I preach in an Anglican church in Burlington, Ontario almost every week, and begin my homily either with, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”, or “In the name of the One and Triune God.” It makes no difference at all to what I then go on to say, nobody seems to mind in any way, and until now at least, no lightning bolt has struck me down and an angry voice demand I stop immediately. According to the British press, however, that might all be about to change.
It’s been widely reported in newspapers, television, and radio — and of course online — that the General Synod of the Church of England that met last week in London, was considering the use of gender-neutral terms to describe God, and inevitably the right-wing Daily Mail ran with screaming front-page hysteria. It went on to say, “Our non-gendered parent who art in heaven: Priests could stop using male pronouns 'He' and 'Him' when referring to God in prayers and drop phrase 'our Father' from the Lord's Prayer.
Hardly surprising that this isn’t true, that the issue is far more complex and profound, and that the Church of England, and many other churches, have been considering the issue for decades. There are no plans to change current services, it’s an ongoing discussion, and as a church spokesperson said, “Christians have recognised since ancient times that God is neither male nor female. Yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship.”
That’s an entirely reasonable comment, and it wasn’t just the Mail that made all of this seem far more radical and dangerous than it is. British, American, European and, yes, even Canadian media ran with the story. The reality for Christians, and for other people of faith, is that God is far beyond and far greater than simple gender, and it’s very limiting and reductive to describe whom we regard as the creator of the entire universe and the object of our love and worship, as a mere man. And, forgive me, likely a white man with a beard and a firm but nice smile, perhaps being eternally generous, and maybe even smoking a pipe. Or is that Santa? See what I mean about limiting God, and minimizing what is beyond human forms and norms into something easy and palpable?
In fact, Scripture itself doesn’t really do this. The terms used are often without any gender at all, and God is described in far less tangible and fleshy forms. The deity, after all, isn’t human. But discourse is challenging, and pronouns can be clumsy. Also, Hebrew only uses two genders — masculine and feminine — and that has shaped much of the language of the Christian conversation. Jesus spoke Aramaic, the New Testament was written in Greek, and the gender of Jesus and his use of “Father” is beyond question. But that doesn’t in any way mean that an understanding of God cannot be deepened and broadened by moving beyond traditional terms.
Most of us probably realize that this isn’t really about an in-house and somewhat obscure and esoteric theological chat, but the wider argument over binary and non-binary, trans rights, and an evolving view of gender in general. Some of the over-reaction and nastiness thrown at trans people and their allies and supporters, and at the subject in general, is breathtaking. There’s much to be said of course, but it should all be conducted with empathy, understanding, and the ability to listen rather than to shout.
It’s just that some people like to see revolution and threat around every corner, and who better to go after than a bunch of lefty vicars, who in fact spend most of their time helping the poor, lonely, and sick.
They’re not especially left-wing, not at all dangerous, and they and their views are entirely in keeping with orthodox Christianity. We’ve long thought of the Holy Spirit as feminine and — tabloids and conservatives take note — she’s part of the trinity. I always get the impression when people on the right make sweeping claims about the church, Christianity, or the attack on so-called Christian culture they don’t actually go to church very often. If they did, they might realize that it’s not quite as linear and simplistic, as they think. Forgive them father/deity/Lord/Lady for they really, really don’t know what they do. Or perhaps they do, and should be ashamed?
