(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

Just posted this in jesusliberation, but wanted to post it here for posterity.

There seems to be an unending debate in progressive and liberal religious circles over whether to use male, female, or non-gendered names when refering to God.

In a conversation going on in another forum, it was suggested that we should follow the example Jesus set, which was to use masculine terms of familiarity like "Daddy."

In my opinion, what was most distinctive about the way Jesus spoke about God was that it was designed to shock its listeners out of complacency regarding their conceptions and visualizations of God. Addressing God with the familiar term "Daddy" was, in its day, a far break from the various formal names of God used by Jewish mystics of that day (many of which have been enshrined in the Kabbalah).

If so, then we defy the point Jesus tried to make if we stick too closely to his way of addressing God. I personally prefer to replace "Father" with "Root of All," but I wonder what other terms or addresses we might use.

Comments

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

The original gods/goddesses of one's life are ones parents... If one is trying to emphasize a position of submission to and/or dependence on god, I think referring to him as "daddy" makes a lot of sense, after all, how many children actually refer to their parents as "father?"
Ok I shouldn't say that, because Aaron occassionally calls me 'mother" when he wants my attention for something important - but there is no denying my child is an odd duck!

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. I actually resist very strongly the notion that God is a parent, in the sense that God watches what we do and then scolds or rewards. I don't see the divine operating in that way at all... so I resist using titles for the Divine that imply parenthood or lordship.