God's gender

[Guest Jude 1:3]

1. masculine

2. is trivial

3. patriarchalist

Expanding on the last statement, I believe feminism is evil and must be destroyed by whatever means necessary and proper.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Ok, as I see it, God is Spirit, neither male nor female. The Bible refers to God as "Father" because that is the relationship that best describes God's relationship with us. Though I personally choose to view God's reference as "he" to be more cultural than anything else - just as a mariner will refer to their ship as a "she" though a boat obviously has no gender (I'm not saying that God is an inanimate object either - I hope you know what I mean ).

So - God is neither male nor female, but because God is everything, he is also both male and female (if that makes sense). I also think the matter to be trivial - for the purpose of salvation does it really matter what gender our Lord is? And finally, I'm not sure what a "complimentarist" is, but none of the other isms fit, so I chose "other"

~ PA

edit: because it let me vote now, yay

Edited April 2, 2007 by ParanoidAndroid

[Neopatriarch]

Though I personally choose to view God's reference as "he" to be more cultural than anything else - just as a mariner will refer to their ship as a "she" though a boat obviously has no gender (I'm not saying that God is an inanimate object either - I hope you know what I mean ).

Sigmund Freud, Ludwig Feuerbach, and many nonChristians believe that belief in God is a matter of wish projection. That is, God is created by people because of their need or desire for a loving father figure. Now Christians believe that God exists and is not a mere creation of our minds. But what I see going on with the claim that we and the Bible call God "he" because of culture is very similar to wish projection: Culture says God is "Father" because that is what culture wants to believe. God is not really Father, he has not revealed himself to us as Father in the bible, rather culture says that God is Father. So the question is: Did God reveal himself as "Father" and as a masculine being to us in the bible? Or, did a patriarchal culture project their own culture-bound patriarchal image of what God is like onto God. God's word is truth. So, when the bible calls God "he", "King", "Father", and such like, I have to believe there is a real correspondence between these terms and who God is. I have to accept the Bible as God's revelation of himself to mankind. Either that, or the Bible is just the words of men.

When the masculine pronoun "he" refers back to a person in the Bible doesn't it always indicate the gender of that person? God is a person. The bible calls God "he". God must be masculine.

-Neopatriarch

[apothanein kerdos]

Though I personally choose to view God's reference as "he" to be more cultural than anything else - just as a mariner will refer to their ship as a "she" though a boat obviously has no gender (I'm not saying that God is an inanimate object either - I hope you know what I mean ).

Sigmund Freud, Ludwig Feuerbach, and many nonChristians believe that belief in God is a matter of wish projection. That is, God is created by people because of their need or desire for a loving father figure. Now Christians believe that God exists and is not a mere creation of our minds. But what I see going on with the claim that we and the Bible call God "he" because of culture is very similar to wish projection: Culture says God is "Father" because that is what culture wants to believe. God is not really Father, he has not revealed himself to us as Father in the bible, rather culture says that God is Father. So the question is: Did God reveal himself as "Father" and as a masculine being to us in the bible? Or, did a patriarchal culture project their own culture-bound patriarchal image of what God is like onto God. God's word is truth. So, when the bible calls God "he", "King", "Father", and such like, I have to believe there is a real correspondence between these terms and who God is. I have to accept the Bible as God's revelation of himself to mankind. Either that, or the Bible is just the words of men.

When the masculine pronoun "he" refers back to a person in the Bible doesn't it always indicate the gender of that person? God is a person. The bible calls God "he". God must be masculine.

-Neopatriarch

Excellent post!

[OopsMartin]

When the masculine pronoun "he" refers back to a person in the Bible doesn't it always indicate the gender of that person? God is a person. The bible calls God "he". God must be masculine.

-Neopatriarch

No it does not. When the gender of a person is known then the appropriate pronoun is used. When the gender of a person is unknown, the the pronoun "he" is used. Basic English grammar.

We do not decisively know that God even has gender. We assume that He does. But our assumptions are not proof.

[Neopatriarch]

When the masculine pronoun "he" refers back to a person in the Bible doesn't it always indicate the gender of that person? God is a person. The bible calls God "he". God must be masculine.

-Neopatriarch

No it does not. When the gender of a person is known then the appropriate pronoun is used. When the gender of a person is unknown, the the pronoun "he" is used. Basic English grammar.

Sorry, I was talking about the Greek.

[rtwo]

We can be certain God's not a woman, based upon Scripture.

Beyond that, He's well enough outside our physiologies that He's essentially undefinable. But man, we're devoting a lot of space to defining it...

[OopsMartin]

When the masculine pronoun "he" refers back to a person in the Bible doesn't it always indicate the gender of that person? God is a person. The bible calls God "he". God must be masculine.

-Neopatriarch

No it does not. When the gender of a person is known then the appropriate pronoun is used. When the gender of a person is unknown, then the pronoun "he" is used. Basic English grammar.

Sorry, I was talking about the Greek.

same thing with the Greek, and Hebrew, Aramaic and most other languages.

[Vickilynn]

Shalom,

WOW, I've been absent for weeks and this thread is still around?

I voted:

G-d is male as established in the Scriptures.

This topic has been beaten to death

And I am "something else." I hate labels and find that they do not fit most of the time.

And good morning to you all as well!

[Neopatriarch]

When the masculine pronoun "he" refers back to a person in the Bible doesn't it always indicate the gender of that person? God is a person. The bible calls God "he". God must be masculine.

-Neopatriarch

No it does not. When the gender of a person is known then the appropriate pronoun is used. When the gender of a person is unknown, then the pronoun "he" is used. Basic English grammar.

Sorry, I was talking about the Greek.

same thing with the Greek, and Hebrew, Aramaic and most other languages.

Please give me an example from Biblical Greek where the writer uses the pronoun "he" and it does not indicate the gender of the person?