Women And The Male Representation Of God - 915 Words

She is God When individuals speak of God, many, atheists and theologians included, address the Divine One with male pronouns never varying from that name. But why? Is it because God is truly male or is it out of cultural convince to think that God is male? The exclusive male representation of God in public and private is the result of the western ideal of gender dualism that established the myth that associated the traits of reason and power with males and traits of desire and passivity with females (108). Therefore, when addressing God as the Creator it seems only â€Å"natural† for God to be male because as Creator he possessed reason to create everything. As a result, all-male verbal depictions and visual representations of God have created the general assumption that maleness and divinity are related if not the same (98). However, according to Elizabeth Johnson, this limited representation of God only perpetuates the unequal relation between women and men contrary to Godâ €™s desires and reality (97). To address this err feminist theology has developed, encouraging women and men to give other names to God in order to begin to dismantle the inequality that exists contrary to God’s desires. Feminist theology, Johnson notes, recognizes that Christianity’s androcentrism has resulted in reducing the living God to an idol, justifying the total rule of men in society and the church, and alienating women from their spiritual growth. â€Å"Feminist theology embraces the an alternativeShow MoreRelatedSymbols Emphasizing The Importance Of Sacred Representations1461 Words   |  6 PagesSymbols Emphasizing the Importance of Sacred Representations to Feminist Theologies Sacred representations play one of the most important roles in the existence of feminist theologies. When someone starts depicting the images of God in relation to women, it is inevitable to prevent bringing up the feminist part within religious images. However, religious images and symbols have always been responsible for creating certain stereotypes towards women that keep being carried on through generations.Read MoreHomeric Hymn To Demeter1287 Words   |  6 Pagesrelevance is what each of the gods and goddesses represent. Demeter represents the cycle of life and death, as well as agricultural fertility (Harris and Platzner 150). In this way she is cast as a matriarchal image, representing the female roles of giving birth and raising young. Being Demeter’s daughter, Persephone represents these same roles by proxy. 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This stereotype, which evolved during slavery, continues to exist and still contributes to the harassment of African American women todayRead MoreGender Construction in quot;Book of Showingsquot; Essay1210 Words   |  5 PagesAs truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother, and he revealed that in everything, and especially in these sweet words where he says:... I am he, the power and goodness of fatherhood; I am he, the wisdom and the lovingness of motherhood(Damarosch,478). In todays society it is commonplace, even routine to think of Christian divinity in terms of male gender. How amazing it seems then , to be presented with medieval language which portrays God as a female gendered divinity. Where did theRead MoreA Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams1422 Words   |  6 PagesThe role of women in modern society is a contentious topic. 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