Yesterday during my weekly campus evangelism I had a dialogue with a feminist woman who didn’t like how I called God “He.”
How does one respond?
A thought occurred to me when she stated her displeasure.
Here’s the dialogue:
Woman: I don’t like how you call God a “He.”
Me: Oh but that’s how the Bible describes God, He’s described in masculine term.
Woman: What I meant was how I don’t like how the Bible described God as a “He.”
Me: I’m curious if a person can self-identify one’s own gender?
Woman: Of course you bigot. By the way gender is not about anatomy. It’s about dictating one’s identity.
Me: So…what’s wrong with God self-identifying Himself in the BIble with masculine terminology?
(A Pause)
Woman: But God doesn’t have a human body.
Me: Wait, I thought it’s not about anatomy?
At this point she changed the topic. Which I didn’t mind because I got to go back to explaining the Gospel to her.
I wouldn’t have thought of that argument. Thank you.
I didn’t think of it before too but it was something at the moment. I think it’s the grace of God’s guidance that came to mind…
Great response!
Thanks brother! God bless you, thanks again for reading ApoloJedi!
This was awesome! I must share this on the manly training platform!
Thanks! Neat website!
Love it!
Thanks brother for reading it!
Props to you
Thanks brother
Good one! Thanks, Jim.
You’re welcome Tom, and oh thanks for reading!
Reblogged this on The Battle Cry.
Thanks Dan for reblogging this!
It was priceless!
This went just as I expected I would. You responded well to her, I pray the Spirit moves in her.
Thank you James, I appreciate that very much.
Yes, whenever I’m that witty, I have to attribute it to the Spirit. Great job in saying what needed to be said.
Amen, moments like these it’s definitely from the Spirit; it’s definitely the Spirit’s guidance.
LOL! That was really well done. 🙂
Thanks for reading this!
LOL! Good one, Jim! I’m old enough to remember the term Mankind which was all inclusive. The left has been very good at segregating us to the enth degree. It gets crazier with each passing year.
I talked to my doctor today and it is the small vessels in my brain that are diseased. It’s not good but easier to treat and doesn’t pose the same immanent danger as the larger arteries. I wanted to let you know because I know you do pray for me. I’m blessed to have this information because most people don’t know about it until something bad happens. I still need to see a neurologist at some point. I won’t know about any other tests until the 22nd. I really am old I guess, doctors have taken over my life.
Keep fighting the good fight, Jim. Self-directed gender identity…yuck! When will parents stop paying through the nose for ‘higher’ education that fills young people’s heads with this muck!
Pam, I will be praying for the Lord to bring about healing in your life, whether through the means of doctors or through some other means. No doubt you are still very sharp with everything going on with your body. God bless you Pam, thanks for the update.
Thanks Jim. I’m praying for you too.
Wow, that argument really nailed that down!
Thanks! But I can picture the feminist engage in psycho-babble that your phrase “really nailed that down” is anti-women because it has to do with “nails.”
Would that be because carpentry nails might be male centric, or because many females have nails?
🙂
Ah I didn’t even think of the male domination of the field of carpentry, congratulations in using feminist hermeneutics to deconstruct and liberate culture from man (sarcasm).
🙂
Good sarcasm, too
This has definitely made tomorrows Random Bits!
Thank you Doug!
“At this point she changed the topic.”
Seriously, EVERY TIME. When their argument is totally obliterated they skip to something else like it never even happened.
Yep! But when they think there’s an error with the Christian worldview, they won’t let go the point…guess I’m not the only one that experience that.
Seriously. I’m sitting there thinking, you wouldn’t let this go then you just jump to something else like it’s no big deal and like your incoherence wasn’t just exposed.
If the situation was reversed, I seriously doubt I would be allowed to change the subject without first repenting in dust and ashes for my irrationality.
[…] 5.) A Progressive Feminist Didn’t Like How the Bible Describes God as a “He” […]
Wow! Really? She is going tell God how He (not a He) should describe Himself?!
That is a fantastic response for sure, good Job.
However, what would you do when an educated feminist points out that the Bible also refers to God as a she?
God’s image includes both:
Gen 1, man and woman are created in the image of God.
Mother imagery:
Isaiah 66:13, God comforts like a mother; 49:15, God is compared to a nursing mother (granted it says God is better, but God is still compared to a women).
Labor imagery:
Isaiah 42:14, God is said to go through labor pains; and Psalm 123:2-3, God is said to give birth.
Furthermore, the term for the Spirit in Hebrew (ruah//רוח) is actually a feminine word. So, should we assume that God’s Spirit is female? Yet, in the New Testament the Spirit is genderless and is actually Neuter (which is neither male not female, πνεύμα).
All of these things show us, Biblically, that while we normally refer to God as He (which is perfectly fine and correct), maybe we should be open to the idea that Gods identity extends beyond the male/man category. For God did make woman in his image as well. Thus, relation to God may not be limited to Father->child, but also Mother->child, which Isaiah actually seems to emphasize.
And, if more evangelicals realized this, maybe we would convert more feminists to Christians.
I think I would point out to the feminist in this scenario that the given data doesn’t rule out male pronouns in describing God if one is approaching the issue from a biblical paradigm. I think also most of those feminine imagery are much more symbolic in the literal-symbolic spectrum than the masculine references to God with most of the references you mentioned being metaphors and similes. I think this is analogous to how Jesus describe Himself at times in feminine terms such as in Luke 13:34 to a mother hen or Paul to himself as a nursing mother in 1 Thessalonians 2:7. While it has its place I would also say there’s something wrong when there’s an overemphasis on the feminine motif contra the predominately masculine description of the referents to the point of saying one doesn’t like masculine description of God as in the case of the post that I mentioned. For the record I’m not uncomfortable at all with the feminine motifs in the Scripture.
Concerning the feminine Hebrew word for Spirit and the neuter Greek for spirit, I also think we must recognize that lexically the roots of the word are feminine and neuter respectively, yet we see in the New Testament masculine pronoun used to describe the Spirit especially in John’s writing.
Certainly I see there’s more to God than masculine categories; but I wouldn’t say we would therefore rule we can’t describe God in such ways given the predominance of the masculine aspect of describing God in the New Testament.
Thanks for the great response!
[…] A Progressive Feminist Didn’t Like How the Bible Describes God as a “He” […]
This sounds like a The Babylon Bee article, but it happened. Her Wokeanity is showing.
I wonder if you would be arrested in 2023? It’s amazing how much life has changed in 7 years!!!
How true! So much changed too quickly