Was Jesus Female ?????

Originally posted by Divinus
God could most certainly be described as being female...Jesus, I'm not so sure about. One feminist theologian (whose name I have forgotten) speculated that the blood of Jesus on the cross was in fact menstrual blood, and I've met one person who reckons that as the Bible never actually says Jesus was a man other than calling him "he", that he might have been female, transsexual, or an hermaphrodite.

But DNATREE has a point, spirit is neither male nor female, so God at least can be said to be either male or female, or neither, or both, and as Jesus is God (John 1:1) you could say the same about him/her.

All praise to God/dess as Schussler Fiorenza puts it.

-Divinus

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For what it's worth on a thread obviously posted mostly for entertainment value, God is never referred to in any feminine way because His attributes are masculine. Indeed, the symbolsim of the church being the bride of Christ is based on the understanding of God as masculine.

To say that "spirit" lacks primary and secondary physical sexual characteristics is of course a truism, but to leap from there to the idea that spirit can't be male or female, masuline or feminine, is a blind assertion.

Was Jesus female?

YES – genetically!

His mother had no genetic input from any other human being. Being female, her genotype was XX. There was no Y chromosome for her to produce a male parthenogenetically (unless, perhaps, she was *not* genetically female…?)

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Dang biology...

God could most certainly be described as being female...Jesus, I'm not so sure about. One feminist theologian (whose name I have forgotten) speculated that the blood of Jesus on the cross was in fact menstrual blood, and I've met one person who reckons that as the Bible never actually says Jesus was a man other than calling him "he", that he might have been female, transsexual, or an hermaphrodite.

But DNATREE has a point, spirit is neither male nor female, so God at least can be said to be either male or female, or neither, or both, and as Jesus is God (John 1:1) you could say the same about him/her.

All praise to God/dess as Schussler Fiorenza puts it.

-Divinus

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Dang deconstructionist thought...



But seriously... with God having a hand in Jesus conception, I don't think it would have been any big deal for Him to give Jesus XY chromosomes. And considering all the holes the Roman soldiers put in Him, I don't think Jesus would have had to resort to "menstrual blood" to bleed.

Athlon,
Prisca taught men, remember

Dave,
Some feminist theologians are a bit wacky, yes, but not all. Some of them do have a point, though I think the descriptions of Jesus as transsexual, hermaphroditic or female might be better applied to God the Father - or the Spirit, than to Jesus.

Shane,

For what it's worth on a thread obviously posted mostly for entertainment value, God is never referred to in any feminine way because His attributes are masculine. Indeed, the symbolsim of the church being the bride of Christ is based on the understanding of God as masculine.

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God is sometimes described with feminine attributes:

Psalm 131:1-3 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

Isaiah 66:12-13 For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall suck, you shall be carried upon her hip, and dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."

Proverbs 8:22-3 The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

Wisdom (female) was the model of Christ as portrayed in John:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Matthew 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"

Those are feminine ways of describing God, in the Bible. Also, in Church history there have been feminine images of God:

"The mother can hold her child tenderly to her breast, but our tender Mother, Jesus, can lead us in friendly fashion into His blessed breast by means of His sweet open side and there show us something of the godhead and the joys of heaven with a spiritual assurance of endless bliss. This He showed in the ninth revelation, giving the same understanding in the sweet word where He said, "See how I loved you!" while He looked into His blessed side, rejoicing.
This fair, lovely word "mother" is so sweet and so natural in itself that is cannot truly be said of anyone but Him, or to anyone but Him, Who is the true Mother of life and of everything."

(Julian of Norwich, The Revelation of Divine Love Chapter 60. Trans: M. L. del Mastro, pp168-9, Burns & Oates 1977)

To say that "spirit" lacks primary and secondary physical sexual characteristics is of course a truism, but to leap from there to the idea that spirit can't be male or female, masuline or feminine, is a blind assertion.

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The idea can be brought forth from scripture, from that the image of God is male and female (Genesis 1:27) and that in Christ there is no male nor female (Galatians 3:28).


-Divinus

Originally posted by Athlon4all
He was a teacher, and Women cannot teach to men which Jesus obviously did, so that shows that he is indeed "male"

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Who says a man can not learn from a woman? I am not saying that Jesus was a woman or anything, don't take me wrong. I just think that if a man has the opean mind enough to listen he can learn alot from a woman.

Note: I am not advocating woman preachers.

Originally posted by budoka
His mother had no genetic input from any other human being.

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But she had genetic input from God. If you say God has a ZZ chromosome, then Jesus would be XZ, so his horomones would be 1/2 God, whatever that might mean...

Oh, admit, it's all in silliness. God doesn't need to subscribe to genetic laws

What difference would it make if he were female, anyway? Would you somehow find "her" less Godlike than "him"?

Originally posted by HazyRigby
What difference would it make if he were female, anyway? Would you somehow find "her" less Godlike than "him"?

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It doesn't matter. Scripture refers to Jesus as a man. The language that describes Him is masculine.

And in what way is God masculine, then? He obviously isn't anatomically correct in that regard. Does he have chromosomes that are XY? If those two definitions don't fit, then how do you define "masculine"?

Let's face it. When you're talking about something "supernatural," all descriptions that rely on nature go out the window. The only reason that "God" is identified as male is because the people who were in charge of writing the Bible were male. You can't ascribe something to a supernatural being that doesn't apply to supernatural beings--i.e., gender.

The bigger question here is: Does it matter what gender He was? In the grander scheme of things, no.

But to be fair, in that time period, people would be more likely to take a man serious than a woman. So, it seems to me that it wasn't a "man is greater than woman" issue that God set before us...more of a convenience issue at the time.

Gender is something God most likely doesn't adhere to. What need does he have for it? Gender is strictly a sexual reproduction shpiel. It's a tool. Nothing more, really.

The Bible declares all persons of the Trinity to be male, and describes God as "He" and 'the Father of those who believe."

He has inspired His Word to do this to distinguish Him from the gods and goddesses of idolatry.

Well, to be fair the Bible also describes the Spirit (and God, in John 4) to be an "it".
I don't see either as being idolatrous unless, of course, saying "she" (or 'he' for that matter) makes you think you're being idolatrous, or think of pagan god/esses when worshipping God.

Originally posted by HazyRigby
And in what way is God masculine, then? He obviously isn't anatomically correct in that regard. Does he have chromosomes that are XY? If those two definitions don't fit, then how do you define "masculine"?

Let's face it. When you're talking about something "supernatural," all descriptions that rely on nature go out the window. The only reason that "God" is identified as male is because the people who were in charge of writing the Bible were male. You can't ascribe something to a supernatural being that doesn't apply to supernatural beings--i.e., gender.

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Jesus is fully human and fully God. And his humanity's gender is male. I don't see it as a difficult thing for God to have supernaturally given Jesus XY chromosomes.

lol I thought you were serious!