Christians: what do you suppose the effect is of having the Divine Feminine absent from your...?

Question

...religious teachings? There is a male God, who is almost exculsively referred to as "he" and no Goddess, right? What effect do you suppose that has on the development of self-esteem of impressionable females in your church?

a) negative effect
b) positive effect
c) no effect
d) other

do you suppose it is possible that little boys grow up thinking that they are made in God's image? do you suppose little girls do too?

everyone's input is welcome

to Ellie, you just said "God has no gender. He is God." Again with He. Why don't you say "God has no gender. SHE is God" if it doesn't make any difference??????????

Answer 1

Lady Morgana---what a good question. Up until 10 years ago I was a fundamentalist Christian. Looking back I see now that the effect that an absence of the Divine Feminine had on all of us---both boys and girls----was imbalance. This imbalance for me took the form of a feeling of inferiority. In today's soceity maybe that isn't the problem it was 30 years ago---but I want any parent raising a little girl in Fundamentalist Christianity to know that I struggled with guilt and depression for years. The guilt came when I would stand up for myself---women are to be subservient, right? And the depression came from thinking of all the years stretching out ahead of me in which I would have very little say in my own future, hopes, dreams and desicion-making. I hope this helps someone tonight to think and reflect on what we are teaching the next generation----Blessings!

Answer 2

While I am secure enough in my sense of equality to use the term He when I refer to God, I consider the Divine Feminine an integral part of my "He"-termed God. I think that Christians who teach of God to the total exclusion of the feminine energy are limiting not only the impressionable females, but the males also, who will grow up believing this as well. The balance is not there, and therefore yes, the little girl's self-esteem will suffer, especially as it relates to her spiritual growth.

Jesus told us we are everything He already is. From your perspective, with which I agree, a little girl could very well think, "I could never do that. I am not a boy." Thank God I studied Goddess energy as well, so that I can hear those words and know with clarity that I, too, am the Messiah.

Great question. Thank you for the challenge.

Answer 3

For 1200 years after Jesus a large part of Christian believers if not the majority of Christians believed in Gnostic theology. The Holy Ghost was considered the female aspect of God and was referred to as Wisdom or Sophia.

The uninformed consider this a new concept because they haven't heard of it, and since their first exposure to such a concept is from a movie they think it's made up by the writer.
Ignorance is an art form in twenty first century America....



Blessed Be!

Answer 4

Christians believe in a Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In Hebrew the word for Holy Ghost is "Shekinah", which denotes a female entity. The Female aspect of god isn't left out in Christianity, its just most people don't bother to look for it or know about it. Also, consider the Virgin Mary, who is venerated in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox denominations.

There is a strong emphasis on goddess worship in Wicca because Gerald Gardner was a feminist, who liked to be beaten by strong willed women (which is also why flagellation is included in Wicca). He was also a nudist, which is why Wiccans practice nude (at least some still do). American Wiccans have a hard time dealing with these facts about Gardner, and usually deny them, but British Wiccans freely admit to them (see "The Pickengill Papers") God is the creator of the universe and everything in it. He must be an amazingly complex and unfathomable beings far beyond our coprehension. Why exactly would God have to be in the image of male and female?



Gnostic:

Gnostic Christianity is NOT some kind of "long lost original" Christianity, but just a heresy, and centuries younger than the original at that.

http://usminc.org/gnostics.html

Answer 5

First, my faith comes before the self-esteem of impressionable little girls. Or impressionable little boys. Or anyone else.

Second, I doubt very much that God being referred to solely as male has *any* effect on any woman's self-esteem. You see, we believe that God loves us all equally, and that we cannot *become* God. Therefore, women have just as much a place in the hereafter as men, they are just as likely to obtain salvation, and they are rewarded by God equally in all ways with men.

As a little boy, I never thought that only we boys were made in God's image and not the girls. I know of no sect that teaches such a thing. Now that you mention it, I am sure that there *are* sects that teach that - but that is by no means the norm.

We are taught that we are supposed to "store up treasures in heaven". Women are no less capable in this area than men, and they know it.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 6

The early christians did have the divine feminine. Many of their scriptures were written by females. Later all this got into the hands of the catholic church and all traces were removed.

just a few examples, "Father-Mother in heaven" was changed to "Father in heaven". Holy spirit got a quick sex change too.

Answer 7

in the original Greek, the Holy Spirit was a "she."
in the original Hebrew formula for god, YHVH, H represents the continuity of the feminine.

Answer 8

I would imagine that God transcends gender. It's probably a non-issue, especially after we've passed on.

Answer 9

God is not male or female. He is God!

He is only refered to as "he" because there is no other pronoun that would work... "it" would just sound disrespectful. Once you have developed a close relationship with God and learn more about him, you realize that he has no gender. Also, men AND women were created in God's image. Men represent one aspect of God and women represent another; that is why we are different.

Hope that helps! (btw, I'm a Christian)

Answer 10

We are ONE in Christ Jesus, both MALE and FEMALE and their is no need to try and conclude that their is a female Godess just so little girls can develope higher self esteem. Now you know what paul wrote and said for the wives not to speak in Church but were to ask their hushbands at home, some must have been talking like you..Foolish...