Why does God have a gender?

[nobspeople]

The bible speaks of God as a 'he' or 'him'.
Is it possible that's not true? Is it possible God is an 'it' more than a 'he' or even a 'she'?

If God is not a 'he', would that change how you think of 'him'?
Would it change anything about 'his' story?

I've seen some believers see this concept as offensive. Are you one of those people that are offended if God is spoken about as a 'it' or 'she'?

[JehovahsWitness]

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities..

What are "masculine qualities"? Could you a few so we can see what you are referring to?

Seems to vary from culture to culture and time to time. I suspect it would be masculine qualities of the time Jesus spoke those words, as opposed to feminine qualities of the time.
Or, we could surmise it's masculine qualities that encompass all time.
Considering Jesus said it, probably best to ask him to what he was referring.

My question is could you name one or two of the "masculine qualities" to show what you meant. You posted (not culture) so you must have had something in mind. When you posted the words "masculine qualities" what (give us the name of one) did you have in mind?




JW

[nobspeople]

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities..

What are "masculine qualities"? Could you a few so we can see what you are referring to?

Seems to vary from culture to culture and time to time. I suspect it would be masculine qualities of the time Jesus spoke those words, as opposed to feminine qualities of the time.
Or, we could surmise it's masculine qualities that encompass all time.
Considering Jesus said it, probably best to ask him to what he was referring.

My question is could you name one'or two to show what you meant (you posted not culture) so you must have had something in mind.




JW

I know. And I could. But I didn't make the statement, Jesus did (according to the bible) so whatever I say may or may not be correct based on what Jesus said and or meant at the time.
I think, no matter what one defines as masculine, Jesus said what he said for a reason. I think if Jesus was divine each word was said for a reason, do you not?
Seems he used masculine for a reason.

[JehovahsWitness]

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities..

What are "masculine qualities"? Could you a few so we can see what you are referring to?

Seems to vary from culture to culture and time to time. I suspect it would be masculine qualities of the time Jesus spoke those words, as opposed to feminine qualities of the time.
Or, we could surmise it's masculine qualities that encompass all time.
Considering Jesus said it, probably best to ask him to what he was referring.

My question is could you name one'or two to show what you meant (you posted not culture) so you must have had something in mind.




JW

I know. And I could.

Prove that. Prove you can name one "masculine quality". Nobody forces you to refer to a masculine quality, why are you hesistating to give us an example of one?




JW

[nobspeople]

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities..

What are "masculine qualities"? Could you a few so we can see what you are referring to?

Seems to vary from culture to culture and time to time. I suspect it would be masculine qualities of the time Jesus spoke those words, as opposed to feminine qualities of the time.
Or, we could surmise it's masculine qualities that encompass all time.
Considering Jesus said it, probably best to ask him to what he was referring.

My question is could you name one'or two to show what you meant (you posted not culture) so you must have had something in mind.




JW

I know. And I could.

Prove that.

Do you not think Jesus used the word which is MASCULINE for a reason or not?

[JehovahsWitness]

Do you not think Jesus used the word which is MASCULINE for a reason or not?

No I think you did. You just posted the words "masculine qualities". We can all see you posted those two words, and we can all see you refuse to say what you meant by the words that YOU just posted.


Look what you just posted ...

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities, not feminine or neutral....

JW

[William]

Thanks to all that have contributed to this thread. Most, if not all points, I find interesting and valid to varying degrees.
This morning, I was watching a documentary and the main interviewees were STRONG Christians (annoyingly so but that's another matter). More than once, the prayed on camera, citing 'Our Father...', 'Thank you, Father...' and so on.
It made me wonder about that. Of course, most if not all the replies to this post could be attributed to this 'father' wording, but I remembered Matt 6. In part, it's says Jesus said: " “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven...". It says FATHER here and, if the bible is to be believed as true, Jesus calls God Father. That's male, not female, not gender neutral. But male.

Does anyone have the original wording to provide reference?
Is this simply a translation issue, and the original is not gender specific?
If so, why would God allow such a mis-translation?
Thoughts?

The original is a masculine term, 'Pater'. Using a male term is different than calling someone a male, though.

If the original is a masculine term, there must be a reason it was used, apparently by Jesus himself, than an other available term.

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities, not feminine or neutral (even though some earlier biblical writings point to a more feminine status as outlined earlier in this tread). Thus, according to Jesus, God is masculine or the biblical writing isn't totally correct.

Would the burning of witches have been any different if God had been projected as Feminine?

No matter the arguments, when one considers the imagery of Christian thinking, the masculine is portrayed, and witches burn...women are distrusted [because the woman was tempted] Women are second to men. That is the current nature of the world of human beings...and women seem to go along with it, perhaps because daddy said so....

The masculine is seen to hold the greater portion of power and influence, so God must be shown to be male...

Old time image of God.


Modern image of God.


The war of the sexes thus will involve any images of gods which humans have invented...

[nobspeople]

Do you not think Jesus used the word which is MASCULINE for a reason or not?

No I think you did. You just posted the words "masculine qualities". We can all see you posted those two words, and we can all see you refuse to say what you meant by the words that YOU just posted.


Look what you just posted ...

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities, not feminine or neutral....

JW

That's a very poor try on your part. That's politician or car salesman talk
Jesus used a masculine term to describe God. It must be for a reason.

[William]

The idea that God is a male comes from the male/female pairing sector of human society...and its prevalence.

If there was a lifeform on some planet which required 3 separate interactions to produce offspring, their ideas/images of "God" would reflect that nature...

[The Tanager]

If the original is a masculine term, there must be a reason it was used, apparently by Jesus himself, than an other available term.

So this would tend to show God is masculine, having masculine qualities, not feminine or neutral (even though some earlier biblical writings point to a more feminine status as outlined earlier in this tread). Thus, according to Jesus, God is masculine or the biblical writing isn't totally correct.

Masculine forms are not only used to describe masculine qualities. In Spanish, paper is masculine while a table is feminine. This does not mean that people who use those terms think of paper as masculine rather than feminine or neutral. Notice this is a point against your principle that using a masculine term shows that "God is masculine" thus requiring you to reach your conclusion in another way to be a rational conclusion. It is not a positive argument for my position.

If "Father" in the history of that culture originated, for instance, to distinguish one's worldview from the religions that identified the feminine pronoun with a deification of nature, then Jesus' use of "Father" could be carrying that meaning through, rather than saying God is masculine as opposed to feminine or neutral. It is wrong to simply read our cultural understandings of gender dynamics and pronoun usage onto the Jewish culture and individuals like Jesus within that culture.

[The Tanager]

No matter the arguments, when one considers the imagery of Christian thinking, the masculine is portrayed, and witches burn...women are distrusted [because the woman was tempted] Women are second to men. That is the current nature of the world of human beings...and women seem to go along with it, perhaps because daddy said so....

The masculine is seen to hold the greater portion of power and influence, so God must be shown to be male...

That is an oversimplification of Christian thinking. Yes, many Christians have played into the masculine over feminine imagery, which goes against the Biblical picture. Not all do. (Probably) every worldview has people who play into masculine over feminine or vice-versa.