Is this some kind of discrimination with ladies ?

[exchemist]

Not all of it. 'He' is used for G-d in Hebrew simply as the noun for deity in Hebrew is masculine. If it were feminine we would be saying 'She' I imagine. 'Shekinah' is feminine and is referred to as such.

I restricted my remarks to Christendom, because I was not sure how the Hebrew OT would handle sex and gender.

But nonetheless interesting to learn the gender of the word for God in Hebrew.

 

[Spirit of Light]

I personally see it as disrespectful of me to try to describe Allah when I as a human being can not know. To me there is some question that is not needed to be asked or answered.
And no matter how Allah do look in perfect form( truth) i am not comfortable to even try to describe something i can not know.
Yes Qur'an have some words about it, but i do not understand the fullness of those words yet.

 

[Rival]

I personally see it as disrespectful of me to try to describe Allah when I as a human being can not know. To me there is some question that is not needed to be asked or answered.
And no matter how Allah do look in perfect form( truth) i am not comfortable to even try to describe something i can not know.
Yes Qur'an have some words about it, but i do not understand the fullness of those words yet.

This may be useful: Apophatic theology - Wikipedia

 

[Spirit of Light]

This may be useful: Apophatic theology - Wikipedia

Thank you @Rival
This part made sense to me of the link you gave

"God's absolute transcendence and unknowability in such a way that we cannot say anything about the divine essence because God is so totally beyond being. The dual concept of the immanence and transcendence of God can help us to understand the simultaneous truth of both "ways" to God: at the same time as God is immanent, God is also transcendent. At the same time as God is knowable, God is also unknowable. God cannot be thought of as one or the other only."

 

[Rival]

Thank you @Rival
This part made sense to me of the link you gave

"God's absolute transcendence and unknowability in such a way that we cannot say anything about the divine essence because God is so totally beyond being. The dual concept of the immanence and transcendence of God can help us to understand the simultaneous truth of both "ways" to God: at the same time as God is immanent, God is also transcendent. At the same time as God is knowable, God is also unknowable. God cannot be thought of as one or the other only."

It's the normative view in many Abrahamic faiths, pretty much. But as you and others note, we are human and have to talk about G-d somehow, so we are limited to using human speech.

 

[chinu]

Yes Qur'an have some words about it, but i do not understand the fullness of those words yet.

If you ask same question to me.. does Respected "Quran" describes God ? I will answer.. It describes the way towards God, but, Not God. I respect all holy books equally.

But, a recipe book is NOT a food.

 

[exchemist]

I haven't the slightest idea if 'Christendom' has failed to realize this logical contradiction or not. Either way it doesn't change the reality that it IS a logical contradiction. And yes, authority figures had always been males, so the use of masculine pronouns is used exclusively to emphasize the notion that males are somehow superior to females. In other words it's based on nothing more than a childish fear of women and a pathetic need to devalue them. Just look at Rival's original response... he STILL can't see a woman as an authority figure.

This is silly, axe-grinding stuff now. Societies of the era when these religions arose were patriarchal. That's just a fact. Nothing to do with "fear".

The word for God, in any language, needs from time to time to be substituted by an appropriate personal pronoun, in the construction of text. Given the patriarchal bias of the era it is natural that in Hebrew it would be masculine. In Christianity this goes further in that the imagery is of a father and a son, so God has a male sex as well as masculine gender (Though the Holy Spirit seems to escape sexual characterisation). But it is just natural for the culture of the time.

(In fact, I've always thought it likely that one of the reasons for the cultivation of Mary, in the older branches of Christianity, is to restore a bit of balance of the sexes. Some subjects were and are often easier to talk to a man about and others to a woman.)

 

[Spirit of Light]

If you ask same question to me.. does Respected "Quran" describes God ? I will answer.. It describes the way towards God, but, Not God. I respect all holy books equally.

Recipe book is NOT food.

Allah is more then words in the Qur'an to me, this is why i refuse to give an answer that is in no way shape or form actually describing Allah in a correct way of me.
Normally i back away from this kind of discussion

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Thank you @Rival
This part made sense to me of the link you gave

"God's absolute transcendence and unknowability in such a way that we cannot say anything about the divine essence because God is so totally beyond being. The dual concept of the immanence and transcendence of God can help us to understand the simultaneous truth of both "ways" to God: at the same time as God is immanent, God is also transcendent. At the same time as God is knowable, God is also unknowable. God cannot be thought of as one or the other only."

Good morning Amanaki

The Bahá'í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully understand or to create an image of . ... Knowing God, therefore, means the comprehension and the knowledge of His attributes, and not of His Reality.

So in saying God is all Loving we can not define God by that, as anything we see as the most true Love is not God.

The Key here is, it is the Messenger that is that standard of Love. Likewise for all virtues as it is God that makes God knowable only through the Messengers.

That is the image we are made in, that is with the potential of all attributes and it is the Messengers that show us how to be those attributes.

Regards Tony

 

[Spirit of Light]

Good morning Amanaki

The Bahá'í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully understand or to create an image of . ... Knowing God, therefore, means the comprehension and the knowledge of His attributes, and not of His Reality.

So in saying God is all Loving we can not define God by that, as anything we see as the most true Love is not God.

The Key here is, it is the Messenger that is that standard of Love. Likewise for all virtues as it is God that makes God knowable only through the Messengers.

That is the image we are made in, that is with the potential of all attributes and it is the Messengers that show us how to be those attributes.

Regards Tony

Thank you @Tony Bristow-Stagg
Yes the messenger do portray God in a good image as you describe it

 

[QuestioningMind]

This is silly, axe-grinding stuff now. Societies of the era when these religions arose were patriarchal. That's just a fact. Nothing to do with "fear".

The word for God, in any language, needs from time to time to be substituted by an appropriate personal pronoun, in the construction of text. Given the patriarchal bias of the era it is natural that in Hebrew it would be masculine. In Christianity this goes further in that the imagery is of a father and a son, so God has a male sex as well as masculine gender (Though the Holy Spirit seems to escape sexual characterisation). But it is just natural for the culture of the time.

(In fact, I've always thought it likely that one of the reasons for the cultivation of Mary, in the older branches of Christianity, is to restore a bit of balance of the sexes. Some subjects were and are often easier to talk to a man about and others to a woman.)

I never claimed that it was of Earth shattering significance... all I did was point out how silly it is to assign a sexual identity to a being folks claim is a one and only. I still contend that the establishment of patriarchal societies was the direct result of a fear of women, due to the fact that they are the only ones who can bring new life into the world.

 

[Father Heathen]

Age ?

 

[Rival]

I was confused but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Often, God is described as "He" but not "She". Ladies, do you see this as some kind of discrimination ?

In Hebrew, there is no neutral pronoun. There is only he and she. So one had to be chosen. However, the Shekinah that rests above the mercy seat is feminine.

 

[chinu]

In Hebrew, there is no neutral pronoun. There is only he and she. So one had to be chosen. However, the Shekinah that rests above the mercy seat is feminine.

Why always ladies are entitled to show mercy all the time ? Not men ?

Why they choose the word benevolent for God ?

 

[chinu]

I was confused but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

What benefit ?

 

[crossfire]

Is SUN male, or female when you hear the word SUN ?

Sun is feminine, moon is masculine. (I'm aware that europe switches this.)

 

[chinu]

Sun is feminine, moon is masculine. (I'm aware that europe switches this.)

And what is earth ?

 

[crossfire]

And what is earth ?

both

 

[crossfire]

I also don't have a problem with "god" being considered as masculine. (spermatic word--will be what you need it to be.)