Is God Male?

[Emily~Anne]

I said God is gender neutral because "gender" is a culturally defined term.

Who really cares if God has the male anatomy or not? Kinda silly since it does not matter AT ALL.

Again, it's not about anatomy. I think perhaps I could have worded it better: "Is God a man?"

No He's not and He says that he is not a man in the OT.

Further the Creator made humankind in in image according to Genesis 1:27, not just the male sex.

You should quote the actual verse, not just claim that the OT states that.

[Ovedya]

I said God is gender neutral because "gender" is a culturally defined term.

Who really cares if God has the male anatomy or not? Kinda silly since it does not matter AT ALL.

Again, it's not about anatomy. I think perhaps I could have worded it better: "Is God a man?"

No He's not and He says that he is not a man in the OT.

Further the Creator made humankind in in image according to Genesis 1:27, not just the male sex.

Where in the OT does it say that God is not a man? I hope you're not referring to "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent" because that verse (Num. 23:19) does not refer to God's gender or lack thereof.

I would ask this question again - in light of some of the previous posts - does God do anything without purpose or intent?

[firehill]

God is neither male nor female. He is God. He has no specific gender, but He likens Himself to a father, mostly. However, there is a reference to Him as a mother hen who longs to gather His Israel to Him with "her" wings.

God is.

Heresy.

You can be nice, truster. What is so heretical in my view of God as Spirit, which He is? Male is a human attribute.

And God does not posess human attributes?

Do you believe that God has a reason for everything that He does?

No we were made like Him, not the other way around therefore again, no He does not posses human attributes. Impossible. He is SPIRIT.

[firehill]

'Male and female created He them'.

We are not in bondage to gender.

Correction, he made adam (gender neutral word) male and female.

[firehill]

Jesus was a male, physically, and presumably genetically.

However that does not mean that Jesus in heaven is a "male" any more than it means God is a "male". clearly God is not a female, but does God have a Gender, I don't see how he could. He is MASCULINE FATHER GOD, LORD, KING, etc, but those are all earthly terms.

God has no counterpart so how could he have male parts? and what purpose would they serve? none whatsoever. So "male" by definition cannot apply to God, even though he is "Father", etc.

Jesus is the Son of God, but not by procreation, as would have to be obvious.

Regarding the "in the image and likeness of God.." Well, here is the direct quote from scripture.

Gen. 1:26And God said, Let us make man (mankind) in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

So we see that both the man and the woman are created in the "image and likness of God", and not just the man only.

----

Jesus was a man, but that is a consequenceof the incarnation, he could not be human and at the same time be gender neutral. He could not be "Father" and at the same time be female. So Jesus is a male, at least the MAN Jesus.

But still, it does not seem appropriate from scripture to say that God the Creator is a male. I guess I'm going in circles, but "Alpha and Omega" does not have need of a procreative organ.

Had I read this far I wouldn't have wrote a post pertaining to exactly this, adam at creation. Hey, I least try to always read the entire thread!

[Floatingaxe]

I said God is gender neutral because "gender" is a culturally defined term.

Who really cares if God has the male anatomy or not? Kinda silly since it does not matter AT ALL.

Again, it's not about anatomy. I think perhaps I could have worded it better: "Is God a man?"

No He's not and He says that he is not a man in the OT.

Further the Creator made humankind in in image according to Genesis 1:27, not just the male sex.

Where in the OT does it say that God is not a man? I hope you're not referring to "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent" because that verse (Num. 23:19) does not refer to God's gender or lack thereof.

I would ask this question again - in light of some of the previous posts - does God do anything without purpose or intent?

Don't Mormons believe that God is a man?

[Floatingaxe]

There are two separate accounts of the creation of man in Genesis. One is a general account, the one you gave. Then there is a more detailed account, where God created Adam in his image, and then created Eve from his rib. Of course God is male. In addition, there is no reason to believe that Jesus is anything but what he was down here, except that he is now glorified and at the right hand of the Father.

As far as why would God have male parts, I could ask the same thing of angels. We know that the sons of God came to earth and married women, and fathered children. Why would the angels have male parts, and be able to pro-create? I don't have all the answers, but do accept what the Bible teaches.

Wait, wait, how could God have "Parts" and be the first cause to begin with? Are you implying God has some sort of cosmic sperm?!?

This would reduce God to nothing more than a "big guy in the sky" like Zeus or something. Which he clearly is not.

Jesus is not God's secret love-child with Mary. I hope that isn't where this discussion is going.

Buetro is absolutely correct on this. Angels are male and capable of having sex and bringing forth offspring with women of this Earth. Jesus Did and Did have a flesh body with all the common male Parts. We have scriptural example of God being Physically a man. We also have scriptural precedent for spirit beings being male and having working sex organs that brought forth offspring.

What????????????? Angels have no gender either! Jesus said so.

This thread is getting more and more bizarre.

[firehill]

There are two separate accounts of the creation of man in Genesis. One is a general account, the one you gave. Then there is a more detailed account, where God created Adam in his image, and then created Eve from his rib. Of course God is male. In addition, there is no reason to believe that Jesus is anything but what he was down here, except that he is now glorified and at the right hand of the Father.

As far as why would God have male parts, I could ask the same thing of angels. We know that the sons of God came to earth and married women, and fathered children. Why would the angels have male parts, and be able to pro-create? I don't have all the answers, but do accept what the Bible teaches.

Wait, wait, how could God have "Parts" and be the first cause to begin with? Are you implying God has some sort of cosmic sperm?!?

This would reduce God to nothing more than a "big guy in the sky" like Zeus or something. Which he clearly is not.

Jesus is not God's secret love-child with Mary. I hope that isn't where this discussion is going.

I need to take a breather there...

[sierra21]

Gender in common usage refers to the distinctions between masculinity and femininity. Currently, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, and gender theorists like Judith Butler and Kate Bornstein say that gender is a social construction, that it is "performative," and that one is always in the process of becoming a gender rather than actually being a gender. Additionally, the social "rules" governing gender are always shifting with the culture, making one's "masculinity" or "femininity" a (tacit) agreement among members of a culture, rather than being derived from an innate set of predetermined characteristics. Although gender is often used interchangably with sex, today many do not think that sex and gender are the same thing. - Wikipedia

My point, because it was misconstrued earlier, is that gender is not something that is held constant over generations. Women today are very different, in terms of culturally defined roles and expectations, compared to women who were alive 200 years ago. In saying that, I think it's difficult to say whether or not God would fit into what is know as male or female gender.

I personally think God is a spirit and does not take on any particular gender or sex.

[firehill]

Let's not get gross with the references, okay, folks. Remember that we're a "Rated G" board."

"PG" at least.