Why is god identified as a "he"???

[CaptainXeroid]

In the Judeo-Christian context, God is referred to as 'He' because the ancient languages did not have a gender neutral pronoun, and 'it' was deemed to impersonal.

I refer to God as our Father who art in heaven. I see a very personable God who loves us and wants what's best for us, and most important, wants us to make the right decisions. That's why he sent his son Jesus to show us the way.

I think the key is to respect the way other people refer to God and not feel this compulsion to proselytize by telling them their method is wrong.

 

[ChristineES]

God is not male or female, but woman have always been treated as less than men, so He was given the male title. Calling God "It" woule be a bit rude, maybe. I guess if we wanted we could call Him Her. I would be careful, though, I think some people may find that disrespectful.

 

[Truth_Faith13]

To me, God is both Mother and Father. It took two bring me in this world - my mother and my father. Often when I'm referring to God, I say "He/She". To me, God doesn't have any gender but has male qualities like a Father and female qualities like a Mother.

Shim is a lot easier to say!

Anyway to the OP - would you like to be called it? Scriptures say him. Its not demeaning at all... or at least I dont feel so.

 

[Popeyesays]

A "Shim" is something you wedge under one table leg to make it stop rocking.

Regards,
Scott

 

[Truth_Faith13]

A "Shim" is something you wedge under one table leg to make it stop rocking.

Regards,
Scott

Might be to you - its not to me - its she/him put together!

 

[doppelganger]

THE great epic of mythology pertaining to Sparta, The Iliad, is about warriors battling over who would possess Helen of Troy.

THE great epic of ancient Indian mythology, The Baghavad Ghita, is about Lord Krishna in male form explaining the nature of identity, war, love and duty to the male warrior Arjuna.

I will agree, however, that Hinduism tends not to talk about Brahman as "male" or "female." Nor does Greek philosophy speak of God or the Logos in gender specific terms.

 

[Inky]

Shim is a lot easier to say!

Hehe, you're right, Shim is the easiest one I've heard so far. In academic circles "ze" for she/he and "hir" for him/her are the most accepted gender-neutral pronouns, usually for use in papers more so than in speech. You don't run into them every day but people know what they mean.

I'm fine with people calling God whatever they want, but if somebody says it would be demeaning to call god a "she", it makes me wonder why they think the male pronoun sounds more important and all-around better than the female one... :sarcastic (I don't think anybody has on this thread though.)

 

[Hema]

THE great epic of ancient Indian mythology, The Baghavad Ghita, is about Lord Krishna in male form explaining the nature of identity, war, love and duty to the male warrior Arjuna.

Perhaps they left the ladies home so they wouldn't get damaged on the battlefield.

As for his female counterpart, Krishna and his beloved Radha had such a powerful love that both of them are considered to be the protectors of those in love. :hug:

 

[Quiddity]

It does not matter to me personally, but it does have a great influence on some people.

They way I see it, maleness is important for being human, just as femaleness is. If things were set in place to flow better by having men fulfill certain roles and women others, that’s ok by me. It never bothered me for example that a women (Mary) is the most important figure in our faith (aside from God). I think it’s beautiful to be able to express both sexes in spirituality. God identifying as male is only part of it.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

"It" is my preferred pronoun for God, but I don't always use it because some people find it demeaning...it's pretty ironic.

I use it often on the Forums and elsewhere. So far, no one seems to have been insulted. At least, no one says so.

"It," being gender-neutral, can refer to both and neither male or female at the same time. It's a handy pronoun that should be used more often!

 

[JayHawes]

It's not fair really, half the world is female so that sort of means there is a male god who made females for male entertainment, i think we need to get rid of the he and start saying "it" For no-one knows the gender of god, no mattter what any scripture says.:shout *IT*

God is not an "it."AlthoughGod has no gender, when God takes on human form he always comes as a male. Whenever one of his angels appear they also always appear as men, but why as men? Men are the highest ranking beings in this realm, his companion is the Woman, she is the second highest ranking being.

Man was created in the image of God, woman was created in the image of Man. God is not a "male" he merely expresses himself into our language as the dominant party, that is by the words He and Him.

Ge 18:1 -And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
Ge 18:2 -And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

However he is just a pronoun.

 

[Popeyesays]

Might be to you - its not to me - its she/him put together!

Main Entry: 1shim
Pronunciation: 'shim
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
: a thin often tapered piece of material (as wood, metal, or stone) used to fill in space between things (as for support, leveling, or adjustment of fit)

Regards,
Scott

 

[Darkness]

This is Shiva who threw himself in front of Kali to calm down her raw energy and thus create a balance in creation.

Ugly, if you ask me.

I could worship I God that looks like this though:

Men are the highest ranking beings in this realm, his companion is the Woman, she is the second highest ranking being.

Would you now admit that you are sexist?

 

[kadzbiz]

If we go by the bible, it says God created MAN in HIS likeness, not WOMAN in HER likeness.

 

[lilithu]

It's not fair really, half the world is female so that sort of means there is a male god who made females for male entertainment, i think we need to get rid of the he and start saying "it" For no-one knows the gender of god, no mattter what any scripture says.:shout *IT*

God is identified as "he" because the people who wrote the scriptures are he's.

As for "It" I do not care for that, since in the English language it implies an object. I think that God should have God's own pronoun. Either that, or we use a truly gender neutral pronoun that refers to persons, not objects. For example, the pronoun "Ta" in Chinese refers to both he and she. Of course, if I go around referring to God as Ta, no one will know what I'm talking about.

 

[Darkness]

If we go by the bible, it says God created MAN in HIS likeness, not WOMAN in HER likeness.

You sure it isn't that the word translated as man is the Hebrew word for "human? If I am not mistaken the Book of Genesis says that YHWH (God) is a androgynous super-human.

 

[kadzbiz]

You sure it isn't that the word translated as man is the Hebrew word for "human? If I am not mistaken the Book of Genesis says that YHWH (God) is a androgynous super-human.

No, I'm not sure. But then, if the human Adam was made in YHWH's image, wouldn't that follow that YHWH was male?

 

[lilithu]

If we go by the bible, it says God created MAN in HIS likeness, not WOMAN in HER likeness.

In the Hebrew, it says that God created "Adam." Adam was not a boy's name. It was a word, meaning 'made of dust.' ie - God created a living being out of dust. Male scholars have chosen to translate "Adam" as "man" but it could be more correctly translated as "human."

Men wrote the original words in Hebrew, with a male bias.
Men translated the words from Hebrew to English, with a male bias.
And then men think that they can point to this translation and say "See, this proves God is male."

 

[Darkness]

Genesis 1:27 (King James Version)
So God created man[Humans] in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 5:1-2 (King James Version)
In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Genesis 5:3 (King James)
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:

From reading this it is clear to me that God truly did create man after his literal image and likeness in the Book of Genesis. It is hard to tell if God is male or androgynous, however.

 

[JayHawes]

Ugly, if you ask me.

I could worship I God that looks like this though:

Would you now admit that you are sexist?

I am not sexist. I believe in the order which God ordained. There is Jesus, then Man, then Woman (1 Corinthians 11:3). God created Adam first, and gave him "kingship" over the earth.

I do not view women as inferior to man, i do not view men as being better than women. I treat women as the most precious gift God ever gave, they are the beauty of heaven, they are lovely and must be treated as Queens. I beleive in a King-Queen relationship. Although the King is the Head, the highest in Order. The Queen is his wife, not being treated as inferior, but yet being second in highest order.