Is God male or female, or something more?
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Reflections
Michael J. Brooks
A colleague asked me to send a press release announcing a “Ducks Unlimited” meeting. I used my “local distribution” list ensuring adjacent communities would get the word.
I began, “Ducks Unlimited will have their meeting” at such and such. An editor sent a one-word reply: “its.”
Certainly, he was correct. The organization is singular, though I could’ve written, “Members of Ducks Unlimited will have their meeting” at such and such.
Using a plural pronoun for a singular subject used to be foul; now it’s fair. In order not to write the awkward “his or her,” modern writers pen, “The student went to their locker.”
This construction is also believed to be less sexist since women do exist in the world. President Kennedy and Dr. King and everyone else in the day commonly spoke of “men” and “mankind.” Now it’s “men and women” or “humankind.”
Pronouns are debated in church life, too.
I heard a college chapel speaker use a unique pronoun when she said, “God revealed Godself to me in scripture.” An ardent feminist, she didn’t want to refer to God as “him” – thus, “Godself.” I’d not heard this before.
Scripture most often refers to God in masculine terms, but there are a few texts describing God in feminine imagery. For example, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you” (Isaiah 66:3). And the woman who lost one of her ten coins and rejoiced when she found it is obviously an allusion to the God who is like a homemaker reclaiming something valuable (Luke 15).
Jesus most often referred to God as “father,” and taught us to pray to “our father in heaven.” So, I think we commonly use masculine images in our churches.
I’ve heard “heavenly parent,” but this sounds a bit awkward since we don’t often use “parent” to describe singular father or mother.
Jewish apologist Dennis Prager in his recent “If There is no God” proposed an interesting argument for male imagery. He noted that most violence in the world is done by young men, many of whom have no connection with fathers.
Prager quoted Sen. Barack Obama who observed in 2008 that children without fathers are five times more likely to live in poverty and crime, nine times more likely to drop out of school and 20 times more likely to go to prison.
Thus, Prager argues, young and rudderless young men especially need to recognize God as an authority figure so much greater than any earthly father, but a father who makes demands for obedience and character development.
We realize in our heart of hearts God is neither male nor female, but greater than any human categories.
But Prager’s argument is thought-provoking.
Michael J. Brooks, pastor of Siluria Baptist Church in Alabaster and former Judson College faculty member, writes a weekly faith column. Visit siluriabaptist.com.
