Could God be Non-Binary?

[Father Heathen]

God isn't an organic lifeform that reproduces sexually but an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, etc. being, so the idea that god would have a sex, gender, or any anthropomorphic attributes is silly.

 

[Watchmen]

What gender is the spaghetti monster in the sky?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Apparently this was a discussion topic today in the high school that I work in. Aha, I thought, there's a notion for the denizens of RF to mull over...

Not in Christianity, as God has chosen to reveal Himself in the masculine and has taken flesh as a male, so He has made His preferences clear there. However, this does not mean God is male as sex is physical; the Father and the Holy Spirit have no physical bodies.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Apparently this was a discussion topic today in the high school that I work in. Aha, I thought, there's a notion for the denizens of RF to mull over...

God is spirit. So of course he doesn't have a gender.
John 4:24.

 

[Heyo]

I like the German word das. It's there, it's easy, it fits.

You have that, the translation is "it". "It" doesn't solve the problem, "it" is the neutral gender. We need a word for an unknown gender.
Interestingly, English has an unknown gender, or more precisely, it has no specific gender in the basic pronoun "the". The man, the woman, the child, where German has "der, die, das". (Yes, children are neutral, even better, girls are also neutral, they get their gender changed when they become women.)

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Apparently this was a discussion topic today in the high school that I work in. Aha, I thought, there's a notion for the denizens of RF to mull over...

Out of curiosity, where would you look for any evidence to support either a yes or no answer?

Or is the expectation that we just stuff up, and construct an intellectual edifice on top of quick-sand, and hope it makes some sort of sense?

 

[Debater Slayer]

You have that, the translation is "it". "It" doesn't solve the problem, "it" is the neutral gender. We need a word for an unknown gender.
Interestingly, English has an unknown gender, or more precisely, it has no specific gender in the basic pronoun "the". The man, the woman, the child, where German has "der, die, das". (Yes, children are neutral, even better, girls are also neutral, they get their gender changed when they become women.)

In Arabic, "the" is genderless, but every single word referring to a person or thing (including abstract objects like colors) is gendered. Verbs are also gendered. Adjectives are gendered, too: adjectives of color, for example, are inflected according to gender, so the word for "red" or "blue" changes its spelling according to what it describes. Cars, corporations, and schools are feminine. A bank, a train, and a book are masculine.

Then things get even more complicated in the plural: some words change genders in the plural. A book is masculine, but books are feminine. The same goes for a bank versus a group of banks. A metal is masculine, but metals collectively are feminine. A forum is also masculine, but forums are feminine.

Even when talking about an unnamed/unknown person or thing, both the passive and active voices require a gender. The word for "person" has to be either male or female, and it is inflected accordingly. The only way around this is to use "he or she" throughout your speech or writing, and that still doesn't cover other genders.

This is why I said this debate is moot for Arabic: the language would need to be fundamentally restructured both grammatically and syntactically in order to allow for genderless pronouns with correspondingly genderless inflection.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I believe God has no sex at all...

That explains the whole wrath thing...

 

[SalixIncendium]

Apparently this was a discussion topic today in the high school that I work in. Aha, I thought, there's a notion for the denizens of RF to mull over...

There are gods that have may qualities. I see no reason a non-binary deity couldn't be among them.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

There are gods that have may qualities.

Easy to say, isn't it? But can you back up any part of that statement? For example:

Can you give an example of a God,
Can you give an example of a "quality" that this God has,
And finally, can you provide anything that would lead somebody who knows nothing about this God to accept it, and it's "quality" as presented?

 

[lewisnotmiller]

In your practice do you strive to use non-gendered language when talking about God or the divine in general then?

It's pretty rare to come across that in monotheism. Which almost always either uses male pronouns and male gendered language, or gendered language that changes with the behavior or role (e.g. creation is feminine, leadership is masculine.)

Whilst true, I don't see that as definitive. I coach basketball and was last night teaching ' man to man press' concepts to a bunch of 11 and 12 year old girls.

Obviously 'man to man' doesn't match up with my understanding of who can play the defence, or the relationship it has to gender. It's a label, and a poor one at that.

So...counter-intuitive as it sounds...using Him for God when talking to people with belief in a God who is beyond gender...or even sex...doesn't indicate anything more than the limitations of our language, our historical gender assumptions, etc.

Should we change that? I'd fall on the side of yes, but that it will take time and happen organically.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Easy to say, isn't it? But can you back up any part of that statement?

Yes and yes.

Can you give an example of a God,

Yes.

Can you give an example of a "quality" that this God has,

Yes.

And finally, can you provide anything that would lead somebody who knows nothing about this God to accept it, and it's "quality" as presented?

I can give them "anything" they're prepared to accept. Of course, their acceptance of that god and its qualities is their own burden, not mine.

 

[rational experiences]

Baby humans in science as law is medical.

Human DNA microbe type created you.

A human baby is now in science the creator type.

Baby innocent. Adult life might act as a monster by choices.

Thesis humans said. A baby inherited all types of sin. Science statement.

Changed human DNA.

Expressed changed DNA changed our over conscious self concept. Parents memory to adapted genealogy.

Not acting now as mutual paired is two.

One is the species type. Human.
Two is the natural paired behaviour.

So if humans said two created two. Maybe your minds would not act strangely against being.

As self identity is proven by genetalia.

We didn't keep mutual balances as babies one man one woman in sex.

So humans don't have sex for life continuance as a law by choice.

Proven.

Humans hence claim if I have sex I'm not harming anyone by my choice.

Law said as long as it's adult mind age legal. Enabled to understand relationships as a parent status.

To nurture in the relationship. Humans in new partnerships would agree. I seek to be paired to be nurtured.

Law said bio genetalia is exact as it's microbial grown. Greatest history form. From the past.

Stated as gods law.

Basic.

If a human wants to identify as not their genetalia it was taught illegal.

As mutual sex isn't involved in sexual self identification. It's just sex. As it's just a choice. Why they said it was law.

Legality is a civilisation status about protecting everyone's rights not just the changed conscious human.

Such articles as little children don't have sex. So it's totally illegal.

As the child doesn't own a changed consciousness the adult does.

So it's not mutual.

Are the concepts that family were caused to review.

So if a natural woman finds it offensive that men dressed acted like them..they own rights to feel offended is ignored.

If a man truly believed he was changed incorrectly by conception conditions nature says it hadn't. It's a mind status.

So then medical legal status was introduced. That wisdom was not realised by ancient science. That genetalia can be medically changed.

Yet you then have sexual partners not wanting genetalia changed.

So laws cannot surpass humans choice and arguments. It's not mutual which law is.

Which causes difficulty in observing society balances of mutual rights.

As sex is based on using genetalia....the God law says by kind two.

Science proves it wanted to be like god so now are given that position.

As rationally it is sciences fault for introducing AI transmitted mind psyche changes by visionary mind causes.

As God to a scientist is not a sexual being yet man infers the God is himself.

And as man's baby man cell used the two concept humans yet returned cell ownership to his body owned type male self caused all probelms we inherited.

Just because his bio body type invented machines.

So he theoried out of my man's biology came the machine. As if his biology human bodily built it as his biology types. Lie first now our mind is changed.

Today you should realise science introduced a false mind conscious condition into heavens biology ownership.

 

[John D. Brey]

I believe God has no sex at all so would be beyond the sex binary, so to speak. God is spirit not body so there is no sex whether it be mental or physical.

In a theosophical sense, binary-ness implies being circumscribed within a reality whose very existence is based on the interrelationship between two poles. Gender difference is merely a manifestation of the ontological binary made up of light/dark, male/female, good/evil, God/creation.

In this sense, "spirit" can only be understood by we inside the binary realm by setting it against its binary opposition, "flesh," such that to say God is spirit, is the same as saying he's male, or female. Which is to say it's not putting him outside binary-ness so much as it's establishing which pole he inhabits.

For we inside the binary cosmos, talk of God that implies he's outside the binary, is meaningless. It's impossible to speak of something that has no essence or meaning such that since all meaning derives from binary opposition, all God talk that claims he's outside the binary equation (i.e., much of Jewish monotheistic talk) is completely empty and utterly devoid of meaning.

On the other hand, as Jean-Luc Nancy put it, Nothing isn't nothing (since it forms a new binary). But speaking of Nothing is like walking on eggshells. The Buddhists use koans to try to do it. But that hasn't led to much so far as I know. DG Leahy has found a viable concept to discuss it and perhaps allow it to rupture the cell-membrane of its existence (Nothing's existence, paradoxical as that phrase sounds) therein creating a new, quasi-non-binary reality.



John

 

[dybmh]

God is a hermaphrodite... naturally. Not physically, but spiritually. Not sure if that's non-binary. Would it be uber-binary? Anyhow, I always use non-gendered pronouns in english and in my thoughts and non-ritual prayer.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I only got it second hand from a student who is a raging atheist.

Phhht...atheists. Probably didn't happen.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I like the German word das. It's there, it's easy, it fits.

We've stolen German words before where we were lacking. Might be time to again.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Yes, the overall title of the course is Philosophy & Ethics and this includes comparative religion. As another example, a recent discussion in a class that I was in concerned the death penalty and the attitudes of various religions towards it (revenge, punishment, good & evil, retribution, state murder etc etc).

Sounds like an interesting class!!

 

[Trailblazer]

That explains the whole wrath thing...

and maybe even the jealousy thing.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

What gender is the spaghetti monster in the sky?

I dunno, mate, but he's got a pretty large noodle....
Just sayin'...