the way we are "pushed" when going upwind and so on.........

This wind has an effect on a thin stick.

It has a different effect on a plank, and yet another effect on a sail of a ship.

It's the same wind........

It's all the same, One God

[Neopatriarch]

If 'male' refers to a person's physical sex (normally it does), then no, God is not male. But Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity is male because God the Son became incarnate in human flesh. He took on a human, male body. So perhaps we should clarify what exactly we mean when we say 'God'. God, in his essential diety is not male. But if by 'God' you mean the Trinity, well, the second person is definitely male. He is the God-man.

God is masculine though. God has revealed himself to us as Father and King. The bible uses the masculine pronoun 'he' to refer to God. If we are to take God's word and God's revelation of himself to us seriously, then we must conclude that God is masculine. Fatherhood is not a mask God puts on for our benefit. God's word is truth. So when God reveals himself to us as Father, we should believe that there is a genuine correspondence between God's revelation of himself as Father and God's identity.

It seems to me that the alternative is to say that people and cultures have projected masculinity onto God, and that we cannot truly know the God who is hiding behind this masculine mask they have placed on him.

[Guest lnj]

In the beginning Jesus was not a human male but was with the Father and was/is the Word and through Him ALL things were created.

Since He resided on earth and had to become a human male in order to live in this dimension - does that mean He (Jesus) is now and always will be recognisable as a human male?

He is in Spirit form but with human male attributes..

So in Heaven with our NEW bodies, are they still gender based?

Can someone explain or expand?

[artsylady]

"We all are in danger of knowing more than we should regarding this topic"

I didn't read through all of the posts, but did laugh when I saw this. And I think I might agree.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't God described somewhere as having a beard?

Where did I get that idea from?

[Vickilynn]

"We all are in danger of knowing more than we should regarding this topic"

I didn't read through all of the posts, but did laugh when I saw this. And I think I might agree.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't God described somewhere as having a beard?

Where did I get that idea from?

Shalom Artsylady,

I'm not sure about the beard, but G-d is also described as having WINGS.

Ruth 2:12

" May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."

Psalm 17:8

Keep me as the apple of the eye;Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

Psalm 36:7

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

Psalm 61:4

Let me dwell in Your tent forever;Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.

[Ovedya]

I don't know if my previous question was answered.

Was it intentional that God incarnated Himself as a man? Is it significant? Would it have been different if He were incarnated as a woman?

Okay, that's questions...