tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043107720628785237.post1635943596955835527..comments2023-11-29T16:14:57.804-06:00Comments on Both Saint and Cynic: God Has A Grammatical Gender...Brant Clementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593149504013469895noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043107720628785237.post-48872700019579980642010-08-11T21:21:07.921-05:002010-08-11T21:21:07.921-05:00As always, Kelly, thanks for your comments.
I rea...As always, Kelly, thanks for your comments.<br /><br />I really don't know what to make of Ebenezer Lutheran Faith Community (herchurch.org). I know that the anti-ELCA forces love to point to it as an example of how awful we are. I also know that I would worship there if I were in the neighborhood. <br /><br />It's interesting that feminine images for God are labeled "pagan" while masculine images are somehow "orthodox," isn't it? Arguably all gendered images of God are blasphemous, idolatrous and "pagan."<br /><br />I remember reading an article years ago that suggested that we should not talk *about* God at all. Talking about God leads us always into blasphemy and error. Rather, we should talk *to* God. That is a pretty radical proposition, and probably not practical, but worthy of consideration.<br /><br />I have a colleague who has caught flack from some of her congregation for referring to the Holy Spirit as "she." Of course, "ruach," the Hebrew word for "spirit" is a feminine noun. "Pneuma," the Greek word for "spirit" is neuter. In neither the language of the Old Testament, nor the language of the New Testament is the Holy Spirit referred to as "he." Only in translation was the Spirit masculinized.<br /><br />I appreciate your observation about "The Shack," a book that portrays two of the three persons of the Trinity as female.<br /><br />I also appreciate your taste in music. I have always liked Dishwalla's "Counting Blue Cars." Here's a link for all the rockers:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clxtg2pFTQM<br /><br />If I had the time and inclination, I'd find the reference in the Talmud for a reading of the creation account that says Adam (the word means "human" or "humanity") hermaphroditic until God separated the male and female parts into two distinct beings.<br /><br />I assume that the post you mentioned on Obie's blog was this one about "Fear of the Feminine." <br /><br />http://www.theliberalspirit.com/?p=2776<br /><br />It was a good piece and put me in mind, somehow, of Umberto Eco's essay "Eternal Fascism." It is a must-read for thinking persons. Eco raises the point that fascism, based in a communal sense of personal worthlessness, plays out in the sexual arena by "disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality."<br /><br />Link: http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_blackshirt.html<br /><br />I won't make the simple equation of fascism and fundamentalism, but among the marks of fundamentalism are a devaluation of women, and of course, condemnation of "nonstandard" sexuality. Fascism and fundamentalism also, I think, arise from similar causes: fear of modernism, a need for certainty and a longing for worth.<br /><br />I'm not sure where all this noodling is leading, but I thank you, Kelly, for sparking it.<br /><br />I don't think I'm quite done blogging about inclusive language.<br /><br />God bless,<br /><br />BrantBrant Clementshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16593149504013469895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043107720628785237.post-9773480141975268482010-08-11T10:14:23.181-05:002010-08-11T10:14:23.181-05:00Both this post and Obie's really have been ver...Both this post and Obie's really have been very thought provoking. And my blood just boils when the anti-ELCA factions parade the one church in California that has chosen to explore God as the the Divine Feminine to prove that the ELCA isn't even a Christian body any more and is embracing paganism.<br /><br />Granted it takes me out of my confort zone, but that's because of my exposure and upbringing. I don't think that my discomfort--or anyone else's for that matter--should nullify this sort of worship or exploration.<br /><br />I have always loved the song by the band Dishwalla that has the line, <i>Tell me all your thougnts on God, 'cause I'd really like to meet Her.</i><br /><br />And it's not as though exploring the Divine Feminine is anything new. The people who are screaming the loudest in our community about the church in California are the same people at my former congregation that LOVED the book The Shack. <br /><br />The catholics have embraced the divine feminine but have compartmentalized it into adoration and prayers to the Virgin Mary.<br /><br />Like you point out that we are made in God's image. That doesn't mean just the men but also the women. The female plays an integral role in God's creation. If we (females since I'm lumped in the we)were inferior or not necessary, then humans would reproduce asexual and would bud off each other like a hydra. It takes both a male and a female to create a life, each giving part of their traits to the next generation. Isn't that what God did by making us in his image?<br /><br />And for those who are offended that we don't have permission to think of God as female, you know, those claiming bibical authority and the infallibilty of the Bible forget about the Fourth Commandment. It isn't just Honor thy Father. There's the be good to your mom too clause. And this edict was given to humanity when women where considered property of their husbands. <br /><br />And to quote Luther in his explanation, <i>We should fear and love God that we may not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve, obey, and hold them in love and esteem.</i><br /><br />Equal worth with each parent on equal ground.<br /><br />The idea of the Divine Feminine really doesn't seem that new to me. We just do a great job of pushing to the background. But it looks like it has been there all the time.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01480570297272606914noreply@blogger.com