On God’s Gender

Language

If you study languages, or have taken a class in high school, one of the things that the English language does not have is the idea of masculine and feminine words. In Spanish, the word friend can be said amigo or amiga. Amigo means a friend that is a male. Amiga means a friend that is a female. If you are talking about a group of friends that is male, you should say, amigos. If you are talking about a group of friends that is female, you would say amigas. A group that has both males and females is addressed as amigos, and that simply means that both genders are in the group. So does that really mean that language is prejudice against women? I don’t think so.

We Are All Created in the Image of God

I believe that the Lord is fully male and fully female. I know it sounds complicated, but the creation story, in Genesis, says that we are all created in the image of God male and female. If women were also created in the image of God, then that means God is such a complete being that ‘He’ holds all of the characteristics of both men and women. That is why men and women are so drawn to each other: we complete each other.

Christianity does not ignore or put down women by calling God ‘Him.’ Women are just as much a part of who ‘He’ is as men are. I want to suggest to you that amigos represents male and female just as the ‘He’ in reference to God encompasses all of who God is. Human language is not complex enough to properly reflect the essence of God, and saying that God is ‘He’ is simply to tell us that he is both male and female.

What about Jesus, wasn’t he a man?

It is true that the manifestation of God in human flesh, Jesus, was in fact a man. I don’t have hard evidence to prove to you the reasons why the Lord chose to represent himself in that way, but ‘He’ did. I can only speculate, but it could be because man was created first. Jesus is said to be the ‘Second Adam,’ or the beginning of a new birth for humanity. Since it was a male that initially began the human race, with the help of Eve, it only makes sense to begin again with a man. Mary was chosen to assist God is this birth into humanity, so how can you say that God doesn’t love women and want them to be in his plans just as much as men?

Women of the Bible

Prominent women of the Bible, like Esther, Ruth, Elizabeth mother of John the Baptist, and Mary mother of Jesus, exemplify the strength and beauty of women. They are not ignored, they are not left out of the Bible, and they are not portrayed as weak or inferior to men. Considering the time period, well before feminist movements and women’s rights, these women have honorable mention in the Bible. Entire books of the Bible are dedicated to some of their stories and that says a lot about their importance.

One dispute I have heard is that Eve makes women look evil and God punished us with the menstrual cycle and child birth because of her. The consequences of sin are not punishments. Disobeying God has negative consequences and that is exactly why God tells us the right thing to do. It was not God’s intention to get back at human beings for not listening to what ‘He’ said, the whole idea was for us to avoid the pain of the consequences by trusting ‘Him’ and listening to ‘Him’ in the first place.

Women are not paying for the sins of Eve. Women are paying for their own sins. Trust me, by the time a young lady has her first period, she has done something she knew was wrong. Everyone makes the wrong choice with something in their lives, no exceptions. If you think you’re perfect, then the fact that you are so prideful is what your mistake is. All humans alike live in the world with the choice to do wrong and sometimes, we take that choice, no matter how good of a person you are.

I don’t look at it as eternal punishment, but a reminder that none of us are perfect. Men and women are different, whether you feel like admitting it or not and therefore have different consequences to deal with. We are equal, and I believe God sees us as equal as well. We are different, to some degree, and that doesn’t make women inferior. Trust me, it was never God’s intention to put women down.

You have to read about the women in the entire Bible before you can truly conclude that it is gender bias. If you are interested, I would suggest the book, Every Woman in the Bible: Everything in the Bible Series by the Richards, a husband and wife team. They cite and discuss every she, her, woman, women, wife, and female name that is mentioned.

God loves us all the same, men and women, young and old. Don’t discredit the truth of the Bible because you want women to be equal. Women are equal from God’s perspective, and you’ll see it if you really look for it in ‘His’ word.

Adios Amigos!