The Correct Pronoun for God is "They"


After I read professor Mark Silk's essay on the plural used in the Old Testament and the widely agreed upon view that the Christian god is neither male or female and Silk's conclusion the accurate pronoun is "they" I thought, "How could anyone disagree with this?"  Then I looked at the number of "agree" clicks, "disagree" and "angry."  Readers had swamped the "angry" clicks. Most readers were outraged. 

Mark Silk is a conservative Methodist. He does not crusade for trans gender or gay causes. He opposed gay clergy. His only goal is to accurately reflect what is in the Bible. 

It makes sense that most Christian readers would be angry. Most want their individual version of "God," "Jesus," and the Bible to be the one everyone else should agree with. They also want to believe their particular politics are the same ones held by God and Jesus. So, when such Christians believe God made only "man" and "woman" and transgender and homosexuality are sins they also want to believe their personal God would say, "You are SO right about that. Donald Trump is right. Sleepy Joe is wrong."

The case for using the plural pronoun "they" for God begins early in the Bible. The ancient word used now for God was then elohim. That word refers to the plural. Scholars have found it common in ancient writing for a reference to a god to be plural.

Even Jewish theologian Maimonidies around the year 1,000 CE wrote, "Every Hebrew knows the term elohim is a homonym, and denotes angels, judges, God and rulers of countries."

From Exodus, "The Lord is my strength..., They have become my salvation, they are my God and I will praise them,  my father's God, and I will exalt them."

Judging from my own adult children and grandchildren I foresee every individual referred to as "they" in the not so distant future. It is already being done for one individual in our immediate family who prefers not to be referred to as "him", "her", "he" or "she.' My wife and I do not use the pronoun "they" yet but maybe we will get the hang of it in time.

About 15 years ago a gender-neutral Bible was published. I would guess it is being used in some churches now. When lightning does not strike those churches one has to conclude they are OK.


Comments

  1. little helperOctober 10, 2021 at 2:28 PM

    Nice trick in the attempt to harmonize , (conflating ) plurality with gender neutral issues in the context of your title. Two entirely different subjects.

    Consider ; "Let us" , "In the name(singular) of...". You did include "They" have become my salvation..." Good for you, then you drift back into non related gender neutral matters. More muddying of context.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jon LindgrenOctober 10, 2021 at 7:20 PM

      helper--Did you read the link? As I understand it the gender of God is uncertain.

      Delete
    2. little helperOctober 10, 2021 at 7:37 PM

      Read the link. Actually twice, including the link, as I did your post. Again you completely miss the context of the plurality as opposed to your injection of gender neutral.
      Did you read my 2;28?

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make som
Read more

The Religious Capitol Invaders May Yet Win

Image
So much about U.S. society and religion can be learned from the Civil War and what happened afterwards. After its defeat, the South started a myth about the unethical soldiers from the North. The South fought for principles of God and states rights. The North did not. It was the South, this propaganda told the country, that had the high moral ground.  The Capitol invaders, encouraged by Trump, swallowed the myth that Biden's election was stolen. Thus, they think they held and still hold the high moral ground. This was reinforced by the cross and prayers during the invasion. Even with Trump is gone, we will see political opportunists like Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley stroking crowds and feeding the same lies as Trump. Like "the South will rise again" these gullible followers will talk of victory over the unclean. After the Civil War the South rallied around the phrase, Lost Cause. For decades, and maybe to this day, there are ceremonies remembering fallen martyrs, Re
Read more

Father Frank Pavone, the Ultimate Crook

Image
Recently, the Vatican defrocked Frank Pavone. His diehard fans are outraged. This is because he cleverly manipulated his fans and the press all the while living well from donations and, apparently, abusing some women. By making abortion the "sin" of the century, and himself the main opposition to this one sin, he himself could get away with any sin he pleased.  As the link points out, Pavone was the perfect priest for the Trump era. Trump is so self-important laws have no role in his life. He felt accountable to no one. Women were there to be had. Pavone and Trump are interchangeable.  Pavone was very successful raising money. In his mind, abortion was so important in Catholic beliefs and he was so important in anti-abortion the money he raised opposing it was his to do with what he liked. The Catholic Church, the brand name he used to raise this money, thought the money belonged to it. When he gave the Vatican the bird, it gave him walking papers. With polls showing the majo
Read more