In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…Amen; At least for now.
The Church of England is studying and possibly considering changing the language of scripture to be gender-neutral.
After all, who are we to misunderstand God? Oh, how crazy our world has become where we have to worry about the gender of Almighty God.
I did not grow up in a strict religious family. Still, I can tell you that in my lifetime and personal study of the scriptures, these ideologues have missed the point and could probably use a little more Sunday school and a little less false outrage. So let’s dive into the arguments for adjusting the Bible’s gendered language.
Welby’s Church of England will begin using “gender neutral” pronouns in reference to God.
When referring to God in some prayers, the male pronouns ‘he’ and ‘him’ will be omitted and the phrase “our Father” will be omitted from the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer. pic.twitter.com/TGIYlQxBZc
— Chris Wick News (@ChrisWickNews) February 7, 2023
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Contents
The Bible is sexist
The argument that God should not be referred to in masculine language is not new. One only has to remember the 1999 movie ‘Dogma’ starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as fallen angels that depicted God as a woman played by Alanis Morissette.
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An argument by many on the left side of this argument claims that referring to God as exclusively male drives much discrimination and sexism against women. Add to that the recent rise of gender ideology that you can identify as any number of genders over 50; Scripture becomes more complicated for the left.
In response to this social trend, Reverend Joanna Stobert from the Diocese of Bath and Wells told the Church of England “Develop more inclusive language in our approved liturgy.”
Asking the Reverend Church “Provide more options for those who want to use the Authorized Liturgy and speak of God in a non-gendered way, especially, in the Authorized Absolutism where many of the prayers offered for use refer to God using male pronouns.”
However, not everyone sees this issue the same way, thank God.
“It might be easier and less controversial to admit that God doesn’t actually exist than to assign a gender-neutral pronoun. The whole pronoun business is an absolute minefield and no matter what we decide, someone is going to be offended. It’s better to say, ‘There’s no God,’ and Go ahead.” pic.twitter.com/GUfRbaWlHf
— Philip Ardagh (@Philip Ardagh) February 8, 2023
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More than a man
Concepts of metaphor and symbolism are lost on the left. Member of the Council of Archbishops of the Church of England Rev. Ian Paul presents a master class on what God is
“The use of male pronouns for God should not imply that God is male,” Rev. Paul claims.
Indeed, even a proponent of gender-neutral language can agree that God is neither male nor female. Anglican priest Dr. Dorothy Lee explains “The Bible is quite clear… that both men and women are made in the image of God and that God transcends gender.”
So does this mean God is non-binary? No, because it’s a construct based on personality versus biology.
But does this argument mean that he should not be referred to as God himself? Not according to Anglican Bishop Dr Michael Stead.
“To use the current idiom,” explains Dr. Stead, “God tells us his preferred pronouns. He is Father, so he and he are appropriate pronouns, and that is how we should relate to him.”
It seems fair; We should respect the pronouns God chooses just as the left would claim we respect the pronouns created by the trans community.
Well, I’m not religious either, but as I understand it, God has no biological gender because God is immaterial and therefore not made of matter. So the Christian God – already gender neutral.
— Otto English (@Otto_English) February 8, 2023
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Do you answer? hello mom
Changing the Bible’s gendered language will do more than change ‘she’ and ‘him’. This would mean changing numerous references to God as ‘Father’.
“God being called ‘father’ cannot be replaced by ‘mother’ without changing the meaning and it cannot be gender-neutralized as ‘parent’ without losing the meaning,” says Reverend Paul. “Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable but relate to their children in different ways.”
As a parent, I can tell you that this is true. The way I relate to my children is different from how my husband is, and the way our children see us is also different.
This does not mean that we live in an archaic ‘traditional’ family structure; Quite the opposite. My husband is the primary caregiver for our children, and I am the primary breadwinner for my family.
What I provide to my children as a mother is still very different from what my husband provides as a father. When we refer to God as ‘Father’, it is in terms of God’s active interest in human affairs and development, just as an earthly father is interested in the affairs and development of his children.
The Bible has also puzzled over the great sacrifices mothers have been required to make since the dawn of time.
The Church of England is considering an alternative to referring to God as “he” after clergy asked to use the gender-neutral term.
Tim Depay of Christian Concern: “The church has become so captive to the awakening ideals that they don’t realize where they’ve gotten themselves.”@JuliaHB1 | @CCconcern pic.twitter.com/iXjFBBOUAH
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) February 8, 2023
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Moms never get enough credit
Dr. Lee, like many other liberal Christians, argues that referring to God as our ‘father’ and ‘he/she’ makes women “invisible” and “puts women down and doesn’t take their humanity seriously.”
Gendered language in the Bible is not why women continue to deal with a male-dominated world that puts us down and pushes us away. Trust me, I’ve been sexually assaulted every day of the 20 years I’ve served in the United States military – and almost once I’ve been a senior leader.
This is because people are fallible, just as the good Lord intended. Unfortunately, this includes women, who have often been our own worst enemies in the fight for equality.
I also think that this argument does not give enough credit to women in the Bible. There are plenty of strong women and mothers who exemplify resilience, leadership and power.
Take Deborah, the female judge who brought peace to Israel for 40 years through her leadership and clarity of thought. Or Esther, who saved the Jews from destruction, thus ensuring their survival.
And we can’t forget all the mothers in the Bible who were instrumental in our story:
- Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist
- Hannah, mother of Samuel
- Jochebed Ma to Moses
- Leah, mother of Judah
- Rachel, mother of Joseph
- Sarah, mother of Isaac
These women had to show compassion, trust, faith, sacrifice, dedication and steadfast love. These aren’t traits that men can’t or shouldn’t have—but they’re inherent in motherhood, and we mustn’t minimize them.
The Church of England is considering using a gender neutral term for God. So what they are saying is that they do not respect the pronouns God uses for Himself in the Bible.
— Wendell (@wendelltalks) February 8, 2023
the point
While focusing on the gender of God is a colossal waste of theological study, trying to remove gendered language from God and the Bible is, in general, ill-advised.
Dr. Stead explains “The essence of being a Christian is having a personal relationship with God.”
If we remove gendered language from God, argues Dr. Stead “God is ultimately a kind of cosmic plot-maker who created the universe and wound it up and let it run out—the loving heavenly Father we come to in our time of need.”
It will be interesting to see what the Church of England decides about making God gender neutral. Millions will be offended if they go ahead but it doesn’t matter if they do it, only the feelings of a few matter.
— LucyLocket💙 (@lucylocket1700) February 8, 2023
But that is precisely the point. Leftist ideologues would love to separate us from our connection to God.
In the end what? I believe that if you take away our faith in something greater than ourselves, be it God or love for our country and family, all that is left to follow are false idols like gender ideology, caste ideology and various other toxic ideas. .
Don’t fall for distractions and train your mind to think deeper than the baseline of biblical words. Perhaps the most important figure in the Bible next to God is Eve.
Many focus on Eve’s disobedience and weakness when she bites into the forbidden fruit, but there’s more to this woman than just her bad taste in afternoon snack.
Eve was made from Adam’s rib, not because she was inferior to Adam, but because she was his equal and not in his shadow, but to stand beside him. God may be our Father, but He respected the role of women and mothers and we should not forget so easily.
Now is the time to support and share your sources of faith.
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