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The gender of god, or the determination of which gendered pronoun we should use, is one of the major illogical assumptions about God that people frequently make. Comparative religions obviously differ, some consider God to be a male father figure, many consider the monotheistic one to be a female mother figure, as is the human nature to apply gender based on the characteristics of human experience.
In truth, God has no gender, whereas the self existent "I AM" cannot be gendered. It is not offensive to an all-knowing God to admit that we don't know what gender to apply. Therefore, it is contrite, least assuming and reflects its nature best if we avoid insisting on gendered pronouns to refer to the monotheistic God.
However, in the Judeo-Christian theology, God has always been ascribed to as a male. God being the creator, and the force, renders the creation based on male reference. The female reference is the wisdom of God, or the Sophia Christology. Central to Hellenistic philosophy, and adopted term in the Septuagint “sapiential” books such as Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes all refer to the Wisdom of God as “she”. Hildegard of Bingen wrote on this in detail regarding the Wisdom literature for the Catholic Church. However, no matter how deep you study you find it is merely a transitional system of beliefs passed along by another system, precluded by another.
Since Christian Scripture always refers to God using male pronouns. Does this mean that God is physically male? Surprisingly, the Bible does address this question indirectly, through a number of different statements about the nature of God and what He is like. Jesus said that God is "spirit." Although not defined extensively in the scriptures, a spirit is an entity that has no physical body. After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples that He had returned in bodily form, saying, "a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." If God is a spirit as the Bible says, and a spirit has no flesh or bones, then God cannot be male in physical form, since He is not a physical, but a spiritual, being. Jesus also indicated that the angels (who are spirits) do not marry or have gender either. Given these facts, it would inconsistent that God would be labeled with any kind of gender characteristics.
As John 4:24 states, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Since God is a spiritual being, He does not possess physical human characteristics. However, sometimes figurative language used in Scripture assigns human characteristics to God in order to make it possible for man to understand God. This assignment of human characteristics to describe God is called “anthropomorphism.” Anthropomorphism is simply a means for God (a spiritual being) to communicate truth about His nature to humanity, physical beings. Since humanity is physical, we are limited in our understanding of those things beyond the physical realm; therefore, anthropomorphism in Scripture helps us to understand who God is.
Some of the misinterpretation about God’s person in comparison with our physical nature is found when examining the fact that humanity is created in God’s image. Genesis 1:26-27 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Both man and woman are created in the image of God, in that they are greater than all the other creations as they, like God, have a mind, will, intellect, emotions, and moral capacity. The image of God is the spiritual component that humanity alone possesses. We are not like God in physical form, but made like Him in spiritual. Therefore, being made in the image of God has nothing to do with physical characteristics.
Scripture contains approximately 170 references to God as the “Father.” By necessity, one cannot be a father unless one is male. If God had chosen to be revealed to man in a female form, then the word “mother” would have occurred in these places, not “father.” Jesus Christ referred to God as the Father several times and in other cases used masculine pronouns in reference to God. In the Gospels alone, Christ uses the term “Father” in direct reference to God nearly 160 times. The New Testament Epistles (from Acts to Revelation) also contain nearly 900 verses where the word theos—a masculine noun in the Greek—is used in direct reference to God. All this again, based on the Judeo-Christian framework.
While God is not a man, He chose a masculine form in order to reveal Himself to humanity. God chose to be revealed in this form in order for humankind to more easily grasp who He is, as one in authority. While God anthropomorphically relays to us in a way we can understand, it is important to not "label" the "one" with human titles that are not appropriate to His nature.
In truth, God has no gender, whereas the self existent "I AM" cannot be gendered. It is not offensive to an all-knowing God to admit that we don't know what gender to apply. Therefore, it is contrite, least assuming and reflects its nature best if we avoid insisting on gendered pronouns to refer to the monotheistic God.
However, in the Judeo-Christian theology, God has always been ascribed to as a male. God being the creator, and the force, renders the creation based on male reference. The female reference is the wisdom of God, or the Sophia Christology. Central to Hellenistic philosophy, and adopted term in the Septuagint “sapiential” books such as Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes all refer to the Wisdom of God as “she”. Hildegard of Bingen wrote on this in detail regarding the Wisdom literature for the Catholic Church. However, no matter how deep you study you find it is merely a transitional system of beliefs passed along by another system, precluded by another.
Since Christian Scripture always refers to God using male pronouns. Does this mean that God is physically male? Surprisingly, the Bible does address this question indirectly, through a number of different statements about the nature of God and what He is like. Jesus said that God is "spirit." Although not defined extensively in the scriptures, a spirit is an entity that has no physical body. After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples that He had returned in bodily form, saying, "a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." If God is a spirit as the Bible says, and a spirit has no flesh or bones, then God cannot be male in physical form, since He is not a physical, but a spiritual, being. Jesus also indicated that the angels (who are spirits) do not marry or have gender either. Given these facts, it would inconsistent that God would be labeled with any kind of gender characteristics.
As John 4:24 states, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Since God is a spiritual being, He does not possess physical human characteristics. However, sometimes figurative language used in Scripture assigns human characteristics to God in order to make it possible for man to understand God. This assignment of human characteristics to describe God is called “anthropomorphism.” Anthropomorphism is simply a means for God (a spiritual being) to communicate truth about His nature to humanity, physical beings. Since humanity is physical, we are limited in our understanding of those things beyond the physical realm; therefore, anthropomorphism in Scripture helps us to understand who God is.
Some of the misinterpretation about God’s person in comparison with our physical nature is found when examining the fact that humanity is created in God’s image. Genesis 1:26-27 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Both man and woman are created in the image of God, in that they are greater than all the other creations as they, like God, have a mind, will, intellect, emotions, and moral capacity. The image of God is the spiritual component that humanity alone possesses. We are not like God in physical form, but made like Him in spiritual. Therefore, being made in the image of God has nothing to do with physical characteristics.
Scripture contains approximately 170 references to God as the “Father.” By necessity, one cannot be a father unless one is male. If God had chosen to be revealed to man in a female form, then the word “mother” would have occurred in these places, not “father.” Jesus Christ referred to God as the Father several times and in other cases used masculine pronouns in reference to God. In the Gospels alone, Christ uses the term “Father” in direct reference to God nearly 160 times. The New Testament Epistles (from Acts to Revelation) also contain nearly 900 verses where the word theos—a masculine noun in the Greek—is used in direct reference to God. All this again, based on the Judeo-Christian framework.
While God is not a man, He chose a masculine form in order to reveal Himself to humanity. God chose to be revealed in this form in order for humankind to more easily grasp who He is, as one in authority. While God anthropomorphically relays to us in a way we can understand, it is important to not "label" the "one" with human titles that are not appropriate to His nature.
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