Do Lutheran's view God as Goddess?

[Alix1912]

Does the LCMS believe that God has a gender? I know Mormons believe that God literally is male.

I think the question is important because if the use of male pronouns is simply customary and reflective of culture, is there any reason to cling to the use of such pronouns? The ELCA page on language (which I mentioned earlier) seemed to indicate a preference for non-gender specific identifiers. And if we accept that God does not have a gender, then I wonder if the appropriateness of male or female pronouns depends on one’s culture or background.

Yes, I know Jesus prayed “Father”, but was it because God is male or because the role of father (Head of the Household, protector, provider etc) was culturally resonant?

I think Christian feminists would agree with you. For that matter, I am not sure who wouldn’t. However, (and I apologize if I am misunderstanding you) I don’t think that the leadership of Ebenzer Lutheran would agree that the Incarnation depends on God being male. I am not sure that I do, either.

As far as I know and I have been taught…God is Male. I’ll have to ask my pastor on Thursday at Bible Study. I guess it’s never really mattered to me that he was Male. I don’t understand why people freak out about God being God the Father and being Male. I think when Christ refers to him as God the Father he means it in a masculine way. Culturally Christ ignored a lot of the things that were huge cultural things to the Jews. He associated with people they disapproved of, talked with many women as equals, and did not fold to the culturally accepted authority of the pharisees. If he was only refering to God the Father in that manner because of culture that seems out of place with many of his actions. Just my 2 cents. Again I don’t understand why people get so tied up in gender neutrality. In my opinion it’s a bad concept, and destroys the very thing that makes men and women special. Why would I want to be exactly like my husband, our relationship works because we bring unique and gender specific talents to the table. We are partners with different strengths.

 

[StrawberryJam]

As far as I know and I have been taught…God is Male. I’ll have to ask my pastor on Thursday at Bible Study. I guess it’s never really mattered to me that he was Male. I don’t understand why people freak out about God being God the Father and being Male. I think when Christ refers to him as God the Father he means it in a masculine way. Culturally Christ ignored a lot of the things that were huge cultural things to the Jews. He associated with people they disapproved of, talked with many women as equals, and did not fold to the culturally accepted authority of the pharisees. If he was only refering to God the Father in that manner because of culture that seems out of place with many of his actions. Just my 2 cents. Again I don’t understand why people get so tied up in gender neutrality. In my opinion it’s a bad concept, and destroys the very thing that makes men and women special. Why would I want to be exactly like my husband, our relationship works because we bring unique and gender specific talents to the table. We are partners with different strengths.

If no one wonders if God is Male, then asking your male pastor should sort it all out.

 

[Alix1912]

If no one wonders if God is Male, then asking your male pastor should sort it all out.

It would if I am asking him for the offical position of the LCMS. That would not matter who delivered the information it is a matter of stated doctrine. Similar to the Catholic Church’s doctrine on apostalic succession, or ABC or anything else. The doctrine remains the same regardless of whether a priest, a deacon, a lay person, or a nun tells you what it is. The doctrine is written down in the documents of the Catholic Church.

I would go to my pastors because they have been educated, trained and ordained in the LCMS, so they are familiar with the actual doctrine of the LCMS, as written and stated by the LCMS.

There really is no reason to be snide about it.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

It’s getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn’t matter much to me…

Oops, sorry, your signature got me going. Now I feel like saying “goo goo gachoo!”

If no one wonders if God is Male, then asking your male pastor should sort it all out.

 

[SteveVH]

God the Father and the Holy Spirit are neither male nor female but rather pure divine spirit. The Father is eternally the Father in His eternal relationship to the Son, not because of gender. Jesus, who truly became man, born of the most blessed person on the face of the earth, a woman, revealed Him as Father. We must remember, however, that both man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God. It follows that the beautiful attributes of woman are attributes of God in the same measure as male attributes. He created us male and female.

The Catholic Church honors Mary above all saints. It was her YES to God that brought us our Savior. Yes, I would say women play an extremely important role in the Church and there is no need to place any spin on what was revealed by Christ.

 

[StrawberryJam]

It’s getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn’t matter much to me…

Oops, sorry, your signature got me going. Now I feel like saying “goo goo gachoo!”

Someone who says Goo Goo gachoo is saying much more that what is being said here.

 

[StrawberryJam]

It would if I am asking him for the offical position of the LCMS. That would not matter who delivered the information it is a matter of stated doctrine. Similar to the Catholic Church’s doctrine on apostalic succession, or ABC or anything else. The doctrine remains the same regardless of whether a priest, a deacon, a lay person, or a nun tells you what it is. The doctrine is written down in the documents of the Catholic Church.

I would go to my pastors because they have been educated, trained and ordained in the LCMS, so they are familiar with the actual doctrine of the LCMS, as written and stated by the LCMS.

There really is no reason to be snide about it.

LCMS are fine and dandy with abortion. Does that bother you at all?

 

[Alix1912]

LCMS are fine and dandy with abortion. Does that bother you at all?

No, actually it’s not…Where did you get information that it was?

2 minutes on the offical site of the LCMS in their doctrinal papers yields this:

lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/wa_abortion.pdf

Here is a pretty clear cute quote from the document: “God’s Fifth Commandment is clear,“You shall not murder.” This means, in the words of the Small Catechism, that “we
should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body,but help and support him in every physical need.”God forbids us to take the life of another person,and this most certainly includes abortion.”

Pretty clear that Abortion is not approved of by the Lutheran Church MS. The only time it is even remotely morally acceptable is to save the life of the mother and those cases are so rare and are often a situation of the baby not having a chance either or a situation where the child and mother can be medically supported until the child can be delivered safely via c-section. So the cases where the LMCS would be OK with abortion are very, very, very rare.

But thanks again for trying to be contrary and snide. You statement just makes you look unimformed and rude.

 

[Angel_Hazard]

Probably it is, as others say, a feminist perspective. However, the female reference to G-d may have also been borrowed from Judaism, which, on occasion, refers to G-d in the feminine form.

That is very interesting. I didn’t know that Judaism sometimes refers to G-d in the feminine form. Just curious what names do they use?

Thanks for the info

 

[phoebecat3]

The LCMS is not fine and dandy with abortion. The LCMS is pro life!!

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

“I got blisters on my fingers!” Oops, sorry, White Album flashbacks

Someone who says Goo Goo gachoo is saying much more that what is being said here.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I’m surprised you say this. The LCMS and WELS Lutherans are famous for being VERY conservative and super pro-life??? My son goes to a LCMS school and they’re as pro-life as you’re going to get officially and locally.

LCMS are fine and dandy with abortion. Does that bother you at all?

 

[Alix1912]

LCMS are fine and dandy with abortion. Does that bother you at all?

The LCMS is not fine and dandy with abortion. The LCMS is pro life!!

I’m surprised you say this. The LCMS and WELS Lutherans are famous for being VERY conservative and super pro-life??? My son goes to a LCMS school and they’re as pro-life as you’re going to get officially and locally.

I think StrawberryJam is just trying to stir the pot and be contrary. Anyone who has done an iota of research on the LCMS knows that this statement is categorically false.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I have a lot of respect for LCMS and WELS Lutherans. Their views on women pastors, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, and sacraments are laudable indeed. They’re a very devout bunch of people. I pondered, at one point, attending an LCMS parish and joining up but my views on apostolic succession and transubstantiation/Mary and some other things kept me from doing so. I think Lutherans have taken on too much from other protestant groups, even Calvinists, through the years and that has tainted things a bit just as the Catholics have embraced these Baptisty songs at Mass…

I think StrawberryJam is just trying to stir the pot and be contrary. Anyone who has done an iota of research on the LCMS knows that this statement is categorically false.

 

[JonNC]

I have a lot of respect for LCMS and WELS Lutherans. Their views on women pastors, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, and sacraments are laudable indeed. They’re a very devout bunch of people. I pondered, at one point, attending an LCMS parish and joining up but my views on apostolic succession and transubstantiation/Mary and some other things kept me from doing so. I think Lutherans have taken on too much from other protestant groups, even Calvinists, through the years and that has tainted things a bit just as the Catholics have embraced these Baptisty songs at Mass…

Sadly, some of this, at least in America, is true.

Jon

 

[Angel_Hazard]

:thumbsup:Thank you

 

[Angel_Hazard]

Why is it that most questions asked here end up turning into a debate? Its not necessary. HUGS

Pax

 

[TeenageConvert]

Someone sent me a site of a Lutheran church herchurch.org/index.html
. The church views God as Mother and focuses on feminine aspects of God. I’m not familiar with the Lutheran Faith, is this part of their Faith?

Not judging, but curious.

Sounds just like that one particular church, not the Lutheran religion…
I was reading comments on something about people joining the Catholic church, and someone commented he almost converted to Catholicism until a nun instructed the RCIA class at the “catholic” church to “pray to their mother the earth” and the priest at the church agreed with her, they also changed all references to God from male to female(God tghe father to the mother, and he’s to she’s etc.)…perhaps it’s the same thing? But idek if that story was even true, it was online and posted by an anti-catholic…but at the same time it seems like he’d stick to the whole traditional “whore of Babylon, mother of harlots, the pope is the antichrist, the saints are really pagan gods in disguise,the church is corrupt, child molesting priests, blah, blah, blah” anti-catholic stuff most of them seem to go by so idk.

 

[Angel_Hazard]

Sounds just like that one particular church, not the Lutheran religion…
I was reading comments on something about people joining the Catholic church, and someone commented he almost converted to Catholicism until a nun instructed the RCIA class at the “catholic” church to “pray to their mother the earth” and the priest at the church agreed with her, they also changed all references to God from male to female(God tghe father to the mother, and he’s to she’s etc.)…perhaps it’s the same thing? But idek if that story was even true, it was online and posted by an anti-catholic…but at the same time it seems like he’d stick to the whole traditional “whore of Babylon, mother of harlots, the pope is the antichrist, the saints are really pagan gods in disguise,the church is corrupt, child molesting priests, blah, blah, blah” anti-catholic stuff most of them seem to go by so idk.

That would make since, and from the other replies it defiantly seems that it is just that one church.

Thank you for sharing this story, it really shows how different each church can be.

 

[Angel_Hazard]

Sounds just like that one particular church, not the Lutheran religion…
I was reading comments on something about people joining the Catholic church, and someone commented he almost converted to Catholicism until a nun instructed the RCIA class at the “catholic” church to “pray to their mother the earth” and the priest at the church agreed with her, they also changed all references to God from male to female(God tghe father to the mother, and he’s to she’s etc.)…perhaps it’s the same thing? But idek if that story was even true, it was online and posted by an anti-catholic…but at the same time it seems like he’d stick to the whole traditional “whore of Babylon, mother of harlots, the pope is the antichrist, the saints are really pagan gods in disguise,the church is corrupt, child molesting priests, blah, blah, blah” anti-catholic stuff most of them seem to go by so idk.

P.s I love your sig

If you whine to God’s mom, the possibilities are endless.

“There are two kinds of men, the rightious who sees himself as a sinner, and the sinner, who sees himself as rightious”