Gender-Bender God: Masculine or Feminine?

Abstract

The image of God that many have received from the traditional Euro-American Christianity is one of a white old man. Such an image constructed through art or in our heads can affect the way we view ourselves and the way we treat people whom we imagine are not made in God's image. Although the depiction of God as a white old man could raise the issues of colour, age and gender, the scope of this article is restricted to the question of gender and divinity. The inherited masculine image is challenged and many neglected biblical feminine images of the divine including Chokmah (divine Wisdom) and Ruach (divine Spirit) are brought out. The central argument is that the transcendent God is a gender-bender God, both masculine and feminine and neither.