Why Is The Christian Deity Pictured As A Male?

Question

This has been a question I have asked myself over and over, why is the christian deity, a male one? Why does it even have a gender?
My youth pastor said he made adam in his own image, correct?
But could not this image been an image for a final project? Like when you want to paint something, you have an image of what the final product should look like.

Why was the christian god's product reflect a gender onto it's creator?

Answer 1

This has been asked so many times, do a search!!!

Answer 2

EVer heard of a female FATHER? If Adam was made in the image of God, it would be like looking into a mirror at the image that you saw there, not something totally different than what you look like. The product did look like what was wanted as it was the image of God, a male, a father of all those that live today. Now show me how a female can be a father and I will give you my house free and clear. Just can't be done.

Answer 3

Because at the time the faith was invented males were the ones that generally held all the power. Most country leaders were male, and indeed some scholars believe God could have been another term for a king at the time. So in fact the bible could possibly be the teachings or the rules so to speak of a particular king at the time. The 10 commandments in particular could be likened to a form of law enforced at the time.

Answer 4

Lets see...who created modern christianity? I think that would be...men! It would kinda destroy some of their claim to position and power if the divine were pictured as male. From bits and pieces that I've put together, the idea of a completely male divine is a slightly recent creation and that even the very early Judeo-Christian god figure was either of both or was two seperate entities or something like that. It's been far too long since I've pieced together bits of this.

As for those that qoute "Father" repeatedly, that word isn't a correct translation of what the early hebrew word was.

Answer 5

Priests have traditionally been male, and in the Bible only a male can serve as a priest. the man of a household is the priest of the family; therefore, God has always been depicted as a man. God is genderless, but it is difficult to depict him as a genderless person because the human mind interprets living creatures as male or female only. This is a minor thing and has nothing to do with doctrine. The important thing is God's word, not what he looks like. If we concentrate on God's word today, then we will be able to see him as he truly is in heaven. If we get sidetracked on issue that do not really matter in the end, then we will never see God.

Answer 6

You may not like this answer, but here it goes.
God did not make man. However Jesus did exist, but he is not the son of God. He was a man with a message, and that message was hijacked by the church in the early 300's AD to fit the churches needs. The reason Jesus has a gender is because he was a human male, that was married and had a wife and fathered children. If this is interesting look up the Gnostic texts they speak more of this.

Answer 7

The Tetragramatan that denotes God in the Bible and is translated into English today, Jehovah, is male in gender. The literal translation of the name of God is "He who causes to become"

Hence, the gender specific Him, Father, His, etc.

The making of Adam "in His own image" is not a gender related statement. It refers to the qualities of God in that Adam was given all the same qualites of love, emotion, compation, strength, etc. Oh and of course "free will" to make independant decisions. Those free will, independant decisions allowed him to be tempted by Satan the Devil along with Eve.

Hence, in Isrealite / Hebrew / Jewish history the head of the family is the Man, the head of the man is the Christ (Jesus) and the head of the Christ is God (Jehovah).

The article below will give you a better understanding of the Name of God and the gender specific name itself.

Answer 8

RB is almost right. I would just add a few letters and some words so as not to confuse you more than you are already.

"Jesus is GodLY, and WAS portrayed as male, since He, Jesus, was God's only begotten SON. He, JESUS, said, pray to the Father." Father is depicted as male in 100% of the cases. Therefore, both the father AND the son are male, and we (mankind, ie. male) are made in THEIR image. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and ...." Genesis 1:26. God said we are to be made in the image of OUR likeness, like US; God's and His Son, for both existed prior to the creation of this world we call earth. Take your pic.

That should clear things up for you. Next question?

Answer 9

It's because the version of god that came from the mid-east is based on the Anannaki, not the creator of the universe. They were in that region mining gold. In the original version, the "snake" was a brother of their leader trying to help humans escape his slavery while 'Eve" was a male. The early writers of the bible plagiarized this story and changed it to suit their own wishes.

Answer 10

The christian God is a triune God.. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Do you have trouble saying that Jesus was male? The other persons of the trinity are neither male nor female. They are God... Jim

Answer 11

because the christian religion is traditionally patriarchal, i.e. the guys are the bigwigs and rule over the women. in such a society of course the deity would be regarded as male too. interesting aside (well i think): in judaism, traditionally matriarchal, god as such does not have a gender but is a far more abstract concept.