Is God male?

Author: Stronn

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#1
Stronn
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Interestingly, there have been modern-day attempts in Christianity to make God gender neutral. For instance, in the early 1980's the National Council of Churches released a new translation of the Bible that eliminated references to God as solely male. As an example, John 3:16 was changed to read ''For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Child, that whoever believes in that Child should not perish, but have eternal life.''

Is God male? If not, why should our translation of God's Word us the masculine pronoun?



#2
ethang5
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Reminds me of a cartoon where the birds in an aviary remark about their human feeder, "He must have come from a really big egg!" 

why should our translation of God's Word  the masculine pronoun?
To save the world from monstrosities like this,

''For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Child, that whoever believes in that Child should not perish, but have eternal life.''
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Stronn
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@ethang5
If simplicity of grammar is your concern, would you be ok with a translation that uses the feminine pronoun for God?
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@Stronn
If simplicity of grammar is your concern, would you be ok with a translation that uses the feminine pronoun for God?
Simplicity of grammar is important, but beauty of grammar, and understandability of grammar are more important. But most important is truth of grammar.

The original script says "he". Translations should be translations, not recreations. I am against any change to Bible text at any time.
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Polytheist-Witch
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Jesus called him Father. He is called the Father of Israel in the Old Testament. I think there is a duality to God. Father and Holy Spirit. Holy Sprint being feminine. 
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@Stronn
I think that the use of the male pronoun says more about the authors of the bible than about Yahweh (should that hypothetical being even exist).

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RationalMadman
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God is female but Christianity is only half true so I won't go into it unless you're actually interested in my Pagan take on it.
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@Stronn
Interestingly, there have been modern-day attempts in Christianity to make God gender neutral. For instance, in the early 1980's the National Council of Churches released a new translation of the Bible that eliminated references to God as solely male. As an example, John 3:16 was changed to read ''For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Child, that whoever believes in that Child should not perish, but have eternal life.''

Is God male? If not, why should our translation of God's Word us the masculine pronoun?


The God of the Bible is certainly male. According to Luke 1. The Holy Spirit came on Mary and God had shadow sex ( as in shadow boxing) with Mary and that is how she got pregnant. Remember it takes male and female DNA to produce a child.

Luke 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God.”
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@Stronn
The point of the matter is, will the bible be considered authoritative or not?

At DDO, there was this idiot who would deny the verses that said Jesus was innocent at His trial, but would use the very next verse as proof of some other doctrine. He would stupidly call Jesus a lunatic based on a verse saying that someone called Jesus a lunatic, but would deny the author of the book calling Jesus the Savior of man.

If one believes and employs silliness like that, then God can be any gender as your basic position is irrational anyway. One of the best ways to stay away from stupidity is to leave the text pristine.

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@ethang5
The only way to "leave the text pristine" is to avoid any translation at all. Once you translate, you can't help but introduce numerous subtle changes in nuance and meaning.

From what I understand, in Hebrew all nouns are gendered. If an object has no intrinsic gender, it is typically referred to using the male form. When translating into a language where most nouns are neuter, like English, it is therefore more true to the original text to avoid assigning a gender to God, who has no gender. Or at least that is the argument proponents of a sexless Bible make.

Another interesting point is that, while the Old Testament uses the male form when referring to God, it uses the feminine when referring to the Holy Spirit, or the presence of God.
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@Stronn
>The only way to "leave the text pristine" is to avoid any translation at all.

Not true. The text is just a vessels for the meaning. Any text carrying the same meaning remains the same.

>Once you translate, you can't help but introduce numerous subtle changes in nuance and meaning.

This is one of the advantages of having a living God. He can affect what happens in the real world.

>From what I understand, in Hebrew all nouns are gendered. If an object has no intrinsic gender, it is typically referred to using the male form. When translating into a language where most nouns are neuter, like English, it is therefore more true to the original text to avoid assigning a gender to God, who has no gender. Or at least that is the argument proponents of a sexless Bible make.

And it would make sense if God were not also referred to as Father.

>Another interesting point is that, while the Old Testament uses the male form when referring to God, it uses the feminine when referring to the Holy Spirit, or the presence of God.

I find these arguments juvenile. Any sensible adult knows gender and sex are traits of God's creation, not God. Questions asking the gender of God invariably are borne of ignorance or guile.

I have time for neither.

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@Stronn
God is in fact non-gender, there is no sexual role or anatomy of the Creator. Only when individual souls enter creation, the worlds of duality does any gender play a role or a function in reality. The Bible capitalizes on the masculine nature of God to express attributes not gender IMO. God in the Bible is perceived as protector, leader, head figure, Father, warrior ect ect all the attributes of one who "provides" or covers....and so the masculine expression is pronounced, rather than a more feminine role but again, God is the embodiment and fullness of both expressions and as a matter of fact it's the feminine principle in creation which stabilizes more than the other. Meaning creation is not perfectly in balance with one half or the other, it's slightly driven to one side and so is positive and negative, good and evil, light and darkness.....the positive charge has a slight edge over the negative. Now God in the Bible however is definitely tipped towards the masculine role and which I explained, it's more of an interpretation of the attributes of a God, not really what gender role God would play.

1369 days later

#13
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@secularmerlin
I think that the use of the male pronoun says more about the authors of the bible than about Yahweh (should that hypothetical being even exist).
great point
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@Harikrish

The God of the Bible is certainly male. According to Luke 1. The Holy Spirit came on Mary and God had shadow sex ( as in shadow boxing) with Mary and that is how she got pregnant. Remember it takes male and female DNA to produce a child
Usually when posts this old pop up I don't like to go back and put anything in but I don't remember reading this before when the topic was up. The Holy Spirit is never called male or female but I certainly believe it's more of a feminine energy because of its creative aspect. It's the Holy Spirit that moves along the waters and starts to create the initial beginnings of life on Earth so while I do believe the God of Abraham is male or masculine, I believe that the Holy Spirit is his creative or feminine energy. If Jesus is half human and half Divine he does not have to come from a typical xx/xy beginning. God is spirit and therefore would not have male DNA even if he's masculine. But I don't believe Jesus is a demigod.
#15
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What blood type is he ?   

He made four for some reason.   
#16
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Who's more important.    God or jesus? 

Or is god jesus 

God doesn't want no men laying beside men. Or girl on girl either. 
So he is specific. 

Lets call him omni-genderous. 

Now i dont make a habbit of being so vulgar buttttttttt  Picture gods ummmm  size down there.  
EASY 14. 

Thats Blasphemy. 
I'm going to sit myself out for 15 mins  
Sorry.  

Time starts 
N
O
W
#17
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Mary might know.  

#18
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Joseph would of definitely asked Mary.  
#19
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@Deb-8-a-bull
And Mary certainly knew who the lothario with the big dick was.

I think that his name was Gerald.

Or GED for short.

AKA GED the donkey.

Typically things got lost in translation.

And we ended up with GOD,

And Mary riding a donkey.

And when she told stupid Joe.

His response was.

JESUS CHRIST!


#20
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thinking God has a gender is a phallus-y
#21
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One has to think  Uncircumcised..

But thats the last i talk about gods genitalia.

When i picture god .
It goes straight to the cartoon looking long grey haired god flying on a cloud. 
Followed by A MEGA  BRIGHT LIGHT " god "  ( my fave ) 
Allll the way down to my second fave.  ( A Burning Bush  )   god. 

No one can picture jesus not looking like jesus. 

Oh thats unless jesus is god. Thus making god something i cant picture. 
Godesus
Jegodsus
Scary looking.
6 nipples.

Picture 
Half  father  half  son   and  the other half ghostly.  

As soon as you read ghostly you pictured  " Casper " right. 
Correct. 

It all points to MALE.
And if i was made in his image. 
Male. 

Stuff it. 
LOCK IT IN. 
male. 
God was/ is a bloke. 

I will leave it there for i am now thinking about ( gerth ) 

Good game. 
Good game. 
#22
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Well, he was invented by males.

85 days later

#23
Shila
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@Stronn
Interestingly, there have been modern-day attempts in Christianity to make God gender neutral. For instance, in the early 1980's the National Council of Churches released a new translation of the Bible that eliminated references to God as solely male. As an example, John 3:16 was changed to read ''For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Child, that whoever believes in that Child should not perish, but have eternal life.''

Is God male? If not, why should our translation of God's Word us the masculine pronoun?
If God is male then Jesus hanging out with 12 men and claiming to be God would shed ligh on his homosexuality. Making God gender neutral brings Jesus closer to a eunuch. Jesus never married or had children.

Any wonder Muslims follow their Prophet Mohammad with his many wives and prefer him to the eunuch Jesus.
I am sure Christian women would have little reason to follow a eunuch.

But Mary was fertilized by the Holy Spirit and not God according to Luke. The Holy Spirit was the sperm donor and God help Mary down. Luke lends credence that God was possibly a eunuch.
Luke 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God.