God is not a man

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Many, even Catholics, are quick to downplay the significance of God’s masculinity. For they do not understand that the masculinity of God is foundational to Christian theology. To see the essential necessity of this foundation, simply remove it and the implications of a neutered God become all too clear.

If God is not masculine in nature, it follows that there is no significance to the manhood of Jesus Christ who is fully God and fully man. There is also no significance to the paternity of the Father of Lights (creator of the universe) towards the Son (through whom all things were made), from which all conception of spiritual paternity and creativity arises. But the damage does not stop there. The implications cascade.

The sacramental foundation of Christian Marriage must next be called into question. The theological context for marriage is the relationship of Christ, the Bridegroom, to the Church, the bride. This theology is foundational to the sacrament celebrated between a man and woman in matrimony. If the masculinity of God is theologically insignificant or untrue, then human sexual differentiation must be immaterial to marriage as well. Indeed. If it is irrelevant for one, then it is irrelevant for the other.

With the loss of God’s masculinity is also lost the concept of spiritual paternity. The traditional concepts of the roles of father and mother within marriage and family quickly lose meaning. Therefore, it is no longer necessary for marriage to be exclusively between a man and a woman.

Furthermore, when Christ cries out the “Father” or calls the Church his bride, he makes false statements. When the apostles and their successors do the same along with all Christians down through the centuries, they, too, become liars.

And so, if God is not masculine, we find ourselves standing in the same place as those who subscribe to postmodern sensibilities of gender identity, sexuality and marriage. For the Catholic, the implications are quite serious: All that the Holy Church teaches regarding sexual morality, human nature, the theology of holy orders and the sacrament of marriage, are called into question. Since these implications run contrary to the constant teaching and practice of the Catholic Church across two millennia, the denial of God’s masculinity is no small matter.
 
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That whole exegesis is unfounded and unhelpful. Every so often referencing the Bible helps.

Genesis 1: 27
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

So, it does appear that God’s “own image” is somehow male and female - or that the image of God does not depend on sex .

As to masculine and feminine, I hate to say this again and again, but gender in language is simply an artifact of Indo-European languages and has nothing to do with the sex of the noun.

Let’s face it “Elohim” is a plural in Hebrew - hence the use of “us” as the referencing pronoun as questioned above - but we also know “God is One” as the Shema Yisrael relentlessly reminds us.

So, why is God the Father depicted as an old man - probably for the same reason we sometimes call our own father “Old Man.” Not a whole lot more; not a whole lot less.
 
simpleas said:
So why are there paintings and pictures that depicted God as a male human. E.G - the Trinity paintings with Jesus as son/male human, the spirit as a dove, and God as a human man?
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I have Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son on my living room wall .

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When I look at the painting I see the father as a depiction of God the Father .

I have no problem with such art .

Man is made in the image and likeness of God .

My problem is with those who in their minds and imaginings create god in the image and likeness of man , thus falsifying Revelation , spreading falsehood , and I suppose it amounts to a form of idolatry .
 
It’s certainly very important to the post-modernists to negate God’s masculintiy as it related to worship, marriage, ordination, social roles and the concept of family. The tactic of trying to relegate it to merely an errant, dated cultural invention is not new. Neither has it ever succeeded. Indeed, the masculinity of God continues to threaten much of the supposed social progress post-modernists claim to be making in the Church and in the world. Yet, despite the effort, billions of faithful continue to call God “Father,” daily.
 
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So far, I’m not the one who’s having the problem with scripture.

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simpleas said:
So why are there paintings and pictures that depicted God as a male human. E.G - the Trinity paintings with Jesus as son/male human, the spirit as a dove, and God as a human man?
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Because the Trinity in the person of the Son, assumed the Incarnation, the man Jesus Christ. The dove is a Spirit form at the baptism of Christ, but also the wind and fire at Pentecost.

John 1:
18 No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
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The Father has a male form in analogy.
 
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I think you are getting a bit confused. You have the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The father is painted in art as a man, same as the son. And as you said, the Holy Spirit as a dove. GOD however, is ONE not 3 but presented in these three divine persons. The Son(Jesus) is just as much God as the Holy Spirit or the Father. One God forever and ever.
 
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MonteRCMS said:
Well, it’s a little difficult to draw a picture of … what … exactly …?

Go here and draw a picture:

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Science

Curse of Dark Matter | Space’s Deepest Secrets​

Recent discoveries have revealed vast clouds of dark matter in our universe. Could this mysterious matter be proof that multiple universes exist? Join researchers as they investigate the secrets of dark matter.

Good place to draw from.
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We know that there is 80% of “what is out there” … and we don’t know what it is.

Eighty percent.

If you use your hands to make or describe a hollow soccer ball … that empty sphere actually is filled … but we are unable to describe “it”.

What if God is both “Man” and also, in part, the 80%???
 
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God is spirit.
God Is light.
God is love. Etc.
God spoke to Jesus in a masculine voice.
God impregnated Mary.
Jesus was Word - made flesh - man !
 
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It’s just a representation- though I believe God the Father is being described as the “Ancient of Days” in Daniel.

"As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool"
 
Well, you clearly have a limited understanding of language. Gender in language is both fluid and unrelated to sexual attributes.

Sophia - (as in Hagia Sophia) wisdom (of God) = feminine.

The gender of a word has zip to do with the nature of the noun.
 
I hold advance degrees in Scripture Study from two major Catholic seminaries an spent five years studying Biblical Greek and Hebrew. So, you might consider doing some real study before telling others they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m embarrassed for you.
 
Apparently you never actually figured out what gender is in language…despite all your study. That happens.
 
In the Hebrew Bible (and in translations to languages with a she/he dichotomy) God is referred to as “he”. God might be a ‘He’ in the Bible but non-Hebrew-literate individuals do not always know that in Hebrew language, grammatical gender is NOT an indicator of actual gender. Hebrew nouns have grammatical gender. Each object is masculine or feminine. There are no gender-neutral pronouns in Hebrew, i.e. there is no equivalent of the English “it”. Everything is a “he” or a “she”.

The spirit of God Ruach Elohim (Genesis 1:2) is a feminine noun. So is the Shekhinah - the Presence of God. Does this mean the Spirit of God and the Presence of God are female?
 
My grasp of Biblical Greek and Hebrew remains quite intact. I, however, am not a deconstructionist with a pretentious claim to expertise on the topic and a propensity towards arrogance. That makes reasonable dialogue impossible. Indeed, you’ve yet to disprove any of what I posited in my original post. I presume that’s because you lack the ability.
 
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steve-b said:
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simpleas:
So why are there paintings and pictures that depicted God as a male human. E.G - the Trinity paintings with Jesus as son/male human, the spirit as a dove, and God as a human man?
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From Genesis
Note: “us” plural imagery
“Then God said”
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;”

One could ask all kinds of questins
1. who is “us” & “our” in that passage? What’s the plural imagery all about?
2. Who else is there at this time, in that passage, in God’s creation process, in His words, “us” to create/make man in our image and our likeness ?

Jesus is God the Son, AND He has 2 natures, divine and He took on human nature
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“Us” reveals the Trinity.
God is a comunion of persons.
Since God is love. God is loving communion even before we are created. God doesn’t need us, he creates us out of the love that already exists in the “Us”.
 
goout said:
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steve-b:
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simpleas:
So why are there paintings and pictures that depicted God as a male human. E.G - the Trinity paintings with Jesus as son/male human, the spirit as a dove, and God as a human man?
Click to expand...
From Genesis
Note: “us” plural imagery
“Then God said”
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;”

One could ask all kinds of questins
1. who is “us” & “our” in that passage? What’s the plural imagery all about?
2. Who else is there at this time, in that passage, in God’s creation process, in His words, “us” to create/make man in our image and our likeness ?

Jesus is God the Son, AND He has 2 natures, divine and He took on human nature
Click to expand...
“Us” reveals the Trinity.
God is a comunion of persons.
Since God is love. God is loving communion even before we are created. God doesn’t need us, he creates us out of the love that already exists in the “Us”.
Click to expand...
The topic is “God is not man”.
My answer was showing Jesus took on human nature. He became man. ergo God IS MAN.
And since Jesus calls God , Father, then…
 
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I’m surprised a scripture expert such as you needs to copy another person’s work and pass it off as his own. Embarrassing to say the least.

WHAT YOU POSTED…
johnnykins said:
In the Hebrew Bible (and in translations to languages with a she/he dichotomy) God is referred to as “he”. God might be a ‘He’ in the Bible but non-Hebrew-literate individuals do not always know that in Hebrew language, grammatical gender is NOT an indicator of actual gender. Hebrew nouns have grammatical gender. Each object is masculine or feminine. There are no gender-neutral pronouns in Hebrew, i.e. there is no equivalent of the English “it”. Everything is a “he” or a “she”.
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FROM ANOTHER WEBSITE… Is God really male? Grammatical gender in Hebrew and gender in the spiritual realm - ColorQ's Bible Story Corner

“In the Hebrew Bible (and in translations to languages with a she/he dichotomy) God is referred to as “he”. God might be a ‘He’ in the Bible but non-Hebrew-literate individuals do not always know that in Hebrew language, grammatical gender is NOT an indicator of actual gender. Hebrew nouns have grammatical gender. Each object is masculine or feminine. There are no gender-neutral pronouns in Hebrew, i.e. there is no equivalent of the English “it”. Everything is a “he” or a “she”.”
 
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