God inspired the biblical authors to be inclusive. Who are we not to be?

The words and images we use to name God shape our thinking and behaviour such that
women are not able to see their lives reflected in the image of God

Distorted images of God have led to a Christian anthropology whereby men have speculated that the fullness of God's image resides only or primarily in themselves. Women are only derivatively made in the image and likeness of God and are thus subordinate. We have been handed almost uniformly male images to describe God and these have lead to God being identified as male. If, as has been argued, one does not mean that God is male when using masculine imagery, why are such passionate objections raised when female images are used?

During recent study I have reminded that:

• Jesus liked women
• Jesus had women friends whom he respected
• Jesus permitted women to speak for themselves
• Jesus not only went about the countryside with male disciples, but also with a large group of women
• In all four Gospels, the first witness to the Resurrection is Mary Magdalen

Jesus' life invites us to rethink our attitudes toward women. He valued, called, and moved alongside the poor, outcast, discarded, and subordinated. He took women seriously and accepted them as full human beings. We could learn much from reconsidering Jesus' actions in the context of our communities.

Feminine/femininity has been defined and imposed by men

• Feminine qualities are seen as having less value when we continue to picture God as male 
• Women are perceived to be less fit than men to represent God, which denigrates the human dignity of women 
• Children and adults may not be open to the full range of possiblities open to them
• Women and men are portrayed as not only different but unequal
• Father-God has been used to reinforce patriarchy and male dominance
• Women's experiences of both God and themselves have been damaged by the exclusion of women from divine imagery

Sexism and the trivialisation of women

There has been a long history of men blaming women for the world’s woes, whereby women have been projected to be the symbol of evil, the anti-image of God, the representative of evil tendencies in the sin-prone part of the male self (Johnson 70).

You are the devil’s gateway. You are the unsealer of the forbidden tree. You are the first deserter of the divine law … On account of your desert, that is death, even the Son of God has to die (Tertullian).

The church fathers frequently reiterated this denigrating view of women, which ultimately led to witch hunts and burnings. As a result:

• Women struggle to reject the sexism of inherited constructions of female identity (Johnson 62)
• Male bias has lead to sexism and patriarchy. 'Man' and 'he' may once have been accepted as generic terms inclusive of all people, but such terms have denied women the right to have their existence acknowledged
• 'The pattern of male dominance over females in human society' (Wren 122) has been mirrored by an exclusively male God; whereby women are everything left over ... flaws, frailties, vulnerability, need
• Sexist attitudes have been used to condone violence toward women
• 'Anti-woman prejudice has been deeply grafted into theology' (St Hilda Community 6)
• The shortchanging of women's theological identity are distortions of God's good creation in women
• The patriarchal image of God has been detrimental to God's mystery and the well-being of the human community (Johnson 149)
• Women need to be empowered to turn away from trivialisation and defamation towards a view of themselves as worthwhile  
• Injustice and oppression in women's experience has resulted in hurt, pain and the indescribable sadness

Women are leaving the church

• Many women have rejected the Bible and the church as sexist. Those of us who are left are often not able to fully participate in the life of the church, and in some cases fear speaking out publicly.

  On leaving the church, 4 December 1989
  This is not easy for me. But I did not want to leave without saying goodbye face to face. I did not want you to wonder where I had gone and then find that I had just gone and left a note on the kitchen table. I have not been one to hold my tongue in all the time I have been here.
  The reasons for my leaving I have written as clearly as I could in the parish paper. However, I want to make it quite clear that I am leaving the church not because I am no longer passionate about the gospel, but because I am; that I am leaving not because I do not love you, but because I do. I am choosing to live my faith outside the church. And in living as an outsider I remain in solidarity with those of you who are brave enough to live your faith inside the church which persists by its words and actions (and inaction) to call you outsiders.
  I am going in peace to love and serve my God.
  I will pray for you as I hope you will pray for me.
  (Linda Walter in Ward et al 116)

It can be difficult to relate to a male God

• People who have experienced abusive relationships with men or whose father had abandoned them may find it difficult to relate to a male God.

We know that we are not meant to take male images of God literally but the association of God with maleness lingers.

Follow the liberating leadership of Jesus

Although our world is different from that of Jesus, we can follow his example when asking how we can encourage relationships of compassion, respect and acceptance. Jesus 'comes to us, as a free male, and gives up male power in a way that does not embarrass or paralyze us, but challenges men to give up male power and be free for others as he is' (Wren 181).

It would be wrong to compel the exclusive use of either feminine or masculine images for God because neither concepts nor words nor images are able describe God's unfathomable depth of mystery.

If we have comprehended, then what we have comprehended is not God(Augustine).

Nevertheless, the Abba/Father we learn about from Jesus is rich and complex. God's essence is not tied to the maleness of the word father and to notions of fatherly authority. New ways of speaking can lead us toward more profound attitudes of awe and adoration.

The use of 'God-He' and 'God-She' can open up understanding of God beyond whatever is thought or said, pointing to the mystery of the God who remains unknown. It is not only justifiable, it is essential if we are to come to a more full realisation of the mystery of God, who is worthy of the worship of all.

Males and females are without distinction united with Christ regardless of our sexual features.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? (1 Cor 6:15a)

Our age calls for inclusive and non-gender specific images of God, because

• we want to affirm that men and women can and should be nurturing
• we want women and men to know that there are admirable human qualities that are not just masculine or feminine
• there is a deep-seated human need for an embodied God who is not abstract or distant
• we can come to know a God of both genders as well as beyond gender, a God who is a body and who is also not just a body but more

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