C2A The Nature of God

Give examples of the male language used for God.

- Christian religious language traditionally refers to God as a male, e.g. Father, Lord, King, He/His/Him.

- Jesus, God incarnate, was a man referred to as the, Son of God/Son of Man.

Where in the bible is there reference to God's female attributes?

Isaiah 66:13

"As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you."

What are the issues with using male language to talk of God?

- It has become the only model used to speak of God. This limits our understanding of God's nature.

- It is a monarchical model: God is an all-powerful, judging parent or monarch.

- It leads to militarism: kings invade and conquer; it lacks compassion or inclusion.

- God is distant, occasionally intervening and vanishing

- Humans relinquish responsibility to God, incapable of positive action for ourselves.

- It leads to abuse of the natural world and domination of women by men.

What are the pastoral benefits of the model of the Father?

- Metaphors to speak of God are helpful - they relate to life personally and remind us that God is present.

- God's power and authority are demonstrated.

Who is Sallie McFague?

Sallie McFague (1933-present) is an American ecofeminist Christian theologian.

She argues for using female metaphors to talk of God.

What does Sallie McFague argue about using metaphors to talk of God?

- Sallie McFague argued that the language involved in Christian theology is ultimately a human creation and at best an interpretation of God, but too it is taken as a literal description. God is beyond our understanding, but people overlook that theology must therefore be metaphorical.

- All language about God is metaphorical, so it doesn't tell us about God's true nature. Failing to understand this causes us to turn metaphors into idols, so we end up worshipping metaphors rather than God.

- God is unknowable. So, the value of a metaphor, construct or model of God is not whether it corresponds to the reality of God, but how useful the metaphor is for life. The value of a metaphor is not its accurateness but its usefulness.

What model does Sallie McFague use for God?

God as mother

Explain the benefit of using McFague's God as Mother model.

- It highlights God's important female attributes, such as compassion.

- It shows God to be more immanent in the world. The world is not ruled over by God but is part of God's body. To harm it is to harm God.

- God nurtures and comforts her creation, highlighting our complete reliance upon her, rather than setting it rules and punishing its failure.

- It will enable gender equality and love for the planet - women should not be dominated by men because femininity is given value by being associated with divinity.

What is McFague's version of the Trinity?

God as Mother - agape, compassion (rather than Father).

God as Lover - eros, desire for the world (rather than Son).

God as Friend - philia, companionship (rather than Spirit).

What attributes is God traditionally described as having?

- Omnipotence, omnibenevolence, omniscience, omnipresence

- Transcendence

- IMPASSIBLITY and IMMUTABILITY

What does impassibility mean?

God cannot experience feelings/emotions and therefore he is incapable of suffering.

He cannot experience pain or pleasure from the actions of another being.

What does immutability mean?

God does not change

Where does the Bible reference God's immutability?

Malachi 3:6

"I the Lord do not change."

Who is Jürgen Moltmann?

- Jürgen Moltmann (1926-present) is a German reformed theologian and Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at the University of Tubingen, Germany.

- He argued for the suffering God.

What experience shaped Moltmann's philosophy?

Moltmann's theology was born out of his experiences in the Second World War. He had been drafted into the German army at 16 years old and sent to the front lines. He had seen his friend torn to pieces by a bomb and was horrified and ashamed at the concentration camps. He surrendered to the first British soldier he met and spent the rest of the conflict as a prisoner of war, later converting to Christianity.

Explain Moltmann's view of the suffering God.

- Jesus' crucifixion proves that God suffers; he is present 'in the midst of suffering'

-Christ is God incarnate, part of the Trinity. In Christ, God suffered and died.

- Moltmann draws particular inspiration from what Jesus said while being crucified. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." (Matthew 27:46)

- This shows that he experienced abandonment, bereavement, humiliation, helplessness, despair and pain.

- Therefore, God is a fellow sufferer who knows and understands human suffering.

- He suffers with us today.

- He gives an example of a little boy who was hanged by the Nazis at auschwitz; God hung with him on the gallows.

What does Moltmann argue the crucifixion means for Christians today?

- The cross must be meaningful to those who suffer if it is to be relevant to modern times.

- The church has sanitised the cross and taken Christ off it, losing its true meaning.

- The crucifixion shows that God is present in times of suffering and suffers with us.

- Christian identity means solidarity with those who suffer.

- This is the foundation of all Christian theology, more meaningful than tradition and dogma.

- This is the other side of Moltmann's theology of hope: suffering as a reality prevents hope from being blind.

- By joining forces against oppression, Christians truly identify with the cross.

- The hope for liberation comes from the spirit of the risen Christ.