Is God gender-neutral?

Nov 22, 2018 by Jill

Archbishop of Canterbury reflects on God as a father “who loves me unconditionally”, from Archbishop of Canterbury website:

Descriptions of God are always “to some degree metaphorical”, the Archbishop said during a discussion event with the Revd Dr Sam Wells. Speaking at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on Monday evening, Archbishop Justin said: “It is extraordinarily important as Christians that we remember that the definitive revelation of who God is was not in words, but in the word of God who we call Jesus Christ. We can’t pin God down.”

He added: “God is not a father in exactly the same way as a human being is a father. God is not male or female. God is not definable,” he said.

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This has given rise to a great deal of comment…

from The Guardian:

Not in His name: God is gender-neutral, says archbishop of Canterbury.

Name: Gender-neutral God.

Age: Eternal, of course.

Appearance: NOT an old bloke with a long white beard.

Occupation: Creating the world, then washing ~~His~~ Its/Their hands of the whole mess; showing tough love to Its/Their ~~son~~ divine offspring; moving in mysterious ways.

What’s with all these crossings out? Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, has declared that God is not the Father and should not be seen as a male figure.

You mean Our Father who art in heaven is no longer hallowed? Hallowed, yes – just not Our Father any more.

What about Ariana Grande? Her hit single puts her with the 1% who told YouGov they believe God is a Woman, although Grande cites sketchy theological evidence (“I feel it after midnight / A feelin’ that you can’t fight”).

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