Two Types of Highly Educated Protestants

As much as I hate dualism, there really are only two types of educated protestants (maybe a hybrid third type). And when I say educated, what I mean is exposed and trained in high caliber theology (though, sometimes any subject, theology just emphasizes the dichotomy). That's right--these protestants wanted a saving challenge and went to the challenging schools where they found out that everyone is wrong, and everyone is right.

The first type of good theologically educated protestant is the wholly devoted one. Devout in all senses of the word. You don't care what anyone says, you know what you know, and you love what you love, and you will dedicate your time to that. Go against the grain and argue divine satisfaction for salvation--you are a Luther and Calvin lover, and there ain't nothin wrong with that. Go to your happy clappy church with no shame. Yeah, you know a lot, you know both sides, but you are DEVOTED! And your church needs you to keep their non-traditional traditions going. This protestant has got some extreme combo of commitment and brainwashing happening--but that's ok! You gotta love the zeal.

The second, more common type, is the jaded type. You may have started off as type one, but quickly you realized... God is complicated. Religion is complicated. And everything you learned about the Bible--may not be true! It is heartbreaking... You were in love with a lie, as abusive as that Eminem Rihanna song (Love the way you lie)--yeah THAT jaded. Can anything be redeemed! I don't even know what redemption means anymore!! Regardless, I'll find my place in some church where I agree with less than half of their doctrine/mission/whatever, and even if I don't, at least I know that we'll probably all be ok in the end... Cause God is love. Woopdidoo.

A third, hybrid type, may exist. The highly educated person who is jaded, but holding on to some sort of devotion (see all educated Catholics). This educated protestant is holding out for hope.

...but whatever.

Power of the Tongue: God and Gender

Grad school in theology has made me a raging feminist! Well, not really, but based on what I am about to say, many may come to believe that this is the case. Something that I have noticed in my church back home and the church I currently attend versus Catholic and Episcopal church is how to address God, in particular: pronouns. Then again, it often depends on the person and where and what theology they have been trained in...

Anyway, I got to thinking about this last night at my church small group because one of the guys speaking was emphasizing (through Scripture: James and Proverbs) the power and importance of the tongue. I saw it as a doorway to bettering some traditional evangelical language and misunderstanding...

Within pretty much all of Christendom, the example has been to refer to God as Father and consequently "He," "Him," and "Himself." I do not know anyone who grew up being taught to refer to God as simply "God" and "Godself" or to interchange "Him" and "Her" in reference to God. That is crazy talk! But from my very first grad school theology class we were taught to use gender inclusive language in our writing and speaking of God. So now I am hyperaware of every male reference to God in song, prayer, and sermon, and when there are no female examples given in any list of influential Christians. So often male preachers list males who have made a difference in the church or wrote this or that or taught this or that. Sure, it is a predominately male field--but it is not a predominately male spirituality or religion. And God is not a predominately a male God...

That aside, in the past, and in class I fully understood that God does not have a gender (Jesus does, however, so it is ok to refer to him with "him"). So then the question is, "Why do we constantly refer to God as "He" then?" I can think of some answers, and the two big ones are that that is the example that has been given in our churches and that is the way it appears in the Bible. BUT WE KNOW THAT GOD DOES NOT HAVE A GENDER. If any gender, God is both male AND female as Genesis 1 says...

But it gets more confusing: the "Spirit" or the "Wisdom of God" in the Old Testament is definitely a "She." Why is she a "She"? Well, the gender of the word in the original language was female, so the pronoun is female. It is all semantics, language, metaphor, and it MATTERS!

The way God is approached and understood can radically change based on the language and the metaphor we use for God, and in Christianity the least incorrect metaphor for God is Love.

It may seem awkward constantly referring to God as "God" and "Godself," but people will notice, and you will notice how often God is referred to as "He" "Him" and "Himself" in worship, prayer, and sermons. And it will even bother you a little bit because you know that God as "He" really is kind of ridiculous and very limiting to God... especially since most words used to describe God are stereotypically feminine.

So my church back home and the church I go to now constantly refer to God as male, and there often is a lot of confusion over women's role in the church and the family (thanks to Paul or someone claiming to be Paul). While Episcopal and Catholic church do not. The difference I think is in the level of education and when and where the pastor or priest studied. So please, give up the pronouns, or switch often between he and she, because you know that God is too big to be contained that way and others will notice your balanced approach to who and how we understand God to be. This tiny little change of thought and word about God may even expand our understanding of women in the church, value women more, and listen to women more seriously throughout history and presently. Especially since, as a woman, it is pointless for me to be studying theology...

If we really believe that God does not have gender then we better speak like it. The tongue is powerful.

God is neither male nor female, and in God there is no male or female, but we are also made in God's image: male and female...

Something I found The Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Eww to pure complementarity and pure equality. Grrr upset... I could go on and on about this subject... The gender issue can be argued from all sides with Scripture, tradition, and history, how do you know who/what is right?