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God on a leash, language makes him male

Flashback Friday, a column on feminist notions...

This notion is prevalent in feminist theology, particularly in the work of Mary Daly, who first suggested that the words we use to speak about God shape the way we experience and understand God. That’s why, she argues, it’s important to be aware of gendered language when speaking of the divine. If we always describe God as “he” and, more specifically, as “God the Father,” we will close ourselves off to the whole, full, range of ways in which we can experience God. We limit the divine power in our lives, and, too, in the lives of others, by suggesting that the only way to know God is as “He,” the father. Language, she famously writes, functions.

The Grand Sweep: A Marriage, Observed and Magic Words

Maybe the reason why the world sucks is because we need to take God onto the moors and let 'him' off the leash.

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Cinnamon Gurl sparked this off. Thanks. Each week the Flashback Friday: Feminist Edition will feature a story that has something to do with being or becoming a woman or feminist. This series will continue until I run out of stories. I love having guest bloggers. If you have a story you want to tell and you want to be a guest blogger here, please email me; or feel free to link to your own story in the comments.
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