- Jan 2, 2015
- 11,556
- 5,728
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Presbyterian
- Marital Status
- Married
Well, people have already pointed out clearly male language for God. Others have pointed out clearly female language God. Both are referenced throughout Scripture. I'm not going to go back through the ones in Scripture using male language, because these have been well embraced.
As far as God as mother:
Genesis 1:27 Women and Men created in God’s image
“Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them.”
Hosea 11:3-4 God described as a mother
God: “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I who took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.”
Hosea 13:8 God described as a mother bear
“Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and tear them asunder…”
Deuteronomy 32:11-12 God described as a mother eagle
“Like the eagle that stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young, God spreads wings to catch you, and carries you on pinions.”
Deuteronomy 32:18 God who gives birth
“You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”
Isaiah 66:13 God as a comforting mother
God: “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
Isaiah 49:15 God compared to a nursing mother
God: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
Isaiah 42:14 God as a woman in labor
God: “For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept myself still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.”
Psalm 131:2 God as a Mother
“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.”
Psalm 123:2-3 God compared to a woman
“As the eyes of a servant looks to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to you, YHWH, until you show us your mercy!”
Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 God as a Mother Hen
Jesus: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
Luke 15:8-10 God as woman looking for her lost coin
Jesus: “Or what woman having ten silver coins, is she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
These are clear examples, though as others have pointed out, the Hebrew Elohim (all over the Bible) in and of itself, has female implications. These examples have led to this conflict with conservatives calling God Father and liberals calling God Mother. Let's just be honest, that is the way this debate has come to surface. Conservatives and Liberals each have an arsenal of Scripture, so who is right?
BOTH.
Is God our Heavenly Father who rules over us, punishes us when we go astray, etc. etc.? Yes, of course He is. Conservatives are right. Is God our Heavenly Mother who cares for us, nurtures us, protects us, etc. etc.? Yes, of course She is. Liberals are right. Both are right but both are wrong when we forget about the other aspect, the other side. The major thrust of this current debate has been directed against the error that arises when liberals make God into only a Mother (which threatens to disengage from God the Father and recreate the Divine as just another pagan goddess).
But Scripture affirms both God the Mother and God the Father. And how do we reconcile this mystery? Through a Trinitarian lens. This is the mystery of the Trinity - three in One.
God as Father, God as Mother and God as Androgyne.
I do not need to say more about God as Father, as others have already done so (from Scripture). I have just listed several aspects from Scripture which refer to God as Mother (which can exist in conjunction with what others have said here as well). So this leaves me with one last claim to defend: that Jesus, God incarnate, was in fact both. And to that, I will turn...
Using an analogy does not change one's being. If I care for a puppy like I'm its mother, does that make me a female dog? None these references make "Mother God" a reality, biblically, and some of them are utterly ridiculous.
Upvote
0
