In God's Image
When you hear the name God, what images come to mind? I remember being five or six years old and trying hard to put a face on this Being that my mom spoke of--who had created the world in seven days, sent the Son to die on the cross for us, and who loved us more than she or I could ever imagine--and I became frustrated trying to place at least a relatively familiar face on such an extraordinarily exotic creature. It's still hard for me to attach a picture to something so powerful, eternal, and all-encompassing, even though I've had plenty of time to work on it in the time that has elapsed since the kindergarten years.
One of my most prized possessions growing up was that Golden Book called, My Little Book About God. I think the cover has been redone for subsequent publishings since the 1970's, but looking at it on amazon.com still conjures up that feeling of mystery and intrigue about God that first hit me as I flipped through the pages of this little book at our beige and gold kitchen counter at home in Elwood, Nebraska in the late seventies. I remember picturing God as light back then, but now I'm not sure if that was because I truly knew God to possess a quality of brightness, or if this was a product of the influence of all the seventies gold in the kitchen. Either way I suppose the vision of God as light is accurate.
Somewhere along the way though I began to picture God as a white-haired old man. I think this happened over time, after years of hearing Sunday school and Vacation Bible School references to God using only the male pronoun, and after speaking of God in the same gender-specific terms. And I suppose since I knew God had been around since the beginning of time, I also found it acceptable to attach an elderly body to the already male image. It wasn't until college that I began to detach from this archaic image of God. And since becoming a good deal more socially conscious in recent years, it pains me to think of God as a white-haired old man, looking as if a suit and tie is the only thing that separates this figure from a seat in Congress. Perhaps if God were a member of Congress more affirmative and benevolent legislation would be passed.
It doesn't help that the Bible uses male pronouns to refer to God. Most if not all of the translations still refer to God as He, and when we repeatedly refer to someone we've never seen face to face as he, we can't help but picture the male gender. In our culture and many other cultures across the globe, men seem to be assigned the most power, the most discernment, and the most glory, so it's only natural to assign the same gender to God, who is omniscent, omnipresent, entitled to the most praise and glory. But God is so much greater than men. It's a shame that our minds assign any human traits at all to a being so magnificent and holy.
I make every effort to picture God now as goodness, light, and love. It's hard to attach any concrete images to those terms, but I think it's important not to limit God by attaching words with finite meanings. God is not finite after all. Goodness, light, and love are limitless. If I had to paint a picture of the image of God that is in my head as I write this blog, I would say it's a very bright, fluid Being with edges that are undefined. There are eyes and arms that seem to serve the purpose of welcoming me, but otherwise this Body is pretty free of structure. You try to put words to your vision of God.
It is hard for me to refrain from using He and His at times--especially when I'm speaking and don't have immediate access to the backspace and delete keys--but habits become breakable with practice. Viewing God in more full terms than male pronouns allow is a progressive idea, but one that is necessary if we are to grow in our understanding of God.
Genesis 1:27 (The Message) says :
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God's nature.
He created them male and female.
We were all created in God's image, both male and female, so God is She as much as God is He, and Mother as much as Father. When I hear someone refer to God as one gender or the other I automatically extract a more full meaning for myself; one that includes both male and female. I guess we all see the world from a unique perspective and assign our own images to God, no matter what arbitrary words happen to be chosen by another person.
To attribute only the male gender to God just seems like we're creating an ocean that is only half as deep as it could be. And we won't discover the true depth without first reconsidering some of the traditions that we have nonchalantly accepted as truth, and then using those findings to expand our definition of God. Mother, Father, Creator, Spirit...help us do that very thing.
One of my most prized possessions growing up was that Golden Book called, My Little Book About God. I think the cover has been redone for subsequent publishings since the 1970's, but looking at it on amazon.com still conjures up that feeling of mystery and intrigue about God that first hit me as I flipped through the pages of this little book at our beige and gold kitchen counter at home in Elwood, Nebraska in the late seventies. I remember picturing God as light back then, but now I'm not sure if that was because I truly knew God to possess a quality of brightness, or if this was a product of the influence of all the seventies gold in the kitchen. Either way I suppose the vision of God as light is accurate.
Somewhere along the way though I began to picture God as a white-haired old man. I think this happened over time, after years of hearing Sunday school and Vacation Bible School references to God using only the male pronoun, and after speaking of God in the same gender-specific terms. And I suppose since I knew God had been around since the beginning of time, I also found it acceptable to attach an elderly body to the already male image. It wasn't until college that I began to detach from this archaic image of God. And since becoming a good deal more socially conscious in recent years, it pains me to think of God as a white-haired old man, looking as if a suit and tie is the only thing that separates this figure from a seat in Congress. Perhaps if God were a member of Congress more affirmative and benevolent legislation would be passed.
It doesn't help that the Bible uses male pronouns to refer to God. Most if not all of the translations still refer to God as He, and when we repeatedly refer to someone we've never seen face to face as he, we can't help but picture the male gender. In our culture and many other cultures across the globe, men seem to be assigned the most power, the most discernment, and the most glory, so it's only natural to assign the same gender to God, who is omniscent, omnipresent, entitled to the most praise and glory. But God is so much greater than men. It's a shame that our minds assign any human traits at all to a being so magnificent and holy.
I make every effort to picture God now as goodness, light, and love. It's hard to attach any concrete images to those terms, but I think it's important not to limit God by attaching words with finite meanings. God is not finite after all. Goodness, light, and love are limitless. If I had to paint a picture of the image of God that is in my head as I write this blog, I would say it's a very bright, fluid Being with edges that are undefined. There are eyes and arms that seem to serve the purpose of welcoming me, but otherwise this Body is pretty free of structure. You try to put words to your vision of God.
It is hard for me to refrain from using He and His at times--especially when I'm speaking and don't have immediate access to the backspace and delete keys--but habits become breakable with practice. Viewing God in more full terms than male pronouns allow is a progressive idea, but one that is necessary if we are to grow in our understanding of God.
Genesis 1:27 (The Message) says :
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God's nature.
He created them male and female.
We were all created in God's image, both male and female, so God is She as much as God is He, and Mother as much as Father. When I hear someone refer to God as one gender or the other I automatically extract a more full meaning for myself; one that includes both male and female. I guess we all see the world from a unique perspective and assign our own images to God, no matter what arbitrary words happen to be chosen by another person.
To attribute only the male gender to God just seems like we're creating an ocean that is only half as deep as it could be. And we won't discover the true depth without first reconsidering some of the traditions that we have nonchalantly accepted as truth, and then using those findings to expand our definition of God. Mother, Father, Creator, Spirit...help us do that very thing.
posted by Jen Austin at 2:22 PM
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