Are we there yet (II)?
The difficulty of a theology of the Holy Spirit is that she is unclear and invisible. She is the most mysterious of the three divine persons.
Jesus appeared in human form and we can discover images for the Father. Within the Trinity, we have two males and an amorphous third. Further:
- Women's full capacity is not summed up in nurturing and tenderness
- Women's nature is not defined by bodiliness and instinct do not define
- The essence of real women is not defined by our present concept of 'feminine', which is a patriarchal creation
The solution is not to envision the Holy Spirit as the bearer of the feminine, so that an androcentric focus remains dominant.
We need to learn to see beyond the masculinity presumed in the traditional doctrine of God. By so doing, it will become much more difficult to sustain and legimate patriarchal structures and interrelationships. No longer will only men (by virtue of their maleness) represent God and serve in positions of leadership.