God Beyond Gender is a feminist critique of the traditional language used for God and in the church. Can masculine pronouns for God be retained on the basis of bibical usage? Can Trinitarian language be gender inclusive? What should be the Christain understanding of the devine name of God (YHWH) in the Old Testament? What are the possibilities and what are the hazards of using human images ("judge," "shepherd," "father," "mother," "Sophia") for God? Is all human language and possibly all human thought necessarily metaphorical?

Product Information

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Title: God Beyond Gender
By: Gail Ramshaw
Format: Paperback
Vendor: Fortress Press
Publication Date: 1994

Dimensions: 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 (inches)
Weight: 7 ounces
ISBN: 0800627741
ISBN-13: 9780800627744
Stock No: WW0627741

Publisher's Description

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The Christian use of God-language has become a matter of debate among laypersons, theologians, worship leaders, and others. Such debates are often heated, because the address of God impinges on what many persons find to be close to the heart of their spirituality.

Combining doxological, Christian, and feminist concerns, Gail Ramshaw examines each of the primary types of Christian language about God and in the process, evaluates gender issues and proposes helpful guideline and solutions.

Many questions are involved in this issue. Can masculine pronouns for God be retained on the basis of biblical usage? Can Trinitarian language be gender-inclusive? What should be the Christian understanding of the divine name of God (YHWH) in the Old Testament? What are the possibilities and what are the hazards of using human images ('judge,' 'shepherd,' 'father,' 'mother,' 'Sophia') for God? Is all human language-and possibly all human thought-necessarily metaphorical?

Author Bio

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Gail Ramshaw, M.A., M.Div., Ph.D., D.D., a retired professor of religion, has published extensively in the field of liturgical language. Her most recent publications are Word of God, Word of Life: Understanding the Three-Year Lectionaries (2019), a collection of liturgical prayers titled Pray, Praise, and Give Thanks (2017), and a collection of personal prayers titled Blessing and Beseeching (2022). In 2010 she received the Berakah award from the North American Academy of Liturgy. In 2019 she was honored by Virginia Theological Seminary with the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and in 2020 received a Doctor of Divinity from Wartburg Theological Seminary.