Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site pyuxn.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!pyuxww!pyuxn!rlr From: rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) Newsgroups: net.religion,net.women Subject: Re: Deific gender question (SARGENT) Message-ID: <981@pyuxn.UUCP> Date: Tue, 14-Aug-84 16:19:09 EDT Article-I.D.: pyuxn.981 Posted: Tue Aug 14 16:19:09 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 15-Aug-84 01:28:49 EDT References: <254@siemens.UUCP>, <957@pyuxn.UUCP> <921@pucc-h> Organization: Bellcore: We were the CSO, we were the central staff Lines: 32 > It is appropriate to refer to God with *some* personal pronoun. "God created > man in His own image", and we are persons; so how could God not be personal? > Even without the creation argument, a god is something greater than human; so > it seems a little odd to suggest an impersonal god when we see personal > humans. It is precisely because the notion of a deity implies something "greater than human" that that the use of "human"-oriented or even life-form-oriented terms seems bogus. Does the idea of using a pronoun denoting neither sex seem less great than using one that implies a particular sex? > As to the gender question: The New Testament, in probably dozens of places, > uses the word Father to refer to God in heaven; particularly is this evident > in the words of Jesus Himself. On the other hand, even the man Jesus is > recorded as having applied at least one feminine image to Himself > ("O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers > her chicks under her wings, and you would not let me!" [approximate quote]). The sexuality preconceptions of those who wrote the text should not affect what a deity really is, should they? >> If it doesn't change your life, it's not worth doing. [from my signature] > This has a great deal of application to Christianity. It has even more application to rationalism and independent logical thinking. (You got your plug in, I get the chance to get mine in, too, no?) I hope Jeff doesn't think THIS signature line is applicable to Christianity, otherwise we're all in trouble... -- "If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy!" Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr