Is God Male?
The original languages of the Bible (Hebrew and Greek) consistently speak of God as the
‘Father’.
Also use masculine pronoun of ‘he’, Jesus is male, and also the Holy Spirit was called ‘he’.
God as Father - Use Our Father as evidence
In the New Testament, God’s fatherhood conveys 2 distinct ideas:
1. God as Creator of the world (John 1:3 implies Jesus was creator as well)
2. The relationship between God and Jesus. Jesus called God ‘Father’ and taught his
disciples to do the same. The term creates an approachable and personal deity.
Furthermore, God is portrayed in female terms (criticism - these are similes, not literal
language).
In Isaiah 66:13 ‘As a mother comforts her child, I will comfort you’.
In Luke 13:34 ‘How often I have longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings’
God is also presented as not having a gender:
John 4:24 ‘God is spirit’.
He can also identify with both, as he created all:
Genesis 1:27 ‘Male and female he created them’
Sally McFague: God as Mother
American theologian, from ecofeminist perspective.
Book: ‘Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language’ (1982)
Between fundamentalism (literal interpretation) and deconstructionism (viewing the entire Bible
as a metaphor).
Maintains that all language about God is metaphorical, names and titles such as ‘king’ are only
ways to help think about God. They say little about God’s true nature.
Metaphors used often end up as ‘idols’, we end up worshiping the metaphor instead of God.
Many metaphors become outdated.
The original languages of the Bible (Hebrew and Greek) consistently speak of God as the
‘Father’.
Also use masculine pronoun of ‘he’, Jesus is male, and also the Holy Spirit was called ‘he’.
God as Father - Use Our Father as evidence
In the New Testament, God’s fatherhood conveys 2 distinct ideas:
1. God as Creator of the world (John 1:3 implies Jesus was creator as well)
2. The relationship between God and Jesus. Jesus called God ‘Father’ and taught his
disciples to do the same. The term creates an approachable and personal deity.
Furthermore, God is portrayed in female terms (criticism - these are similes, not literal
language).
In Isaiah 66:13 ‘As a mother comforts her child, I will comfort you’.
In Luke 13:34 ‘How often I have longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings’
God is also presented as not having a gender:
John 4:24 ‘God is spirit’.
He can also identify with both, as he created all:
Genesis 1:27 ‘Male and female he created them’
Sally McFague: God as Mother
American theologian, from ecofeminist perspective.
Book: ‘Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language’ (1982)
Between fundamentalism (literal interpretation) and deconstructionism (viewing the entire Bible
as a metaphor).
Maintains that all language about God is metaphorical, names and titles such as ‘king’ are only
ways to help think about God. They say little about God’s true nature.
Metaphors used often end up as ‘idols’, we end up worshiping the metaphor instead of God.
Many metaphors become outdated.
