Is God male, female or neither (the POLL version)

[Hokomai]

really? so then can you p(name removed by moderator)oint the area of the brain responsible for consciousness? and no its not the cortex, this is just associated with conscousness, but neuro-scientists have still not found a direct link. how about sentience? do you know what part of the brain that lies in?
as for numbers, they do not exist in the material world. numbers are generalizations, but scientists have no clue how the brain makes these generalizations and abstractions. numbers are a part of the abstract realm, which is not material. its our spirit that makes generalizations like numbers and time, this is why animals cant comprehend in numbers and time, since they have no spirit.

So a fetus has no spirit?

 

[someperson555]

So a fetus has no spirit?

a fetus has not yet developed a brain, therefore s/he is unable to gather information. we humans gather information through our five senses and we channel that information to our spirit through our brains. i never said that the brain has nothing to do with generalizations, memories, consciousness, etc. but the explanation sure doesnt stop at the brain, thats for sure. in fact, in the bible it even says “the dead are consciouss of nothing”, this is because obviously the brain plays a huge role in conscoiusness. spirit and body are one.

 

[maplebug55]

Then you disagree with what the Catholic Church teaches.

Jesus referred to God as Father , that is enough for me!

 

[AngryAtheist8]

its more like the other way around, since God knew that the middle east was a patriarchal society, he presented himself as “the father”, God spoke to the people in a language they understood. God presented himself and his laws in a way that the people could relate to him. as for the rest of your post, its just non sense, im sorry to be so blunt. but what gives you the idea that conservatives want a male only society? when in the past there have been queens that have ruled the nation by themselves, second, you have a false premise that men and women are “equal”. this is not true, men and women are different, thus they have different roles in society. this is why both conservatives and liberals have a faulty worldview.

and last, spirits are asexual, its their nature, so umm… how is stating that fact an admission that God is a construct?

No one is arguing that.
The question is:
Do (social) conservatives want a male-dominated society?
I think the evidence says yes frankly.

 

[AngryAtheist8]

we dont know everything from the get go. we research, then we formulate hypothesis, many times that hypothesis is wrong, so then we formulate another one. for example, 40 years ago neuro scientists believed that brain cells cannot regenerate, but now new research has proven otherwise. so does that mean the brain doesnt exist either?
we address God in sexually specific terms because masculine fits him best, but catholic theologians state that God is niether male nor female. so God being “masculine” was never official dogma.
there is no “need” for God to be a spirit, thats what he is. i can see youre making typical dawkins arguments. empirical evidence cannot really prove anything. so to rely on it alone is foolish. there are many things which we believe in yet cannot observe by empirical methods. a spirit is an immaterial incorporeal being. its not like thats a recent teaching, people always said that God was spirit, people always said that he was incorporeal. Thomas aquinas states this in his summae theologica, and back then science was no where near where it is today, so he could have easily just used that to his advantage, but he didnt. thats why his proofs are still valid and undisputed to this day.

So you completely reject the scientific method then?

 

[AngryAtheist8]

All throughout Scripture God is referred to as a male. We really don’t have anything else to go on.

It is possible tha this terminology was used to help us understand our role or position within our relationship to Him.** In Biblical times, the male was the Head and made all the major decisions and was much more valued and respected than the female.** Females were to submit to males at all times.

That is still the case in many parts of the world (such as the Middle East).

 

[AngryAtheist8]

Will someone who believes God to be male please answer this question. I have asked it repeatadly but no one will answer. If you believe that God is male do you therefore believe maleness to be superior to femaleness? Thank you.

I don’t think you’re going to get a straight answer.
Probably because they don’t want to admit what they really think.

 

[someperson555]

So you completely reject the scientific method then?

in response to your former post about conservatives,
i dont know, im not a conservative therefore i dont really associate with them, but yeah, most american conservatives probably do want traditional patriarchal societies. but both conservatives and liberals have a faulty diagnosis and faulty perscribtion to the gender problem.

as for your latter post. no, i dont reject the scientific method. all im saying is that logic and rational thinking must take precedence over empiricism. the problem with empirical evidence, is that it is aquired through our five senses, therefore it is subjective to the person experiencing the phenomenon. a dog cant see in color, so the world to a dog is completely different than the world to a person. or imagine how different the world is to a bat, who cannot see at all. there is an objective reality, but it cant be grasped by our five senses alone.
are you a positivist?

 

[NicoleVentura]

Neither. I do not believe Adam was male before he created Eve.

See, adam was made in God’s image, but before Eve, adams body must have been designed in a way for him to reproduce on his own. because of this, there is no way he was your typical ‘male’ that you see today. Meaning, that before Eve, Adam must of had some sort of other reproductive parts. Today to have a child, obviously you need male and female. So when God created Eve, he must have altered adams parts, to conjoin with Eve’s in order to reproduce.

Because of this, I would assume that the ‘male’ gender was made when the gender ‘woman’ was made.

And because of that, since we’re made in God’s image, I would assume God has no gender, or if he does, then its definitely a gender that can reproduce on its own.

 

[Seaumas]

Within God (and I don’t pretend to understand) there must be the two elements of Male and Female. God, for Heaven bid, has created us in His (label for convenience) own image, both the female and the male to join together in union to commune with the holiness of Life and give us exclusive participation in Creation itself. The philosopher Shopenaur (sp?) explained this sexual union as the driving force of Life itself beyond all else and God’s very reason for our continuance without it, without us, the world would be barren of all life and perhaps God would have perhaps considered something else. He did not. The Church knows this in all its wisdom and even celebrates its primal necessity as most precious mortal attribute. For without this duality of male and female Jesus Christ himself could not have existed (Shocking?!). This union is Holy. Men, if you are married to the woman of your heart and soul and you believe God has ultimately joined you, how can you deny that you have not felt the presence of God’s Love while in the throes of the climactical? And wives, how can you deny God’s hand in your selection and consummation, that is, if you had the free choice since I admit that many of you did not, which is an abomination? The miracle of birth; What is the first question asked upon the arrival of new life? “Is it a boy or a girl?” Who gave you the orgasm? Freud? No. God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost is all three and the subset is Male and Female. As totally absurd and crazy and insane and forbidden as it seems, God is thus proven beyeond all human reason to be both Female. And Male.

 

[paul_c]

God is pure spirit, without a body. Jesus told us that. So He is not male or female despite the pronouns we use.

But this thread has taken a seriously wrong turn if people are using it to argue whether or not maleness is superior to femaleness. It has nothing to do with that.

 

[Bix]

There is a thread on this but I wanted to make a poll and see what people think

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him ; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

I would say his spirit has both traits based upon scripture.

 

[paul_c]

Thank you. But surely if a person believes God to be male they do believe maleness to be superior to femaleness?

Honestly, its your own sensitivity showing. They might believe God is male simply because Jesus called him his Father, with no thought at all to whether that made maleness superior to femaleness.

Besides, the Church clearly teaches that all people are different but equal in the sight of God. Don’t worry about what individual people think about it. Be happy with who you are. God made you perfectly for the job he had in mind for you…

 

[nickybr38]

Thank you. But surely if a person believes God to be male they do believe maleness to be superior to femaleness?

Who believes God is male? And why does that automatically mean they believe males to be superior to females?

There is only one human being who was allowed to carry God within her. Yes. Her. I’d say kind of sounds like even if people call God male they recognize females as equally holy if not more so (considering no man was ever allowed to take God into himself) just by the simple fact that female was granted intimate communion with God.

 

[christian7777]

I voted "neither:. Although He is characterized as a male, God is spirit, not human, so I don’t think that He has a gender.

 

[paul_c]

several people here have stated that they believe God to be male. I do not believe God is male. I worry that those who believe that God is male believe that maleness is superior to femaleness.

why are you worried about this? What difference does it make what they think? What is important is the truth taught by the church. Which is: God is spirit and that he shows no partiality…

 

[razredge]

God is clearly neither - good to see the majority of people here realise this

 

[In_Spiration]

several people here have stated that they believe God to be male. I do not believe God is male. I worry that those who believe that God is male believe that maleness is superior to femaleness.

Just as Form has an ontological primacy over its substantial complement, Matter, so also does masculinity have a natural primacy over femininity. The two are essentially related rather like Act is to Potency (or Action to Passion). The latter requires the prior existence of the former for its own contingent presence, but not the other way around; and it likewise dependently remains incomplete unless perfected from without, externally – though, again, the reverse is not always or necessarily the case.

The male relates to the female most properly in the same way God (our Father) relates to creation, or the earth (Mother Nature), how Christ acts toward His Church; as soul to body, bridegroom to bride, husband to wife, father to mother, man to woman, etc. When the Word of the Lord tells us in Scripture that Eve was created second, out of Adam’s rib, God isn’t really somehow supplicating to the supposedly misogynistic sentiments of an unforgivably patriarchal people. On the contrary, He’s actually informing us of a pretty profound Truth that’s rooted in the metaphysical fact behind our common origin in Nature.

Now, all of us are feminine in regard to God, and therefore we appropriately relate to Him in such a modest fashion, i.e., with typically feminine behavior, also being sure to use the corresponding masculine terms in our reference to Him. Thus, in light of His rightful Authority, each and every one of us, whether male or female, ought to approach Him with great respect, obedience, and submission.

As for the initial question: God the Father is masculine as our Lord in His divinity, yet not a man and, hence, neither literally male nor female; the Son of Man, however, is nevertheless a man; and the Son of Man is the Son of God the Father; and the Son of God the Father is God. Consequently, one may say, “God is male,” and indeed speak the truth, as Jesus Christ is clearly a male human of the homo sapiens sapiens biological species. On the other hand, one can never state the truth asserting that God is female. So there are two correct options in this thread’s poll, as it turns out: Neither, and Male.

 

[AngryAtheist8]

Originally Posted by Cecilia_Dympna
several people here have stated that they believe God to be male. I do not believe God is male. I worry that those who believe that God is male believe that maleness is superior to femaleness.

why are you worried about this? What difference does it make what they think? What is important is the truth taught by the church. Which is: God is spirit and that he shows no partiality…

Because there are lots of people like that in positions of power:shrug:

 

[AngryAtheist8]

Originally Posted by Cecilia_Dympna
several people here have stated that they believe God to be male. I do not believe God is male. I worry that those who believe that God is male believe that maleness is superior to femaleness.

**Just as Form has an ontological primacy over its substantial complement, Matter, so also does masculinity have a natural primacy over femininity. The two are essentially related rather like Act is to Potency (or Action to Passion). The latter requires the prior existence of the former for its own contingent presence, but not the other way around; and it likewise dependently remains incomplete unless perfected from without, externally – though, again, the reverse is not always or necessarily the case. **
The male relates to the female most properly in the same way God (our Father) relates to creation, or the earth (Mother Nature), how Christ acts toward His Church; as soul to body, bridegroom to bride, husband to wife, father to mother, man to woman, etc. When the Word of the Lord tells us in Scripture that Eve was created second, out of Adam’s rib, God isn’t really somehow supplicating to the supposedly misogynistic sentiments of an unforgivably patriarchal people. On the contrary, He’s actually informing us of a pretty profound Truth that’s rooted in the metaphysical fact behind our common origin in Nature.

Now, all of us are feminine in regard to God, and therefore we appropriately relate to Him in such a modest fashion, i.e., with typically feminine behavior, also being sure to use the corresponding masculine terms in our reference to Him. Thus, in light of His rightful Authority, each and every one of us, whether male or female, ought to approach Him with great respect, obedience, and submission.

As for the initial question: God the Father is masculine as our Lord in His divinity, yet not a man and, hence, neither literally male nor female; the Son of Man, however, is nevertheless a man; and the Son of Man is the Son of God the Father; and the Son of God the Father is God. Consequently, one may say, “God is male,” and indeed speak the truth, as Jesus Christ is clearly a male human of the homo sapiens sapiens biological species. On the other hand, one can never state the truth asserting that God is female. So there are two correct options in this thread’s poll, as it turns out: Neither, and Male.

Thank you for proving Cecilia’s point