|
Register | Sign In |
|
QuickSearch
EvC Forum active members: 60 (9208 total) |
| |
The Rutificador chile | |
Total: 919,509 Year: 6,766/9,624 Month: 106/238 Week: 23/83 Day: 2/4 Hour: 0/0 |
Thread ▼ Details |
|
Thread Info
|
|
|
Author | Topic: God's gender | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Abshalom Inactive Member |
God of the Hebrew Bible is masculine because the priests who defined and dictated the authorized version of the dogma had defeated the priests and priestesses who included the Canaanite goddess Asherah (Ishtar), consort of El Shaddai, broken down the Asherah poles, pulverized the goddess's altars, and otherwise banished the pagan, dual-diety sectarians. (See Hezekiah and Josiah stories.)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Nighttrain Member (Idle past 4252 days) Posts: 1512 From: brisbane,australia Joined: |
Of course God is a 'He'. You ever hear of a female mass killer? Might have something to do with that 'Nature versus nurture' thingy.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1602 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
God of the Hebrew Bible is masculine because the priests who defined and dictated the authorized version of the dogma had defeated the priests and priestesses who included the Canaanite goddess Asherah (Ishtar), but they failed to totally remove traditions. for instance, the book of esther: esther = ishtarmordechai = marduk. i'm interested in information on ishtar's relationship to el. i've heard of later thoughts of god having a female partner, and some relation to shekinah, but i'm rather unfamiliar in this area.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1602 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
God has no gender. The word "he" is used to describe God because the relationship of God to humans is like that of father to son, and "he" is the human word used for fathers. quote: there are a few instances that portray god as a mother.
Just because there is no word to describe what God is does not mean he is limited by the words we do use to describe him. agreed, but i think that the reason god is portrayed more often as male has to do with neither god's actual gender, or a lack of words to describe god. it probably has to do more with the society that wrote the bible: who did most of the writing?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Thor Member (Idle past 6169 days) Posts: 148 From: Sydney, Australia Joined: |
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on this matter, I appreciate your input. Sorry for my delay in responding, I am not blessed with a lot of spare time.
You have answered my questions sufficiently, so I’m afraid I don’t have much to add on this particular topic. However, a biblical quote used by Tal back in message 9 has brought another question to mind, off-topic, that may be worthy of some serious discussion. I have addressed this in a new topic called ‘Missing Sea Creatures’. Cheers.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Nighttrain Member (Idle past 4252 days) Posts: 1512 From: brisbane,australia Joined: |
Whole new thread(or several), Arach, if you get into Shekinah.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
nator Member (Idle past 2428 days) Posts: 12961 From: Ann Arbor Joined: |
quote: Yep. "Mother Nature".
quote: Oh, that is so true!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
General Nazort Inactive Member |
there are a few instances that portray god as a mother. True, but overwhelmingly the primary potrayal is a father figure.
agreed, but i think that the reason god is portrayed more often as male has to do with neither god's actual gender, or a lack of words to describe god. it probably has to do more with the society that wrote the bible: who did most of the writing? I disagree, since I believe the Bible is inspired by God and thus portrays God as he wanted to be portrayed... as primarily a father figure, referred to by the word "he". If God was primarily revealed to be a mother figure the word "she" would most likely have been used... but in any case God still has no "gender," only a fatherness or motherness. If you say there no absolutes, I ask you, are you absolutely sure?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Abshalom Inactive Member |
Arachnophilia: You said, "I'm interested in information on ishtar's relationship to el. i've heard of later thoughts of god having a female partner, and some relation to shekinah, but i'm rather unfamiliar in this area."
Try this, only for starters: Encyclopedia Mythica
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Nighttrain Member (Idle past 4252 days) Posts: 1512 From: brisbane,australia Joined: |
Hi,Ab, here`s a better one on Shekinah,Eema,Et-Yhvh, Sophia, Virgin Mary, etc.
Seminary - Shekinah, Eema: God the Mother & Pneuma (feminine Holy Soul "Spirit")
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
ohnhai Member (Idle past 5421 days) Posts: 649 From: Melbourne, Australia Joined: |
it rains, doesn't it?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1602 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
True, but overwhelmingly the primary potrayal is a father figure. i wasn't really debating that.
I disagree, since I believe the Bible is inspired by God and thus portrays God as he wanted to be portrayed... then why is it inconsistent? why not ALL fathership verse and no mothers? why say we are made in the image of god -- male AND female?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Swift Inactive Member |
He, when refering to God is symbolic to show God as mascaline or powerful. What would you think if God was called she or in symbolic terms feminine. He, does not rely mean an actual gender. And when he talks about mother and father that is also symbolic. Mothers and Fathers take care of there children and so does God. Also when it says we were created out of his image it means that he maid us so that we could make our own chocies and choose weather to sin or not sin.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
nator Member (Idle past 2428 days) Posts: 12961 From: Ann Arbor Joined: |
quote: That God has the power to give life, or take it away, like nature. What is more powerful than the power to create life? The feminine is considered "weak" in patriarchal cultures, but not in matriarchal or egalitarian cultures.
quote: Uh, yeah it does. Like "father" means a male parent. If the Bible meant a non-gendered parental figure, it would have used the word for parent, not father.
quote: But the word for Father is used to refer to God throughout most of the Bible, not parent.
|
|
|
Do Nothing Button
Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved
Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024