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About God
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Protestantism |
English Church Asks God to Stop Using a Preferred Gender Pronoun
Source:
https://russian-faith.com/news/ |
Though God never self-identified as "She" in any part of Scripture, the
Archbishop of Canterbury determined that this
non-preferred gender pronoun should be forced on God.
The archbishop also suggests that we stop using the word
"Father" in reference to God, since "God is not a father
in exactly the same way as a human being is a father".
In related news, many people have stopped referring to the archbishop as a
"Christian", even though the archbishop occasionally
self-identifies as one.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said that God
is “not male nor female,” after female bishops demanded
the Church of England stop referring to God solely as
“he.”
Archbishop of Canterbury — Justin Welby — Leader of the
Church of England
The head of the worldwide Anglican communion told
attendees at a lecture at St Martin-in-the-Fields in
Trafalgar Square:
“All human language about God is inadequate and to some
degree metaphorical."
“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."
“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.”
Professor of Christian history Diarmaid MacCulloch
backed Archbishop Welby’s statement, telling The Times that the reason
God has been perceived as male is due to “patriarchal
assumptions” of early Christian societies of Greece and
Rome.
The world is now different,” Professor MacCulloch
said, “and we have to show that our view of God is wider
than that and not get stuck with archaic terms.”
The comments by England’s most senior bishop follow
those of the first female bishop Right Reverend Rachel
Treweek, bishop of Gloucester, and Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey
Wells, Bishop of Dorking, who said in September that referring to God as a man was a “growing problem” and said the Church
should stop referring to the deity as solely male.
Treweek argued that the use of male language could be
damaging to young girls and boys, and that gendered
language would be insufficiently welcoming to
non-Christians.
Wells said she goes out of her way to use both “male
and female imagery” when preaching.
In the U.S., the United Methodist Church voted down an amendment to its Book of Discipline in May that would have said God is
not “male or female.”
Meanwhile the U.S. Episcopal Church set up a committee
in July to “provide a pathway” towards revising its Book
of Common Prayer to include gender-neutral language.
Church leaders called for the revisions to correct the
“overwhelming use of masculine language” which they
believe to be a “barrier to evangelizing young people,” according to Fox News.
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Article published in English on: 8-12-2018.
Last update: 8-12-2018.