Since time immemorial, our language has been controversial. Which word we use to refer to a nation (e.g., Gaza vs Palestine), the titles we give or avoid giving honored ones in our society (e.g., His Majesty), and the pronunciation of words (eg., cARMel vs CARAmel) can betray our underlying beliefs and identities. One current debate in our culture is our use of pronouns. I remember a pastor telling someone that he couldn’t use a congregant’s chosen pronouns because those pronouns violated the pastor’s interpretation of creation. The stakes feel higher when God’s self is involved. I remember many years ago watching a popular Christian influencer decry a worship team’s reinterpretation of a classic Christian song, substituting a variety of pronouns in place of only using “He” to describe God. The song was blasphemous and heretical to the influencer.
Before we get too far into the weeds here, I think two things are true that should be clearly stated first.
One: There is a Biblical argument for exclusively using He/Him pronouns for God. There is also a Biblical argument for using a plethora of pronouns for God.
Two: How we speak about and conceptualize the Godhead is important, but our choice of God’s pronouns are not so important in that we could confidently evaluate the authenticity of any person’s faith exclusively on their use of one pronoun or another. In other words, pronoun usage should not be a Shibboleth test nor should it be an exceedingly divisive doctrinal debate in the Church.
My Personal Journey with Pronouns
I grew up in a non-denominational church in which women were (at least occasionally) allowed to be pastors in title but in which none of us (to my knowledge) ever considered the Godhead as anything other than objectively male. When I began volunteering in a college ministry on my university’s campus, several ordained staff members shared that constantly referring to God with he/his/him pronouns distanced them from the fullness of God. Wanting to oblige in their comfort, I went along in my ministry-life but retained male pronouns of God personally. With time, prayer, and discernment, I came to realize just how confining a pronoun was for a God as vast as I AM. I moved to degender God as much as possible. In the years since, especially as the pronoun debate has exacerbated in popular culture, I’ve tried to adapt my language about God to the audience to which I’m speaking. Pronouns can serve as a roadblock for many people and I’ve tried to navigate this landscape with grace and integrity.
The Argument for a Masculine God
Ancient Hebrew has no grammatically neutral pronouns and the ancient authors, inspired by the Spirit, elected to use masculine pronouns for God. Additionally, God is often referred to as a Father which is an obviously masculine role. Since Scripture and Jesus refer to God in masculine terms, it’s appropriate to only use male pronouns when discussing God. Although few Biblically informed scholars would argue that God is male (although some traditionalists certainly would), the historic Church has long considered God agender but nevertheless preferring masculine pronouns. Indeed, the NIV cultural backgrounds study bible, which features many essays on cultural issues within scripture, doesn’t even discuss alternatives to language about God.
In the essay “The Name of God” provided in Genesis, the commentator writes, “The personal name ‘Yahweh’ is used frequently throughout Genesis. The patriarchs address God by that name, and God identifies himself by that name.” (p. 15, bolding mine). Even when scholars are cognizant of cultural divides and contexts, the assumption of a masculine God is often made. As a result, it makes sense that many Christians are resistant to any discussions of God using any other pronouns other than he/him. For many Christians, their language about God is something they’ve never even thought to consider.
The Argument for a Feminine, Genderless, or Mix of Pronouns for God
One reason the ancient authors may utilize masculine pronouns is for the same reason the Godhead initially emerges as a god among other gods in a polytheistic context. In order for God’s message to resonate among a patriarchal society, God being portrayed as masculine was necessary in a world of subhuman women. Now that women have gained increasing footholds in the upper echelons of society, we as a culture are able to conceive of feminine traits as powerful, instead of only as submissive. Thus, just as the language of God among gods changed to only one God above all other names, the language of God can now move from only masculine to something else. Scripture is a living word, rather than something that must remain unchanging throughout the ages. As we progress as humans, and as our language progresses, our understanding of God and the words we use to describe God naturally change as well.
Although there are no references to God the Mother in Scripture, we do see analogies of God as a mother. For example, In Hosea 11:4, God feeds God’s children, like a mother might feed her children. As another example, in Deuteronomy 32:18, God is described as giving birth to us, something human cisgender men obviously cannot do. If referring to God femininely was completely inappropriate, these verses make little sense.
As most would agree, God is genderless, so using genderless or mixed-gender language to refer to God is a logical step in helping us to remember that God transcends our human definitions and conceptions.
What are God’s Pronouns?
The answer to this question is going to depend on your denomination, discernment, and human perspective. I don’t think it’s fair to say that there is one absolute answer and that anyone who disagrees with you is wrong or unbiblical. Instead, to return to our earlier argument, our language is shaped by and shapes how we view the world.
As the United States celebrates Mother’s Day, I think it is inauthentic to pretend that mothering is something completely divorced from God. Rather, all humans are made in the image of God and all parenting, whether it is protecting, leading, breastfeeding, or birthing, are acts that God can empathize with and understand.
However we choose to think about or talk about God, let us humbly remember that God’s self is ultimately incomprehensible to us as humans, and that for all our good intentions, the best we will ever get to speaking about God is in approximations.
‘Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. ‘
Psalms 145:3 NRSVue
‘“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?’
Job 38:4-7 NRSVue
‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ‘
Isaiah 55:8-9 NRSVue
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Bryce Van Vleet is the #1 selling author of Tired Pages and Before We All Die Let’s Have One Last Chat by the Fireside. He sells poetry art here, published a collection of poems titled Weak Eyes, and masquerades as the spoken word artist Liihey. You can support him by clicking through blog posts or donating (scroll to the bottom of the page).
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