Re: God is not a man (March 27) 2

I write in appreciation of Yekaterina Ginzburg-Bram’s article, “God Is Not a Man.” Yes, the Hebrew and Christian scriptures are filled with references to the divine feminine, but because we live in a patriarchal world, we don’t see them. And even when biblical material explicitly includes female as well as male references – consider Tanakh’s Genesis 1:27, “And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created . . . male and female . . . [italics mine] – we miss the point that God is both male and female. 

This is not a frivolous matter.  When half the human race is not reflected in the God-head, society is more likely to see that half as “less than.”  On an unconscious level, this legitimizes taking women less seriously, paying them less for the same work, devaluing child care, and much more. 

As a pastor, I use inclusive language for God, balance my metaphors with female as well as male ones, and tell stories that highlight God’s feminine side. As an elementary school teacher, Ginzburg-Bram has a similar responsibility for shaping the self-understanding of the girls in her class as well as that of the boys. Whether one is a person of faith or not, biblical mythology lies just under the surface of the American consciousness and justifies our imagination and behavior.  Ginzburg-Bram is right: bad theology leads to misogyny. 

Rev. Betsy Aldrich Garland

Warwick, R.I.

Betsy Aldrich Garland is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, President of the RI State Council of Churches, and co-chair of the RI Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty.