There has been some discussion of late as there are now woman bishops in the Church of England and this suggests that, you know,
God COULD be a she as well as a he.
“When we use only male language for God we reinforce the idea that God is like a man and, in doing so, suggest that men are therefore more like God than women,” Rev. Emma Percy, chaplain of Trinity College, Oxford, told the Sunday Times. “If we take seriously the idea that men and women are made in the image of God, both male and female language should be used.”
It caught the attention of
Phyllis Zagano in the National Catholic Reporter (a liberal RC newspaper):
What next? Now even the Church of England is talking about admitting that maybe, just maybe, inclusive language can be used to describe God. You know, the whole "She Who Is" business.
....Think it will catch on? I mean, what if all Christianity understood God as the limitless being beyond gender, in whose image all are created? That would mean women could image Christ. And you know what that could lead to.
Snort.
1 comment:
I've "been around the block" in The Church (writ large) for a long time now, and like to think I've seen it all.
For that reason, I was shocked at how SHOCKED I was, at the unvarnished misogyny that ERUPTS when you raise the *question* of female god-language (y'know, in ADDITION to male god-language. Not as a replacement). To call God "She/Her/feminine imagery"?! You'd think someone had proposed some internet commenters be burned-at-the-stake, the way they reacted!
[And Good God, have you noticed on UK comment boards, EVERY thread seems to refer to ISIS now? "You're selling out to ISIS!" "No, you're selling out to ISIS!" (I realize the UK is a lot closer, physically, to Syria & Iraq than the U.S.---and that the UK has a higher % of Muslims---but honestly, the Brits are becoming most unBritishly hysterical. It's unbecoming.) The threads on female god-language get covered in these ISIS accusations, too. "If you call God 'She', you're selling out to ISIS!" }-p]
The only Christians (?) who are shocked by female god-language, are those who don't really know the Bible (or Christian Tradition, via the saints). It's All Over the Place. It just SEEMS new, to those who've reified their theological understanding via Modern (roughly) liturgy of the past few hundred years (esp the BCPs, esp until 1928). That's just a fraction of the true Christian heritage. Why can't we have it all? "Male and female, in God's Image, God created them...In Christ there is no male or female"
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