In the congregation where I serve and on our live stream, some have noticed that we use a wide variety of language for God. For those who are not used to the fullness of the imagery of God, this practice can raise some questions.
The Gender of God
Most of us grew up with language of God that was decidedly masculine. We are accustomed to Scripture, liturgy, and songs that refer to God with male pronouns (sometimes capitalized, so that we know they are about God).
Unfortunately, such language has created a popular image of God actually being male or masculine. The “Old man in the clouds” and other similar images. We might say “of course we know God isn’t male, it’s just an image.” As a pastor, I encounter many, many people both inside and outside of the church who are 100% sure that God is male. We might not intend for that to be the message, but when ALL of our language of God is masculine that is what we proclaim.
We know from Scripture and tradition that God is most certainly not male.
“In the divine image God created humanity, male and female God created them” says the book of Genesis. “God is Spirit” reminds Jesus in the Gospel of John.
God is Spirit, both beyond human gender and also containing all gender.
To say that God is male has always been considered a heresy in the Christian tradition. God is the Creator, not a creature.
The Male Default
Why then has much of the work of Biblical translation over the centuries chosen to depict God as masculine – using male pronouns and language?
(1) In a patriarchal world, “male” is the default. And so, many of us grew up in school with grammar and math lessons that assumed that the examples were male. “He” was the default pronoun used for individuals of unknown gender.
The history of this is long. Plato, who spoke in terms of “ideals” and “forms” assumed that the “ideal” human was male – and femaleness was just a deviation from the norm.
Making male the default invariably leads to the conclusion that female is “less than.” Always.
(2) Everyone is like me. That’s an assumption that we all make. Writers in Texas write from assumption that people know the ideas, phrases, and references we make – because everyone must know the things I know! Male writers write from the male experience, using the examples, imagery, and references they know. Same with writers of Western European descent, and on and on.
And most of the people who translated Scripture were … wait for the shocking surprise … men.
If given a choice in translating into English between using a different pronoun and choosing male pronouns, they invariably chose male pronouns. Because male is the default. Given a choice between using a maternal image of God and a manly, warlike image, they invariably chose the masculine image. Because it was what they were familiar with.
Making male the default – making male normative – is a value statement.
If God created all of humanity in the image of the divine, then the image of God is found precisely in the diversity of gender.
To limit the image, language, and imagination of God to only one gender is an insult to the fullness of the image of God. It is blasphemy.
Toward the Fullness of God
Because of the assumption that male is the default, almost all of our translations of the Bible reflect this bias.
Because almost all of our translations of the Bible carry this bias, it is also reflected in the words we use in worship, prayer, and song when we gather as the church for worship.
If we are going to recover the richness of a God beyond and containing all gender, we must start with worship.
What this looks like will vary from congregation to congregation, but here are some suggestions:
(1) Limit the use of pronouns for the Divine. Learning to refer to God as “God” and not “He” is a great first step. For those of us who grew up immersed in male ways of speaking of God, it can also be non-threatening. Of course God is God! There is no disagreement there.
In this way, Psalm 23 might go from this
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
(Revised Standard Version)
To something like this:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
God gives me rest in green pastures.
The Good Shepherd leads me beside still waters;
and restores my soul.
The Lord leads me in paths of righteousness
for the sake of the Holy Name.
Note: This is a translation choice. This is not changing Scripture. It conveys the very same meaning, and maintains the artistry of the RSV translation.
But by removing pronouns that refer to God, male is no longer the default. One could imagine a male shepherd like David leading the sheep. But one could just as easily imagine a female shepherd like Rachel leading the sheep.
(2) Try on different pronouns for God. As we said above, God is not male. God is not female. Any pronoun for God is a partial image of God. So why not try out different ones?
Here is my general rule: consistency within any given passage or reading. Changing up pronouns within one reading or passage is distracting to me (although, to be clear, it is also a valid practice).
So I will use a passage and refer to God within that passage as she. God, the Mother hen who gathers in her chicks, she loves us all. God, the Creator who gives birth to all life for the sake of her love. She is an evocative way to invite people into the maternal love of God.
Or, go with the plural pronouns. Remember Genesis 1: Let US create humankind in OUR image. God exists eternally as the three-in-one, a holy community. For God so loved the world that they sent their only son. The plural pronoun invites us into the diversity of God’s Triune existence.
Nothing is Perfect
All the language we use for God will always be imperfect.
Language is finite and limited and is being used to describe the infinite and eternal God. Using language to describe God is like using music to describe the color blue – it can be done, but it is always going to be an imperfect description.
Whether we use male, female, or neuter pronouns to describe God, they are all imperfect. All of them.
It’s not that male pronouns and imagery for God are wrong. But when use ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY male images and pronouns for God we cause harm to the ways we think about God and our neighbors
We are saturated with male imagery of God, and that saturation has led to theologies that diminish both God and humanity.
The invitation to use other pronouns and images for God is an invitation to recover a richer, fuller imagination for God. It is an invitation to get past the cultural box in which we have tried to place God, and experience more of God.
Come! Let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before Mother God, our Birth-giver!
She is our God!
We are the people of her pasture,
and the sheep of her loving hand.
Psalm 95
