From what I’ve read in the bible God is often referred to as both genders. This may have been discussed before, but I am curious as to why many Christians refer to God in the masculine? There seems to be a psychological/philosophical undercurrent regarding the tone of masculinity throughout the church, and was curious as to how the church approaches this. Is this simply an anthropomorphic tendency of man, or is there more to it? God created man in his own image. We take man to be the catchall for man, and woman obviously, but how does that jive with Eve coming from Adam? Also the church only allows women to progress so far. In a world where people are considered equal in matters of intellect, vocation, etc…why wouldn’t some of these ideas have been readily apparent thousands of years ago in regards to scripture, and why did it take secular positioning for it to reach fruition currently, for example a woman’s right to vote??
One, the Western World hardly regards women as equal or symmetrical to men, hence the ballyhoo over treating females as “ladies.” Contemporary society is confused about biological sex and gender correspondence. What I mean by that is that it is utterly contradictory - illogical - to propose females should box males or play American football against males or fight in combat in infantry units to only turn around and tell males they need to treat those same females as “ladies.”
Gender is largely a social construct. Therefore, you can be male but have opposite gender, that of a female. We call males like this at times “sissies.”
My point is if you can not hook, jab, bite, and pull bayonet on a “lady” lest it be immoral, then females ought not be cops or grunts or boxers.
But more to your inquiry: The excepted Jesus the three persons of the Trinity are spirit and never took on the matter form of animal human life. The reasons Catholics have long referred to the first person of the Trinity as “God the Father” is because male humans (and females) are said within Catholicism to take on the female role in relation to God. Think of insemination - but in the spiritual sense.
A number of monks during the Middle Ages wrote very homoerotic literature about themselves in relation to God.
But the role and place of Mary is very unique in Catholicism/Orthodoxy. I would challenge anyone to find her equivalent in any religion on earth. They won’t find it. Not in Buddhism or in the avatars of the one God within Hinduism. Actually, Hinduism probably has female avatars that come the closest to rivaling the Virgin Mary.
Points on the Virgin Mary:
#1. The New Eve (therefore, the salvation of mankind is led and depends on women not men).
#2. An historical woman that was a human person (Jesus was a human but had 2 natures, his personhood was divine not human).
#3. The most perfect human person (female; a she) to ever exist.
#4. The Mother of God. And God came through a woman’s most intimate parts regarded by Orthodox Jews of centuries ago as disgusting (Buddhism also regards the female vagina as sickening and beneath that of enlightened and good men).
#5. She needed no man to have sex with. She was in a certain sense the ultimate feminist ideal. No sex with human men and gives birth to God.
#6. Her titles are numerous.
#7. She brought as many (numerically) Amerindians in Mexico into Catholicism as the number of Europeans that left the Church in the Western European Reformation.
As for female advancement in the Church. That is true to some extent. At some point females to hit a wall. But people misunderstand the “advancements” and those odds for males within the Church. I’ve only known one priest that was ever raised to the office of Bishop. And it’s probably better odds I’ll become the President of the United States than he’ll become the Pope in Rome.
Becoming a nun or priest or monk or brother or even a celibate lay person are not very attractive to most men and women in the world - especially those from developed nations. Let’s see: most All American teenage boys don’t aspire to go through 4 years of college and probably 4 or 5 years of seminary training just to vow poverty (relative poverty), celibacy, and obedience to their Bishop.
Basically, becoming a priest is like an American boy volunteering for the U.S. Army then volunteering for the Army Rangers. The Army Generals and officer corps comes from out the ranks of the Army. Now, if some fat body lay Catholic wants to become the Pope of Rome tell him to do the metaphorical Army Ranger sacrifice. Walk the miles of hell. Until that time he armchair quarterback and complain.
Semper Fi.
Former U.S. Jarhead.
