Sex of God?
 

Why do people put a sex to God? (I'm referring to the Christian God) I just don't understand how an all-powerful being could be even remotely similar to his creations (yes, I know we were created "in his image," but I imagine that to lie more along the lines of free will and intelligence, not actual physical resemblance). This question has bugged me for a while, and I was just wondering if anyone else had some thoughts.

The idea of God being a male obviously has roots in the ancient and rather male dominant world.

The major reason why we continue to use the adjectives “he” or “she” is because the English language forces us too. If we personify a living thing then we immediately have to attach a reference to it’s sex.

Well, most Christians believe that the Bible was inspired by God (though they disagree on exactly what that means). One thing noteworthy, as I pointed out in another thread, is that while the Bible occasionally uses feminine imagery to refer to God ("O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" Luke 13:34), it never uses it to refer to God directly. In fact, when his disciples ask Jesus how to pray, he tells them to address them as Father. So, under this line of reasoning, we call God Father, because that's what he wants us to call him.

Three notes to append:

1. No one really believes that God has a sex. Some, but not most, might believe he has a gender, but not a sex.

2. But, technically speaking, if we really wanted to assign God a sex, it would have to be male. Traditionally Christians have believed in, not only the bodily resurrection of Christ, but his bodily ascension. And since Christ was obviously male... That's really just nitpicking though.

3. I was sure I had a third point just a second ago, but it seems to have slipped my mind. If it comes back to me, I'll edit.

As usual, I can't speak for other Christian religions (although I suspect most agree), but the Catholic Church doesn't assign a sex to God at all. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Not really much to add, except to say that the idea from the movie Dogma always appealed to me... the idea that we project our own image onto God. ie a female would think God was female, etc....

My dog told me that God looks like a dog!

Well, I thing Carlin hit it dead on. God has to be a man. No woman would or could fuck things up so bad.

If god is a male then there have to be female gods right? Gender is function of reproduction. If god is male than there must be at least one female god to make his maleness meaningful. Does a male god have some sort of phallic manifestation? Isn't that how we define maleness?

I don't think the idea holds any water.

As for having to use the masculine pronoun, i always learned that god is god, no pronouns apply.

Well, it does say something about "THou shall have no other Gods before me". Now, that doesn't say "no oter Gods". Just means no matter waht, you have to put Him at the top of the food chain. With that veiw, you could very eaisly have other, maybe female gods. If you are someone that feels the need to asign sex...

Its human nature to feel more associated with beings that resemble ourselves. Human ego. Thus humans like to think of God in the image of a human therefor must have a sex.

God doesn't have to have a sex, it's a GOD!

Look at the Roman and Greek gods. They all had a sex. And sex could also be used as a term to descibe more then just reproductive organs. Mind set as well, can be broken down to masculine and feminin.

Yes, but the poster is referring to the Christian God and to my knowledge few, if any, Christian religions actually believe that God has a sex.

Seer666: usually, when people are being careful in their use of language, sex = having reproductive organs of a certain sort and gender = being inclined in a certain way, i.e., masculine or feminine. Just trying to be helpful; I'm by no means any more careful with my language on a regular basis than anyone else.

Those gods and goddesses had a sex because the origin, and the understanding of those dieties required them. Remember though that the lines between sexes was different. Zeus was male, but had a daughter (Athena) by himself without Hera, split open his head and voila..

In the old testament God is God... no sex needed

Oh my god, I get it now!

Lucifer's expulsion was a domestic dispute.

;-)

I always assumed that "Created in his image" was why man, Adam, was created first... Women, were created second, but not that is because importence... I always believed that women were created as man, only altered slightly for reproduction purposes... Women, they amaze me...

I have personally always favored the god demonstated by Plotinus ( around 260 b.c.) where god was nothing humanoid at all. it was simply the most perfect one thing that existed, and it didn't need your acknowledgment to be perfect. also, anything that we expereince as existing is "contained" within the god(something that ole Spinoza liked to talk about). But in the end it's all just Aristotle all over again, just like everything.

That's pretty much what most (all?) Christian religions believe.

the god of the old testament demonstrates a lot of strange
human qualities. granted that it may all be working as a parable, a tool to transfer an idea, but the bible just doesn't have that logical way of saying this is what god would have to be.

(of course, its been awhile, like a year or something, since i'ce really read the bible. i'm on other philosphy at school)

male, a woman could never screw things up like this.

Rather than saying God has no sex (asexual) I prefer to say that God encompasses ALL sexes.

I think to think of God, rather than by sex or static image, as a force that we perceive in a manner that is possible for us to understand, and is generally pleasing.

I think God will look different to every person, as no single image could be sufficient to visually represent him. To me, God might be an older gentleman who reminds me of my passed grandfather, which would comfort me. To another, God may be female because that is what that particular person interprets God to look like in their mind.

Besides, it's silly to assume that God would be tied down to just one form anyway. That kinda belies the whole all-powerful thing, dont' you all think? :)

Precisely. Really, the idea of trying to attribute any "form" at all to God is silly IMO. God simply is.