On Metaphors

For writers, some good resources (okay, bad and good) on metaphors:Failed metaphorsBiblical metaphors for God 

God as Male?

I read this statement today in an otherwise excellent blog post discussing Pastor Mark Driscoll's "Macho Man" theology: "In the metaphorical landscape of the Bible, God is cast as the Male and believers (the church) are cast as the Female."

Now, while I agree with some of this statement, I have to say God is not cast exclusively as a male. In fact, God is a spirit. He does not have gender. We use "He" to refer to the fact that He's personal, and not a force. But let us be clear: saying "He" does not mean we're saying that God is male.

"You must be born again." John records that Jesus said these words to Nicodemus (John 3). We hear the phrase "born-again Christian" a lot. So let me ask...who is the birthing mother in this metaphor? By whom are believers born from above? Aren't we born of God? In the Book of 1 John, the apostle uses the phrase "born of God" no fewer than five times.

In Psalm 131:2 we find the analogy of a weaned child resting against its mother to speak of spiritual quiet and contentment.

And as part of three stories illustrating how God seeks the lost (the last of which is the Parable of the Prodigal Son), Jesus likens God to a woman who has lost a coin and rejoices greatly when she finds it (Luke 15:8).

To say Jesus is male is correct. To say God the Father or God the Spirit are male is heresy.

Also, God made male and female humans in His image. Together. Both men and women image God. I've had female students who thought males image God but women must marry to fully do so.

Let us not mince words on such ideas: They are wrong.