How do you know that god is a "he"?

Question

I always hear "god" refered to as a male (He is this, he is that)-how do you know the gender of god? Isn't assigning a gender creating a god in man's image? Is god really a white guy with a long beard like he is portrayed by Christians?

Mahal-the phrasing and capitalization or lack thereof was very intentional. You brand yourself a hypocrit by saying my moral values are wrong- by telling me this is disrespectful. It is immoral to push your morals on others. Simply asking a very valid question, internet genius.

Answer 1

because if God is female, the world would be even more screwed up! have you noticed that women are the root of all the problems in this world? it's true. they're always conniving and instigating men to fight. take the wench eve for example. without that tramp, no apple, no adam eat apple, no exile from paradise. get the pic?

Answer 2

Well, God is neither male nor female, at the same time he's both. He has qualities of a father and a mother. As far as his image in paintings go, it's for the same reason that someone might portray God as a black man. We have a need to try and make God as familiar as possible. Why he's refered to as a He primarily is due to the culture that first worshiped him, being the Jews. They have a male dominated society, so God is a He.

Answer 3

When you use the word "god" in a sentance as a proper noun, it should be capitalized.

When you do it on purpose, you indicate an intentional disrespect.

Atheists often complain when I tell them that they have no moral values, and then they hate it when it's so easy to offer examples like this one.

You know, of course, that disrespecting other people usually comes back to bite you, right? So it's not just disrespect, you're actually an idiot and deserve whatever you get.

Answer 4

God is neither he nor she and NO God is not a white guy with a long beard. Michaelangelo depicted God this way when he painted the Sistene Chapel, but most Christians do not portray God this way.

Answer 5

The Scriptures bear witness to this:

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master: if I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is your submission?" says the Lord of hosts..." (Malachi 1:6)

"In the same way, let your light shine before people in such a way that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

There are many, many others, but these should do the trick.

Answer 6

Jason,
I haqve NEVER seen a picture of GOD, as yopu have just portrayed HIM. GOD is referred to as FATHER by Christ. That would make HIM a Male and not a Female. You certainly do not have a Female Father do you?... I don't ! Have a great evening and a wonderful week!
Thanks,
Eds

Answer 7

Jesus also compared God to a woman looking for her lost coin and as a mother bird protecting her young under her wings. Often the Holy Spirit is referred to as the feminine part of God.

Answer 8

I think God is so far above our gender-descriptions and weak portrayals that we'll never be able to describe/define Him.

However, we have to call Him something.

When Christians say "Him", we don't mean that He's literally male. We just don't know how else we can refer to Someone/Something that much more complicated that we are.

Answer 9

Actually, God is Spirit and without being male or female. Just as we are one in Christ Jesus and are seen without sex.

God the father would lead me to use He, Him etc.

We will find out what God looks like when we get to Heaven. Until then...it's purely speculation.

Answer 10

i dont think god has a gender; gods not a 'he'
but as usual we always refer to a person in the singular as 'he'
for example, its somehow correct to say 'someone left his shoes on the stairs', automatically assuming a male gender...

i didnt make up the rules, nowadays we subconciously try to make it more vague by saying 'their' shoes on the bench even though its just one person.