God and gender: Encyclopedia II - God and gender - Criticism of feminine reconstructions of theology

God and gender - Criticism of feminine reconstructions of theology

Grammatically, most of the Hebrew names for God are masculine; a few are grammatically feminine; the grammatical form of words has no biological or literal significance. Many modern readers of the Bible, especially those influenced by 20th century feminism, often misread English translations of the Bible as literal translations of the Hebrew text; this leads to errors of understanding, as for grammatical reasons literal translations are not always possible. English does not have grammatical gender in nouns, but it does have grammatical gender in pronouns. In contrast, all Hebrew nouns have grammatical gender.

For example, the Hebrew words "yom tov" and "shavua tov" are grammatically male, and are translated as "day" and "week"; the Hebrew phrase "shanah tovah" ("Have a good year") is grammatically feminine. No one conversant in Hebrew imagines that days and weeks are conceived of by Jews as male, or that years are thought of as female. However, when it comes to translating Biblical names of God this is the idea that exists among many modern day English speakers. The modern reader often assumes that the Hebrew text is referring to a male God. In response, some feminists have attempted to construct a female-God image, or feminine way of speaking about God, to rebut the male-God image that they perceive.

Many feminists say the society in which the Bible is written was patriarchal, and that the use of male words for God would have been expected. Some Christian and Jewish objectors to gender-sensitive translations hold that there are profound theological reasons for masculine references to God, whereas feminine references have pagan connotations that cannot be avoided.

An argument for using female symbols for God arises from the practical effects of God-language on the readers. Imagery for God helps people understand the world. The way a faith community talks about God indicates what it considers the highest good, the profoundest truth. This language, in turn, molds the community's behavior, as well as its members' self-understanding. The fact that Jews and Christians ordinarily speak about God in the image of a male ruler can be problematic. For feminist theology, the difficulty does not lie with the male metaphors. Men as well as women are created in the image of God. The problem lies in the fact that the specific male images reflect a patriarchal arrangement of the world, casting God into the mold of an omnipotent, even if benevolent, monarch. God's maternal relation to the world is eclipsed.

Some traditional religious figures reject gender sensitive translations, and reject feminine names for God, as feminine names cannot be ascribed God, as God created the universe ex nihilo. In this view, it is proper for God to beget (as fathers are often conceived of acting), rather than for God to be the passive recepient of begetting (as mothers are often conceived of as acting). This is related to creation ex nihilo, as a feminine deity would have birthed the universe, making it a "part" of herself in much the same manner as children can be spoken of as "parts of their mothers."

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Criticism of feminine reconstructions of theology", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki