Of course God is spirit and has no gender, but the constant prayer to a male “Supreme Being” has brought an imbalance to the human spirit and done damage to both men and women.

There is no need to disregard the rich Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We can keep these traditions and add to them stories and myths that teach moral truths that are centered on the lives of women, as once they were in the polytheistic religions of the Near East. In "A New Kabbalah for Women: Restoring the Female Face of God" by Perle Besserman there is interesting history on how over thousands of years the bible as we know it evolved from polytheistic sources.

We need to think about going "forward" to the spirit of the pre-Abrahamic world, for as T. S. Eliot wrote: "And the end of all our exploring. Will be to arrive where we started. And know the place for the first time."

Incidentally, this post is not really about Senator Clinton or Governor Palin. It is about a broader concept of our personifications of the creative forces of the universe. What our most advanced scientists are saying about these creative forces certainly have similarities to our ancient religious and mythological intuitions about the nature of reality.

@ Arkeminien

Your metaphor is a perfect example: Let's say that even as we are having this electronic exchange, in my mind, I see you as a six-foot, blonde, talking Zebra. My imagination of you, my interpretation of you, does not matter. You still are what you are.

Human interpretations of God are irrelevant. (Although I choose mine so that it brings me closer to the Source). God is what is, to paraphrase the bible. You've latched onto one view that you hold to be THE TRUTH. Good for you, if that gives you happiness and comfort. For others, God has many different faces. God encompasses ALL, much more than a mere human mind can wrap itself around. You choose to view the face that is God/Jesus. Others see Budda or Yahweh or Mother Nature or other interpretations. All are constructs that allow the human to feel connected to the divine.

The problem I have with your perspective is that you seem to be taking one human construct - the Bible - as the absolute truth. I simply don't agree with that premise. The bible was written by human hands and is thus fallible.

Perhaps as you write there is indeed "no value in truth". Because the truth is indeed subjective.

Dear Dr. Davis,
Thank you for Heavens Glass Ceiling! You poignantly stated a truth I’ve been discussing with friends for the past ten years. Hopefully this country is at a cathartic crossroad toward opening minds and hearts to a bigger (no gender or racist), but a loving God we humans can’t shove into a dusty doctrine box.

I imagine you’ve read, The Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd? Her book’s significant points swept me into the feminine divine, which in my opinion is an honest energy force that creates a balance for survival across one globe. I was raised in a racist middle/lower class white Baptist family (which I never bought into) and being this close to electing our first black president, Barrack Obama surges my soul with a truthful hope for real change. It is time for compassionate strength!
I wish you beauty and health,
Karen Leigh Sharp

Dear Dr. Davis,
Thank you for Heavens Glass Ceiling! You poignantly stated a truth I’ve been discussing with friends for the past ten years. Hopefully this country is at a cathartic crossroad toward opening minds and hearts to a bigger (no gender or racist), but a loving God we humans can’t shove into a dusty doctrine box.

I imagine you’ve read, The Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd? Her book’s significant points swept me into the feminine divine, which in my opinion is an honest energy force that creates a balance for survival across one globe. I was raised in a racist middle/lower class white Baptist family (which I never bought into) and being this close to electing our first black president, Barrack Obama surges my soul with a truthful hope for real change. It is time for compassionate strength!
I wish you beauty and health,
Karen Leigh Sharp

The Americans wrote in several official documents " IN GOD WE TRUST " that means God is the creater of all .
So than saying in pray time '
"Our FATHER in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done . . ."
or

"Our Mother in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done . . ."
It's better to say

"Our GOD in SKY , hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done . . ."

We can all imagine how good peaceful and love community will found in the world . If most of us prayed that way all the time .Truly it will be a unit pray for all those who IN GOD THEY TRUST ," JEWS , CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS

JDL4

While your comment is noble in its aim for peaceful coexistence, which I fully support, it lacks any substance. You could construct me as a a six-foot blond, or as a talking zebra. I wouldn't be de-valued either way, but you would be wrong. So, if you went to a six-foot blond or zebra to continue this conversation it would do you no good. That is precisely my point with the inane idea that any human-constructed God is any sort of God at all. Conflicts of opinion should never be violent, but they also shouldn't be white-washed or stripped of all meaning for the sake of agreement. In other words, we can't all be right, or there is no value in truth. Christianity states Jesus died and was resurrected, making him God incarnate. Jewish tradition states he died and the body was stolen and Islam states he was never even crucified. They can't all be right because their points are mutually exclusive. Again, these differences of opinion don't warrant violence, but truth isn't subjective, or whatever we want it to be, it is objective, and worth pursuing.

I would like to point out that God is neither male or female. I think this is a big misconception that many people have and try to use for their benefit. I think we all know what makes someone a male and God doesn't have one.

In fact being male is very complicated and is in fact somoething that is determined in our DNA. Again something that God does not posess because he is not human. He is spirit and is not limited to our humaness. I believe he just speaks to us in human terms because that is what we understand. It is near impossible to understand a being that is not human and not male or female. This distinction is so hard for us to understand that many languages (not English) like french, assign masculinity or femininity to everything in the language. It is obvious that a mud puddle is neither male or female but we try to assign it one.

So the male and female thing is just God trying to relate to us. He does choose to describe himself in male terms. He is our Heavenly Father, and a King and Leader. This are all male characteristics. He also came to earth as a man, Jesus. But he had to conform to human in order to become man, so he had to choose a sex.

I actually believe God is the perfect blend of male and female. He actually made man in his image and woman from man. So we are both in his image. God is also the perfect representation of woman in love and mercy, characteristics that are more from women. In truth we become more like God in marriage because man and woman come together to form a union that has both masculinity and femininity. This is a better picture of what God is.

Let's not fall into the trap of this author and try to make God more human. He is much bigger than that. He is God and our creator, not subject to the nature he created. He speaks to us in ways we understand, so we can know him. God has instructed us to call to him as Father not Mother. I don't understand everything perfectely but I want to be obediant the best I can. Let's not change things to keep up with current trends.

It's very simnple. Conservative religion is the home to the largest practice of "male is better" belief system. It is propped up by men (literally) under the disguise of God to systematically create subserviant women. In case your head is in the sand, religion was created by man (literally) for the benefit of man (literally). A relevant comparison would be the lilly white country club for males only. There the women can come "shop" for their man, but they can not - by rule - do much else. Same with conservative religion - pick a deminiation and see if it fits. Mormon? No question. Evangelical anything? No doubt about it. The sytematic effort ot keep women down and "in their place" is engrained in religious culture.

Simple as that.

@ Arkamien:
All over the world, since the beginning of human time, people have constructed God according to their world view. That can never devalue God.
It may be fortunate for those who believe in Christianity that Jesus has been revealed to you in a way that you can believe in and relate to. It is not appropriate - and is part of the fundamental problem with the American world view - to take a position that characterizes all other interpretations of the divine as wrong.

@ Jqw3827,
If that was for me, thanks for the reply. I have found validation for my feelings in some works of literature and will also check out your recommendation.

Of course other cultures (and religions) have very different concepts - and a place for the feminine in their pantheon of dieties that is not at all necessarily "subordinate". Adult Americans should feel free to borrow from them as they see fit and feel comfortable.

Have you read "The Shack"? Sounds as if you'd react very positively to the non-traditional trinity contained in that work of fiction.

After struggling for decades to reconcile the strongly patriarchal Catholicism of my youth with my feminist ideals, I finally came to a solution that gives me great peace. When I talk to or about God, I just say SHE/HER/MOTHER etc.

It's has been VERY interesting to see how quickly the outside world reacted when my kindergardener occasionally refers to HER. The surprise and knee-jerk correction, "You mean HE". No, I don't, thank you very much.

Of course the Creator is beyond gender. It's only our flawed human minds, institutions, and language that struggle to find an appropriate pronoun. Why not SHE if it helps you, as an individual, relate to the creative force of the universe?

For too long Western religion (whether it strayed from original intention or not) demonized the feminine to glorify the male. I am taking back my relationship with divinity and giving my children - both daughters - a world view that affirms for them that ANYTHING is possible for a female.

The problem with the argument is in the point of view. If we as humans construct God as we see fit then there is no more value to God than a table or a blanket, even less value really, because the table and blanket provide solid comfort or convenience. The God construct then,being only thought, would only provide faux comfort and convenience. However, if God is real and the creator of all life, then we are God's constructs and built for God's purposes, which will likely not include assigning our creator a gender. Fortunately, God revealed his purposes and confirmed the equal worth of all humanity through the person, Jesus Christ, who is the only religious figure to fulfill prohecy and be resurrected, verifying his claim to diety and authority over life and death. No Roman or Jew disputed the empty tomb, and his disciples died not on faith, but as eye witnesses to the risen Christ. Based on those credentials, I'll put faith in Jesus, not because he is a man, but because He is risen.

This discussion portrays a very primitive view of God and Heaven, which may be common but the role of theology is to help believers grow in their belief. Isn't God supposed to be beyond our understanding? Therefore all our anthropomorphic terminology is only to help us comprehend God's power. Many groups no longer pray to "God the Father" and have abandoned gender-based language to refer to God, a first step in helping us understand that God is not like us. If we need this parental image, we can use "God our Parent". Likewise with "God our King". "God dour Queen" isn't the answer if we need a ruling metaphor. Try "God our Sovereign". But ultimately, these are all metaphors. God should not be confined to human categories. And if we use these limited categories, then we need to realize we (or our forebearers) created them and that we are being bound by language, not cosmic truth.

If God is the creator of gender, and God is everything good, then it stands to reason that God is above gender. The divine nature is so loving, so forgiving, so nurturing that to attribute it to one gender is to lose it's fullness. The Christian New Testament is filled with examples of God blessing women. It was women who first proclaimed the Risen Christ. If God entrusted such an important task to women, does it not stand as truth that God recognized their status as equal, vital and blessed. The answer. of course, is Yes.

It should not have taken Senator Clinton and Governor Palin to break the ceiling that God broke thousands of years ago. It is long past time for the old myths and fears to be finally passed away. My family is filled with women preachers and in the world I know and have seen God has blessed many as the direct result of their ministry. It is these results that shine a light into heavenly places where all God's children - female and male - reside in blessed equality.

And God looked upon the Earth that God had given unto the stewardship of God's daughters and sons; and God cried.

The whole idea that there is a god and that god has a gender is absurd. That this discussion has drawn this many comments only points out how feebleminded homo sapiens really is as a species. It matters not if Hillary Clinton or Sarah palin become or don't become leaders and it matters even less if they have a place in heaven. The whole concept is created by humans to satisfy the craving for life beyond death. This is simply a function of enjoying life and wishing it could go on. The wish for eternal life has nothing to do with the existence of an afterlife - it has to do with fear of the unknown. However, there is no unknown - there is only what is in front of you. Relax and enjoy that which you see, touch and feel everyday. That's as good as it gets and it ain't bad.

In the old Hebrew tradition, the Almighty was neither named nor given gender. To define is to limit. The Almighty is defined as almighty - limitless.

Perhaps it is well to recall the story of Moses and the burning bush. Asked who are you, the almighty responded, "I am that I am."

Beyond understanding. An insult to even try to define.

Palin belongs to a church that teaches men should tell women what to do! How can she claim to be an example of womens rights when she does not believe in them herself?

AMERICA SHOULD BE FEARFULLY CONCERNED

ALASKA GOVERNOR - RECALL!!!
I am a Alaskan life voting Republican. This 2008 Election, I will [with pleasure] vote Democrat! This Alaska Governor has destroyed "MANY GOOD ALASKAN PEOPLE(s) professionally and politically during her short term position as Mayor in a small community Wasilla, Ak (Approx 7,500 residents ) and current Alaska State Governor.(of approx. twenty months). Whenever Palin is confronted with a question that she does not know, does not have a clue or simply does not want to answer, her indignation which turns to...ANGER...is familiar. McCains'' V.P. selection Sarah Palin has no business being the Alaska Governor, let alone, a USA candidate for Vice President.... Maverick??.....****AMERICA SHOULD BE FEARFULLY CONCERNED****. I voted for Sarah Palin in Alaskas 2006 Governor Election. MISTAKE! Never Again… I repeat-NEVER AGAIN!!...Alaska Governor Palin is an absolute Embarrassment to the Alaska People and "IS" proven to be an insatiable Liar!! How can she possibly ASSUME the ability to clean up America, when she cannot clean the 'MESS" she has created in Alaska. Yes, A Mess FOR Alaskans to clean up. McCain, you should be ASHAMED of yourself!!!! This victim (palin)has no business in this Presidential Arena.

[read Alaska News-Politics adn.com]
Posted by AlaskaVoter

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3315131801810140856

God created all life but Republicans don't want to preserve it.

I don't know about the rest of you but for me the greatest message is to love your neighbor as thyself. I also am a woman and I feel god loves me just as much as he does a man. I also cannot understand why a female running for a potential VP post would attack as much as she does her opponent. That is not what God would have her do. She is acting like a viper and gossiper and not believeing that if she were indeed qualilfied, God would see that she does not need to attack her breathen. For that reason, I think everyone should seriously think about what they are doing when they go to the voting polls.

I want to be respectful, but I cannot let blasphemy sit.

God has revealed himself to us through his Word, and he has set the parameters for gender. Jesus is a male, and is clearly identified as God's Son (and not daughter). Jesus prayed to his Father in heaven, and distinguished this from his earthly father and mother.

Just because it doesn't fit into a modern feminist world-view does not negate the truth of the Scripture. I'm sorry if it's not comfortable, but we cannot disregard what is clear. That said, I think if we all learned and understood the honor that God places on women, there would be no need for argument.

If you believe there is only one God, how can you possibly imagine that God has a gender?

"Our Creator who art in heaven" would be closer to accurate though more impersonal as well.
I was an adult when, and quite shocked to learn that people don't generally accept pronouns in English as being gender neutral without becoming impersonal as well. I grew up thinking I was included in such references as "man" and "mankind" and I still feel included in those groupings. Although now, I see that not all people see it the same way.
It is for that mindset (masculine pronouns = male gender only; feminine pronouns = female gender only) that a gender inclusive reference to God needs to be emphasized...In fact, the word "God" itself is probably more accurately used as a pronoun than a label for a (what word do you use?) an anthropomorphized concept?
By the way -- ALYOSHA1 gave a perfect reply to this question that also happens to be the foundation of my understanding of it before I knew people actually thought that guys were more like God than girls because God's a "man" (referred to in the masculine gender)

gdavis9716...You might find your answer in Genesis Chapter 16. It is the story of Sarah banishing her handmaiden Hagar. GOD intervenes by sending an angel to comfort Hagar, instructing her to return to Sarah , also telling her "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly ....

In my church or some other churches that I've visited, women comprise the majority. Does it mean that God favors women? You idiots should start using your brains.

If God reveals himself as a fire, Im sure these idiots would complain why He didn't appeared as water.

God burns a person if he or she doesn't believe. There is no favoritism. What you should worry about is whether you are a daughter or son of His or not.

Also there is no gender in heaven coz marriage will be a thing of the past. God looks at the heart of the person and not his or her gender.

We can see that doomsday is so near. There are so many idiots nowadays. They are everywhere. There are so many here in this blog.

To Paraphrase what God said:

Do not waste your time on 'doubtful disputations' For everyone has his own opinion.

And that is why people need to SHUT UP and listen to GOD- not themselves.

What do I care if God is a man or a woman. Men and women, as I have come to learn watching this Presidential election - are hateful pigs, and therefore God is better off as SPIRIT - without gender.

I would be pretty glad if GOD is not a woman - for SHE could be Sarah Palin!

The main reason for a male God was that the Hebrew people wanted to draw a distinct line between the creator and the creation. Images of Mother Gods or goddesses tended to lend themselves to what they believed to be heresy - that humankind is just a smaller version of the god, carrying withing a spark of the divine. Oftentimes even today goddess worship carries this same idea.
Of course, the Hebrew God was also more of a warrior God, especially at first - not like the other Gods, who specialized in fertility. God traveled with them, not being fixed to a piece of earth.
Yet the Bible also has feminine imagery for God. Oftentimes, wisdom is his consort - his feminine side. The Spirit may also, at times, be feminine in nature.
Throughout the Bible, however, it is said that God is spirit, and therefore any attempt to make God male or female is simply to say that God is person - a limitation of our language, which does not have a personal word devoid of gender. We would not wish to say, in other words, that God is an "it."
If we can remember to be faithful to the Hebrew desire to maintain the distinction between creator and creation, we can be fully "biblical" and call God "him" or "her," "father" or "mother," without doing violence to scripture.
In the experience of many, perhaps "Mother God" might be preferable - after all, as Garrison Keilor says, mother is the one who picks you up, puts a little "mother spit" on her hankie, and wipes away all of our hurts. "Father spit" tends to leave dark stains.

" We can all imagine how different the world would be if most of us prayed that way half the time.”

There are a lot of ways that I think the world might be different and those ways are pleasant to imagine. If anyone wants to get some background they can read: “When God was a Woman” by Merlin Stone. This book tells of 10,000 years ago in the Near and Middle East (And incidentally this was true in ancient Rome and Greece) when polytheistic cultures worshiped Goddesses as well as Gods. Chief among female deity was a Goddess known by names such as Astarte, Isis, and Ishtar.

I invite someone more versed in this history to come on and say more; and we certainly need anthropologists to say more about what such societies might have looked like. According to Stone, Ishtar "reigned supreme in the Near and Middle East. There she was revered as the wise creator and the one source of universal order, not simply as a fertility symbol as some histories would have us believe."

In “Heaven’s Glass Ceiling” the mention of “the bounty of board dinners thenceforth, it seemed, and forever more,” referred to the pop culture half-truth that: “Momma’s boys” are always rich. “Daddy’s boys” are always hungry for more.” Things are not that simple but Lawrence Kohlberg in “Approach to Moral Education” makes a scholarly argument that can be stretched to partially cover the pop-culture half truth.

The transition from the age of Ishtar to the age of patriarchic monotheism took thousands of years of rewriting of ancient myths to make deity male only. We don't know if the destruction of "idols" by Abraham was a destruction of some of the symbols of female deity, but we do have a line of argument in “Terror and Civilization: Christianity, Politics, and the Western Psyche” by Shadia Drury that what we are experiencing now are “biblical wars.” The question addressed is: how much has a warlike mind-set been created by our Judeo-Christian heritage, and by Islamic heritage from the same sources.

Nice way to look at the world, and America and it's problems, through only a Christian lens...

When I was a child I loved hearing religious stories in school during our scripture classes. They were full of decency.

Later, I was scornful of religion and believed that it was irrational and silly.

My second wife took me to Church every week. This started when I was about 43 years old. It took me 15 years before I finally believed in God and Jesus. I still do not understand the role of the Holy Spirit. I find salvation in Jesus.

I am appalled by the bigotry and animosity that is attached to religion. Too many Christians hate Moslems and vice versa. My wonderful kind neighbour is Moslem. We get on just fine. They are decent kind people. We treat each other with respect.

I do not accept everything that the Bible says without assessing its context. I do not accept the notion that there should be an eye for an eye. I do not believe on the death penalty. I do beleieve that thou shall not kill and that includes the state. I believe that those people who support the death penalty are indulging and legitimising their own vindictiveness and that they care more about hurting and killing people and that they do nothing when an innocent person is released from prison or death row.

Similarly, I believe that women are equal. One day they may even be superior. If we wait long enough the pendulum will swing the other way.

When I was a child I loved hearing religious stories in school during our scripture classes. They were full of decency.

Later, I was scornful of religion and believed that it was irrational and silly.

My second wife took me to Church every week. This started when I was about 43 years old. It took me 15 years before I finally believed in God and Jesus. I still do not understand the role of the Holy Spirit. I find salvation in Jesus.

I am appalled by the bigotry and animosity that is attached to religion. Too many Christians hate Moslems and vice versa. My wonderful kind neighbour is Moslem. We get on just fine. They are decent kind people. We treat each other with respect.

I do not accept everything that the Bible says without assessing its context. I do not accept the notion that there should be an eye for an eye. I do not believe on the death penalty. I do beleieve that thou shall not kill and that includes the state. I believe that those people who support the death penalty are indulging and legitimising their own vindictiveness and that they care more about hurting and killing people and that they do nothing when an innocent person is released from prison or death row.

Similarly, I believe that women are equal. One day they may even be superior. If we wait long enough the pendulum will swing the other way.

Just remember that god said to Abraham..." listen to your wife Sarah" implying equality if not the worth of the female gender!

Wow,
This is one of the MOST CONSTRUCTIVE threads that I have seen with different opinions and faiths etc.
The beauty of the American Constitution is that it not only TOLERATES different opinions but rather DEMANDS acceptance and inclution.
Remember that America was founded by those who were persecuted for their faith in Europe.
This is the main point, Americans are BETTER than those who wish to destroy them internally and externally.
But, Americans are not to be underestimated in their devotion to each other, their LIBERTY and the sacred document that we call the constitution.
Bible, Koran, Vedas, Buddhist Doctrines are all very nice but the constitution of the United States is a LIVING document that binds all that seek liberty and indepenance together regardless of religion, race or creed.
God Bless America!

To much information here. I think I will stick to the Word of God and forget about worrying about whether God is man or women "God is not a respecter of persons" True religion is expressed as "Taking care of the widows and orphans" Jesus said this not me. If we were doing that there would be no hunger and not many of us worrying about who is going to heaven or what gender they are or what they said or did on this earth. Who really cares about all of that obviously you all do in here.

It will always be this way, people trying to figure out God and what is going on with religion. What happened is the Devil has really twisted and confused a lot of folks. God means well for everyone that follows him and believes in Him I say him because it has word power that is all. We are all created in the image of God. That can be confusing and like others have said what if or maybe or do women have as much as a man in Heaven? Bla Bla! Do have fun here please!

Well, as long as we're anthropomorphizing, when *I* was a kid, I imagined that God (male, of course) was married to Mother Nature (marriage being an ill-defined concept to me) and they were equal in power and status. Nowadays, I don't feel like my deities need personalities, but there are a few people I think are worthy of my admiration, at least.

(Sorry about the typos. I corrected them and resubmitted it)

Yes, women can be equal, heaven or no heaven. It was only 2000 years ago that men created the image of Christian God as a man. For other modern day religions, their male Gods were created only a few hundred years befor or after Jesus.

Who is to say 2000 years from now, the God image won't be a woman?

The short history of this country sometimes makes it difficult for many Americans to see thing beyond the immediate future.

Yes, women can be equal, heaven or no heave. It was only 2000 years ago that men created the image of Christian God as a man. For other modern day religions, their male God was created only a few hundred years befor or after Jesus.

Who is to say 2000 years from now, the God image won't be a woman?

The short history of this country sometimes makes it difficult for many Americans to see thing beyond immediate future.

"I am a United Methodsit Clergywoman; graduate of Howard University Divinity School (5/1984). Your understanding of Divinity is on point! Thank you for challenging your readers."

UNBELIEVABLE!! This is why women don't belong leading churches as Pastors...as with Eve...they are too easy to be deceived by equally ignorant and disobedient men laz !

I did not read the article nor any of the comments posted. My only comment is to put the face of a great American Sen. HRC next to a beauty queen with no political ability is the most outrages posting in the Washington Post.

Thank you for expressing a view I don't hear often enough, especially from men.

ScottFitz wrote "the LDS Church has taught since the days of its founder, Joseph Smith, that there is a mother in heaven, right next the father. And while Mormons do not actively worship her, they believe that she is equal in power, knowledge -- and most certainly in beauty. "

This just confirms that the Mormon church is a cult. It should be renamed as the MORON church. They call themselves Christians but obviously their belief are poles apart different from what Christ taught.

Jesus said, " Iam the Way , the Truth and the Life. NO MAN cometh unto the Father but by me."

NOBODY goes to heaven except thru Jesus Christ. If you want to invent your own God and make Him a woman, feel free to do so but don't be surprised if God takes it as a form of BLASPHEMY and sends you to Hell.

It's obvious that you don't have high regard for the words of Jesus Christ and if you continue on that path, you could end up in Hell.

Seek and Ye shall find.

I knew from the title that this page would be the haven for angry atheists and hempist nutjobs. Did everyone in Takoma Park post a comment?

In Hindu philosophy, all beings have come from One Source, Our creator. Creator is reflected in all of us as a divine power. The body perishes and the divine power goes back to the source.
Therefore, all men and women, regardless their nationalities, color, creed, and race are created in God's image. Now, people behave differently on this planet to get liberation of their souls, they need to belong to one religion and show off their mastery over others through their belief system. Terrorists have no religion or any path except what they want to impose with violence towards fellow human beings. They are killing people of all faith. Some people of faith some times condone forced conversion, or manipulation by Mortgage Bankers (greed), or those who seem to have privileged life with money also squeeze poor families. Yet, in God's house (a.k.a.Heaven) our conscience, our thoughts, words and actions (deeds) are rewarded. When people do God's work on earth (like Lions Clubs) to help the needy w/o letting them be a dependent, they are rewarded. When people who receive the aid and charity are ungrateful (like Pakistanis, Europeans) or soon Iraqis, then they will eventually lose and suffer consequences. Obama (not his wife) is grateful for what this country offered to him. McCain (not his wife) is also asking that all Americans work in life with higher purpose. Both Ms Carter and MS Palin have their own agendas and certainly will push it for the benefits of the masses, no matter where they serve. When politicians do things for the benefit of a few or self, then they loose. Karma theory tell me that G.W.Bush will pay dearly. We don't believe in Hell. We believe in Re-incarnation where people like Bin Laden have to come back to earth and suffer in next life. Now, Bible says 'Earh is heaven', it means he has challanged the mankind to live in harmony and love each other. Why then Bin Laden and current crisis. We need Darkness to appreciate the light. Therefore, we shall pray.
Hey Lord, take us from Darkness of Ignorance to Light of knowledge. America is an experiment of God on this earh. Those who understand will rise during bad times and together, we will come out OK. Each generation has to meet the test of time.

Interesting discussion and the statement the most aligns with my own belief about GOD and His dual characteristics as both man & woman, was the comment submitted by AYOSHAI.
The first person in the Bible who gave women equal rights was Jesus Christ.
In the New Testament it was Jesus who redefined marriage and divorce.
God lovingly & clearly defines the role of men and women and He is the great romantic ..just read the Song of Solomon.
In Revelation HE the GOD-MAN exhorts the church, the Protected Bride to be ready for His return.
As a Christian of the 7th Day Adventist church I believe there is no glass ceiling for women, in the church or in the politics. As a Democrat, we made a mistake not nominating Hillary for VP. Bill's( in my opinion)immoral legacy prevented Hillary from becoming the Presidential nominee.

There is not a glass ceiling in Heaven.

My church has a hymn called "Oh My Father." It is a beautiful hymn written by a powerful woman in our church's history named Eliza R. Snow. In that hymn she says,

"I had learned to call thee Father, thru they spirit from on high. But until the key of knowledge was restored I knew not why. In the heavens are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare. Truth is reason, truth eternal, tells me I've a mother there.

When I leave this frail existence, when I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you in your royal courts on high. Then, at length, when I've completed all you sent me here to do, with your mutual approbation let me come and dwell with you."

The true gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that no man and no woman can be exalted to the thrown of our Heavenly Parents without being sealed in the marriage covenant. A man to a woman, a woman to a man.

My God comprises of a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother.

Truth is reason, remember that truth is eternal. Eve was not created to keep Adam company, rather she was always a planned daughter created to be an equal partner in her marriage with Adam. An extraordinary woman who was chosen to be the mother of us all. While Adam named all the animals, Eve taught our ancestors how to live, love, laugh, nurture, and most importantly, she taught them the gospel.

Who has more influence over generations, the parents who provides for temporal needs, or the parent who teaches us. This is why men have always tried to keep women down, because they know that ulimately, it is the women who by divine creation have always had the most influence.

IF we are to talk about heaven and the Bible and WOMEN, then we MUST, AT LEAST consider Eve.
Almost every true man that I know consider women to be SUPERIOR to men.That is wh we all revere and respect our mothers to the fullest and without condition.
The problem is in the the TRANSLATION...
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the LORD is with THEE.
Bleesed are Thou amongs't women and BLESSED is the fruit of thy womb Jesus...
Holly Maty, Mother of CHRIST, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our DEATH AM...
But... Eve, the SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN MOTHER of all humans... Is ANOTHER story...
EVE, according to ancient lore, was CLONED from the rib of ADAM...
Why? Because Adam was LONELY... and felt INCOMPLETE...
Much like John McCAin felt isolated and incomplete so he chose "Sarah" or as the evangelicals care to call her "Sister Sarah".
It amazes me how efferctive how efficient the brainwashing techniques have become...
Well, no one could ever ACCUSE me of being an evangelical christian or a "born again" christian or a "conservative" Christian...
BUT, I AM a man of faith and the words of Christ affect my every decision and, most importantly, how I live my life day to day...

So, we now are compelled to chose between Barrack/Biden or Pailk/McCain and Paul Kucanich is not a viable option nor is Ralph (no more GREENS) Nader...

Well, Barack and Joe are, as far as anyone can tell, fiel family-oriented people and, so it seems, Obama is a man of faith and devotion who chose a life of service and has a MONOGOMOUS relationship with his wife and is a dedicated, CHRISTIAN man of faith.

McCain destroyed, AT LEAST five jet bombers and is known to be a TRAITOR to his fellow pilots and later to his fellow POWs and MIAs. Palin, is the SECOND wife of her husband and if you believe in the BIBLE that makes both of them ADULTORERS...
They both LIE and are LIARS and so WHY does the "so called" Christians behind them?
And... Further more..
It is time to take off the GLOVES and EXPOSE McCAIN for who he is and was... Joe and Barrack "LOVE" this guy too much... BRING OUT HIS PEERS

"Vietnamvetaransagainstmccain.com" and even get closer... the family of the pilot that he lit up on the aircraft carrier etc....

Snd, RESPECT wpmen EVERYWHERE at all times as they are all our mothers and sisters.

THAT is the danger of an innocent Sarah, she invokes the SPIRIT of Joan of ARC (hallucinations and ALL) and Obabma should have AT LEAST had her on his SHORT LIST...

The Jewish God, and therefore the Christian God, is an asexual* force. Belief in Jesus is another matter.

The reason God is given a male identity is because ancient (and modern) Hebrew, which the Torah was written in, has no gender-neutral pronouns. There is no "it". When referring to a person or the Lord, the Bible chose "He" because men are dominate over women in original societies, so yes--there is a sexist slant to the way we observe religion nowadays. However, if you read up on many Jewish texts that discuss the essence of God, they always refer to both the *male and female aspects* of The Creator. Google "shechinah".

If god were to exist, which scientifically and factually he doesnt, he wouldnt be a man or woman. It would be God, an unfathomably supreme being that is in no way human, able to take on infinite forms. Even the idea of Jesus is wrong. Jesus, who was a dark-skinned middle-easterner, only became "white" during the Renaissance, so that religious art would be more appealing to people. Religion is a tool to improve your self in a way which you think fit, and to control people with their ignorant beliefs. For all who read this, this was indeed written by a rational 15-year old practicing quick writing skills and wasting time, trying to make any difference in changing peoples beliefs for the better.

You may email him at drpacman@hotmail.com, to satisfy his pleasure and curiosity.

If there's one thing that gets me, it's this idea that men and women are equal, but men are in charge.

If men are to be in charge of a church, then, no, woman are not equal, I don't care how finely you slice the words about their roles.

The same for praying to the heavenly father. In Christ there is neither man nor woman, Scripture says, but we can't deal with that.

So we parse words to come up with the idea that the Father and the Mother are equal, it's just the Father who's in charge.

This "check your brain at the door" concept is why Christianity is shrinking.

I too believe there is a Mother in Heaven. It is a proponent of my faith. But a family on earth just as it is in heaven is composed of a Father and Mother. Their jobs are to support and respect each other and each has its own role to fill.

That hierarachy doesn't lessen the role each has to play but blesses each role in how it influences the children on earth and heaven; what they will become.

When women and men step outside of their roles then unity is compromised. It is up to men and women who interface with each other in the bonds of marriage to define the roles that best meet the need of their families and then move forward doing what is best. That doesn't change when children grow up and move away. What changes is the circumstances.

The woman is known as one who nurtures but I think that should not only be encompassed in the role the woman plays but also in the role the man plays.

Men who have had to proceed in raising children without a wife and women who have had to proceed in raising children without a husband know the difficulty to hold the role of nurturer and protector.

Therefore, when there is the opportunity to have both a man and woman as the basic leaders of a family both should work to share the load by taking on the roles that best suit them and best serve the needs of the children. Bringing God at the top of this family pyramid allows men and women to make the right choices in family dynamics.

Because of my faith I believe that we worship Father in heaven instead of Mother in heaven because that is the example Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother want us to follow. Even though women and men need to be able to nurture, the roles held in heaven hold the father as the patriarch and the mother as an equal partner with different roles.

Therefore, in times of need we do call out for our mother because of the role she held. That in no way lessons the need for a father but indicates the heavenly pattern of motherhood and fatherhood.

Quote: "Mary is 'in the flow' .... water to wine.... rising to the heavens... and Jesus is on the cross until he enters the 'feminine' by an act of complete and utter surrender to God's will. It is thus (surrender) that Jesus gained his release, by imitating his mother."

Feminine is utter surrender...? What nonsens. Have you ever met a female bear or elk defending their offspring? Utter surrender, my foot. This is a thought some men love and find very soothing and sexy and beautiful, not to mention very practical for themselves, but it has nothing to do with true femininity.

This concept is as false as the concept of the three male (let's call a spade a spade) forces God, Jesus and the holy spirit. Which, thanks to egotistical males, followed the original concept of male, female and child. (Which is not meant to be an insult to same sex couples.)

There are two heroes in the New Testament.

The celebrated hero is Jesus. The less popular heroine is Mary, Jesus' mother.
The best that the Roman Catholic Church did for Mary was to make her 'Blessed', because she is a woman.
Jesus, on the other hand, is considered a 'Son of God' and a God in his own right.

Both Jesus and Mary accomplished similar results.

Mary (The Assumption) accomplished her result by being perfectly surrendered to the will of God.

Jesus, did it the hard way.

Gender bias is a very Darwinian item (grunt, grunt, have a banana). Equality of the genders is an Intelligent Design.

Presently, the Western spiritual cosmology is way out of balance. Not as 'male' and 'female' but regarding 'active' and 'receptive' as the two necessary components of the 'balanced' psyche.

Jesus is a contradictory-paradox and Mary expresses a complete and 'common sense' approach to God. Mary is 'in the flow' .... water to wine.... rising to the heavens... and Jesus is on the cross until he enters the 'feminine' by an act of complete and utter surrender to God's will. It is thus (surrender) that Jesus gained his release, by imitating his mother.

.

Not very many of the Christians below who are nodding in agreement with the original post would dare to start out "Our Mother, who art in heaven" in their church this Sunday.

We say "Our Father..." for the same reason that in most denominations women cannot be reverends or priests.

Christianity is a male-dominated religion, no matter what Christians claim.

If you disagree, I dare, and double-dare, you to begin the Lord's prayer with "Our Mother...".

In 99 churches out of 100, it won't be tolerated.

This is lovely, really. For those commenters noting the importance of women in the Mormon and Catholic faiths, they clearly aren't important enough, since they are denied the ability to minister and lead flocks.

I am from Stockholm Sweden.

Your thought about the view of God as male/female and how that might influence us, is very interesting. You painted a very vivid picture of your childhood community and the strong feminine presence there, I could almost hear the voices of your mother, grandmother and all the other women. Thank you! And then the shift of atmosphere to the white corporative America with the male, white (of course) corporative God. It felt like a chilling wind sweaping through your column.

This is certainly fodder for thought. I know nothing of the mother of George W. Bush, for instance, but could his perception of his divine mission to invade Iraq (which he says he feels it is) have looked different, had it been given to him by a female God? (This said by a die-hard atheist, who nevertheless recognizes the great impact of religion.)

It is worth noting that the eucharistic elements of "Body" and "Blood" were first formed in the womb of a woman.

Who says women cannot be priests?

One of the stupidest things on the face of the planet is gender bias in religion.

Let's get this straight, the being(s?)? (describe it how you want) who's supposed to have created everything, or some variation of that, but in any event takes care of us after we die, & performs other tasks worthy of worship, has a gender, and has a bias about it too?

That's got to be one of the stupidest ideas ever foisted off on people in all of recorded human history. God isn't some invisible mini-me who's gotta check to see if his wang's tenting the robe up in front of the departed devout. Or if her nipples are showing cause that passing cloud was cold as an opposite example...

It's pretty safe to say I think, given He hasn't done any interviews on CNN, that God's beyond gender, and that these ideas are a human conceit.

This is a lovely speech on an anachronistic and largely discarded view of Christianity. Even Bill Maher's one-liners are (mildly) more clever than this pile of tripe.

Dear Mr. Davis,

What a wonderful idea. I couldn't agree more. In the Mormon faith, in which I grew up, the idea of an anthropomorphic Father and Mother in Heaven is an integral part of our theology. In fact, it was long-term religion editor, Kenneth L. Woodward, who first called attention to this precept in a September 1, 1980 Newsweek article, "What Mormons Believe":

"At the center of [Mormon] theology is the belief that God is literally a procreating father and that he is married to a Mrs. God, or divine mother."

If this sounds weird to most readers, well, Latter-day Saint leaders apparently think so, too. In an attempt to get Mormons recognized as mainstream Christians, Latter-day Saint leaders (all men, of course) have played down the Mother-in-Heaven concept. They prohibit public prayers to our Mother in Heaven. In fact, Mormon leaders have gone so far as to excommunicate those who promulgate this integral (albeit, increasingly unmentionable) part of our theology. Any legitimacy and comfort that earlier generations derived from the concept of a Heavenly Mother is, therefore, officially denied.

As you point out, the absence of a Mother in Heaven is a loss for many of us, especially those who have a difficult time conceiving of ourselves as being "in the image of" God, when God is so often portrayed as a bellicose male.

A religion (like Mormonism) that insists on the dual and essential nature of the sexes (rather than recognizing sexual identity as a continuum) practically creates the necessity for a nurturing counterpart to an angry, authoritarian God.

I am a United Methodsit Clergywoman; graduate of Howard University Divinity School (5/1984). Your understanding of Divinity is on point! Thank you for challenging your readers.

Many might be surprised to learn that the Catechism of the Catholic Church has the following to say on this subject:

CCC # 239: (EMPHASIS ADDED)
"By calling God 'Father,' the LANGUAGE of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. GOD'S PARENTAL TENDERNESS CAN ALSO BE EXPRESSED BY THE IMAGE OF MOTHERHOOD, which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. The language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that GOD TRANSCENDS THE HUMAN DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE SEXES. HE IS NEITHER MAN NOR WOMAN: HE IS GOD. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: no one is father as God is Father."

Granted, I haven't heard any homilies preached on this- but there you have it, right there in the official book of doctrine for the Catholic Church.

" implacable, vindictive, angry, warlike " you said it right.

Mary becomes pregnant, she is obviously the mother. Joseph is told that Mary is pregnant by God - he is obviously not the father. Humans have fathers and mothers in conception. Jesus is fully human and fully divine. So if God is not the father, who is?

*singing*

One of these things is not like the other....

What would Jesus do?

I guess what you're trying to say is that He wills us to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket.

Wow, this is really sad!

The American people made a great mistake when they elected President G . W . Bush for two periods. Now they are paying the cost of that mistake expensively after he destroyed the economy of the United States.
The same the Democrats great mistake too when they didn't elect Senator Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee for President.
but the Mistake which is greater than those is the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as
the Republican nominee for Vice President
Please what S.Plain can do to solve or fix the problems which created by G.W.Bush?

I think that you answered your own question "Why do we pray to Our Father only?" in a way that you did not intend but which is closer to the truth than you know.

When you go on about the power, even the dominance, of your mother and other female relatives in the realm of spirituality and influence, you accidently hit upon a truth which many think is one of the underlying reasons for the traditional Christian insistence on the Fatherhood of God and for the all male clergy. Its not women who need to be represented in heaven. Its not women who need to be given a place at the head of the spiritual table. They are a powerful force quite naturally. Hence the dominance of female dieties in the old pagan religions. The female in her role as wife and mother is such a powerful thing, that she easily overwhelms all other contenders. But its the male that needs affirmative action in the realms of the spirit. Its men who have a hard time finding a place. Its men who have trouble connecting to the divine.

Traditional Christians do not believe that God is exclusively male, but that he directed us to call him Father, and revealed himself in male form in the flesh for a good reason which we have no right to jettison in favor of our own hunches. We can speculate why that is, but our first duty is to obey instead of making God over in a way that suits us better. The first and hardest thing we human beings have to learn is how to humble ourselves and follow even when we would rather be the boss.

Personally, and I say this as a woman myself, I believe that the powerful feminine has something to learn from submission and humility before a male God and a male clergy. The most powerful often need such humility to temper power and to make it more perfect. Too much power and influence in any category is never a good. The balance of power seen in traditional families where both the father and the mother are powerful role models is an undeniable good. Its the same in the church. The opposite is a female dominated family or church which lacks that balance and which drives men away from where they are basically not needed and are not relevant. The Church in its wisdom created a unique and exclusive place for men in its life to be more inclusive of men and I for one do not want to lose that because I care about real gender equity as opposed to favoring one gender over another.

Up until the 1800's no one knew the mechanics of sex. The general consensus was that the male provided the substance of life and the female nurtured it (like putting a seed in the ground). With this as a paradigm, it was easy to imagine a creator god as male. But just like a rocket trip to Mars, a tiny miscalculation at the beginning can leave you way off base by the end of the journey. Over the last couple of thousand years, the Abrahamic religions have suffered from an error in biology. It appears that starting out in a post-neolithic paternal society, the tenets of orthodoxy have developed to serve the interests of men as conceived of in that ancient time. Oops there.

Carl Jung suggested that men should approach God as a female and that women should approach him/her/it as a male. Thus, our individual sexuality would be the natural compliment to the world we find ourselves in. This makes sense as long as you don't have trans-gender issues, in which case I'm afraid you're on your own.

Pleasing mother and pleasing father are two very different earthly tasks. Why wouldn't humankind be set off on a different course if we in the Abrahamic tradition stopped trying to please only this implacable, vindictive, angry, warlike father figure?

Speaking as a Jew, I've always wondered who the Christians, Catholics view this horrible way. Your "Abrahamic Tradition" is not ours. The weirdest part of Christian (Catholic, etc.) thinking to me has always been this notion of a god of love and forgiveness vs. one who is "vindictive, angry, warlike."

Somehow the C's think this is associated with Judaism, yet no Jew believes this and none ever have. If I depended on a literal interpretation of the Christian testament I'd think the Cs insane, superstitious, intolerant, etc., with a demented man-god, along the lines postulated by CCNL. To wit, if you come at the last moment to "believe" in him, you will be saved, regardless of what you have done.

On the other hand if you don't "believe" in him than you will be damned no matter how good you are. So everyone else is damned. Very nice.

Come to think of it, the Vatican has never stepped away from this position. Neither has any branch of Christiantiy.

Fortunately, Jews are literally forbidden to question other religions since it is held that G-d has a covenant with all peoples.

Bottom line: This Abrahamic business is a feel-good myth. C-anity is radically different from J-aism. Thankful we are that we do not have a vindictive, warrior god.

Truth changes over time. There is much evidence in archeology and ancient cultures that God was a women at one time. Mother Earth and Mother Nature are still persists in everyday language. There are little pot bellied goddess figures excavated from many ancient sites.

Reproduction was a mystery for a long time attributed as a gift of from the mother goddess. Overtime, as understanding came with breeding animals, this belief was replaced by male and female gods with various power. Finally, the male gods killed off the female goddesses. Moses and his book of Genesis was a major step in "I am man, hear me roar" and the one male god.

Moses wrote the history of the world from his view backwards. His writing style gives the narrative as if each historical character is telling his story in his present time. Abraham, Isaac, Noah and Adam did not write their won stories. Moses did. His justification that he talked to God was based on stories that he wrote. We really on have is word for it that the accounts in Genesis are from God and not from his own truth.

God is merely Santa Claus in a white nightgown surrounded by winged eunuchs. How does the Virgin Mary fare in Protestant churches? Please note the suit who leads Scientology. Well, a better fate than the 72 Passive Virgins stocked up in heavenly Imanistan.

Here's a website with an introduction to the topic, from a biblical perspective...

http://www.gotquestions.org/God-male-female.html

Mr Davis says:

"Why wouldn't humankind be set off on a different course if we in the Abrahamic tradition stopped trying to please only this implacable, vindictive, angry, warlike father figure?"

I wonder what concept of God he's referring to. It's certainly not the God described in the Bible?

Implacable? But all our sins are forgiven because He Himself took on human form and bore our punishment and gave us His life in exchange for our guilt.

Vindictive? The God who mercifully bore high treason from His creation, graciously promising to save them nevertheless, and then patiently bore continued rebellion and running after other gods by his people for many hunmdreds of years?

Angry? Well yes, He's angry at times. Anger against the right things is actually a virtue. But read the Bible and see if Anger is really the dominant characteristic of the God described there.

Warlike? Again, there is a time and place for war in the face of evil, but to say that "Warlike" is a primary characteristic of God is not something that can come from an honest reading of the Bible.

You may not believe the Bible is true, but you don't have a credible argument when you argue against what you say the Bible teaches but you present instead a straw man that justifies and feeds your prejudice.

What about God in human form who lets his creatures nail him to a cross, after whipping him with nail-tipped chords, spitting on him, and mocking him? And as he suffers before them, enduring their taunts "Why don't you come down from the cross?" he doesn't come down. He doesn't call down fire from Heaven on them, though he could. Instead He prays "Father forgive them", and he endures their torture unto the death of the human aspect of his being.

I wonder if Mr. Davis actually read the Bible, and if so why does he skip over such a compelling expression of God's lover for us, which BTW is not an anomaly in the Bible but the culmination of a consistent expression of God's love for His people throughout the Scriptures? Perhaps because it's easier to attack the straw man that so many have created rather than face the inconvenient truth that this is God's world and we are his creatures.

Again, Mr. Davis is free to say he doesn't believe the account in the Bible of Jesus's crucifixion and the other statements of God's love. But when he criticizes what he says is the Christian teaching of who God is, he shows that he is actually doing nothing of the sort.

George Lakoff has a similar take in his book, "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think." When the "Strict Father" and "Nurturant Parent" family models he posits are applied to religion, Strict Father Conservatives tend to see God as a strict father figure, while Nurturant Parent Liberals tend to see God as a nurturant parent figure. The former is usually, though not always, viewed as male, while the latter is less gender-specific and can just as easily be viewed as female as it can be viewed as male.

I understand your emotional conflict with a gender-based identification of God. However, the same basis for which one might eliminate "male" references to God would also eliminate any "female" references. The Bible teaches that God has no gender:"God is spirit...", writes the Apostle John.

In referring to your emotional conflict concerning gender labels for God, you say, "Pleasing mother and pleasing father are two very different earthly tasks..." This is where the mother-father debate breaks down. Were it not for the fall of man, our earthly fathers would still embody the best of the "mother" attributes to which you refer, as well as the best of a perfect father figure. But our "heavenly Father" is NOT like our fallen, human Dads, so your logic is flawed by a faulty point of reference.

The bottom line of this discussion is that God is referred to as Father throughout the Bible, while at the same time attributing characteristics to Him that we more readily associate with a mother. Jesus taught us to pray "our Father which is in heaven...", but this in no way lends credence to your suggestion that heaven is a gender-discriminatory place where women have no equality.

I have no comment on the thesis of your piece one way or the other.

However, I do think you are doing a disservice to Senator Clinton, and women generally, by mentioning Governor Palin in the same breath.

Senator Clinton, of whom, it must be said, I am not particularly a fan, is a formidable national figure, irrespective of gender.

More importantly, like her or not, she was qualified to lead this country from day one or to take that 3 A.M. phone call, with serious, thoughtful and thought-out policy prescriptions for the many challenges, domestic and international, facing us as a nation.

Gov. Palin is, for all her personal charm and decency, little more than a gimmick, unfortunately.

Although sexism may well have played a role in Sen. Clinton's campaign, there were also, undeniably, many valid, non-gender related, reasons for not selecting her as a running mate.

The reason you pray to the "father" is because in Biblical times the father had all the authority.

Praying to God the mother would be like praying to God the armchair.

Furthermore, if you want information on the mother of God, please feel free to visit your nearest Roman Catholic church and ask about "Mary."

Also, to Matt31: The word "pray" simply means "ask." You can pray to anyone including Mary and the saints and still believe in One God. Praying to others than God is referenced in the bible and is the basis for intercessionary prayers.

What a beautiful homily. Who could disagree with this.

This commentary, about the sexual identity of the Judeo-Christian-Islam deity, is refreshing.

To answer someone's view that God is not angry, and cannot be so out of logic, another question comes to mind. That is, is it possible for mankind to understand a deity outside of human sensibilities, or what the author calls "anthropomorphism?"

If we cannot logically believe our God is capable of anger, or of any negative human affection, can we logically believe God is capable of any human emotion, including love?

And, more importantly, can we believe God is a man, when man is a sexual identity, and sex is only about procreation, in union with a female?

"In no way is God in man's image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective 'perfections' of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband." --"Catechism of the Catholic Church," Paragraph Entry 370, p. 105 of the paperback edition, Image/Doubleday, 1995.

This commentary, about the sexual identity of the Judeo-Christian-Islam deity, is refreshing.

To answer someone's view that God is not angry, and cannot be so out of logic, another question comes to mind. That is, is it possible for mankind to understand a god, by definition, outside of human sensibilities, or what the author calls "anthropomorphism?"

If we cannot logically believe that our God is capable of anger, or of any negative human affection, can we logically believe that God is capable of any human emotion, including love?

And, even more importantly, can we believe that God is a man in sexual identity, when sex is only about procreation, in union with a female?

1. There is no evidence of heaven.

2. Some people pray to Mary, making them polytheistic, by definition.

It's really pretty simple. God through Genesis, made Man in his image, male and female. Thus God is not Gender specific as humans see God. However, God chose to use the male identity to reveal his plans for Mankind throughout the Bible text. Why God did this is His purpose. That does not mean that I believe God is male. However, I do still pray our Father, and say He. That is not insulting to women, that is simply how God revealed Himself.

According to KJV Genesis 1:27: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

From this it can be deduced the the deity described is both male and female.

Reference to a male only may have become custom. Certainly the prayer attributed to Jesus refers to a father, but this might have been due to his having an earthly mother and not wanting to confuse the followers.

You sir, are a joke.

"Pleasing mother and pleasing father are two very different earthly tasks. Why wouldn't humankind be set off on a different course if we in the Abrahamic tradition stopped trying to please only this implacable, vindictive, angry, warlike father figure?"

This is Feminist ideology in disguise.

The author poses a false question to us:
Why can't we pray and refer to God as "Mother" as we would "Father?"

It's false because God is NOT flesh, but rather spirit. Trying to put God in a little box of one's own choosing, like what the author is doing, is wrong. A person who does this is perverting the truth to suit one's own desires. This falls in the same category of absurdity as "Jesus was really gay" and "Jesus married Mary Magdalene."

I'm not a fundamentalist. This is widely known truth.

Can one reason with the unreasonable?

I believe in every religion and theie love and prayer directed towards GOD is same. I am a Hindu and always worship God as my Mother, as Universal Mother and even her name we call as AMBA, meaning mother in Sanskrit language. I always consider me as her child and everyone else as her childere.

I was very happy to feel the love of Mother in my heart when i read your article

That is an interesting take on things, and I like how sensitive this piece is to the positive impacts women have had on his life, but let's give the dads some credit, too. There are a lot of males and females out there who love and revere their fathers and are quite comfortable with the contributions that males make to their lives. Besides, if all who cared to pray decided to pray to our mother, people would sooner or later be questioning the gender bias against males.

Could the author's concept of the male God be tied to the perception of male involvement in his early life that he just briefly touches on?

I am not too keen on the gender equality assumptions here. One person may be discriminated against by another, but should the level of discrimination that person faces determine his or her personal worth? Unless someone agrees to let other people decide what their ultimate value is, I think they should separate the feeling of being discrimated against from the notion of their equality with others. I know the author speaks of equality under the law and under social conventions, but we should ask people what they mean by it when they talk about people being equal. Certainly, women face societal discrimination, but do women need to FEEL unequal? I am not so sure. I think it is exactly the realization of female value that causes people to fight against gender discrimination. You don't have to be religious at all to get that.

Speaking of religion, I wonder why the author does not mention an important doctrine of the Christian faith he professes being the equality of all who are in Christ without regard to gender, station in life, etc. In a spiritual sense, those in Christ can experience personal freedom on earth from concerns about how equal they are to the opposite sex and surely from any concern about a glass ceiling associated with heaven. This life is short, and if anyone makes it into eternity with God, I would guess they will not care that much about the gender identity we assigned to God from the limited vantage point we enjoy now.

Man created god in his own image -- probably during a thunderstorm that killed daddy. This fictional entity replaced the hunter-warrior father figure who used to protect the family from harm while mama did most of the actual work in gathering, farming, making a home, cooking, cleaning, etc. The problem with seeking fairness in an elaborate fiction is that it is just an elaborate fiction. Men wrote it; men cast themselves in the lead role. Don't be astonished. This is just normal stuff. When a novel is imagined by a woman, the lead character is nearly always a woman, when imagined by a man, the lead character is a man. Of what gender is the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy or Puple Teletubbies? Hmmm. Do we care MORE or LESS about those quesion than the "gender" of "god?" Just asking.

Less praying, more phoning mom. Everyone will be better off, I promise.

Why not a large insect? Don't they own the earth as much as, or more than, we do?

Making it either a man or a woman is equal in stupidity. It could as easily be something we can't even conceive, or nothing. If it exists, having created this vast universe or multiverse, we are likely no more to it than a single cell is to us. Believe me, it doesn't care whether your team wins or you get that promoton. Any other view is plain childish. Grow up already.

The idea of an angry God is nonsensical.

At the root of all anger is fear, the fear of losing something.

How could an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient deity possibly feel fear, and hence anger?

Anger is a product solely of the human ego. The Chritsian God is a raging EGOMANIAC.

The belief in the Shekhinah, the feminine aspect of G_d, has not been forgotten but is often overlooked or redefined. The angry and defensive rejection of this aspect by those bound by dogma (rather open to than faith and inspiration) brings to mind the reactions of abused children who fear their abuser. G_d is a loving god.

Thank you Professor Davis for the clearly written comparison that opens us to who our creator really is. As a man I appreciate that the misogynistic slant that scripture has acquired through years of manipulative interpretations (much of which is not present in scripture itself) can be revealed in a better light by your simple comparison.

Professor Davis,

In your comments you wrote:

"Why wouldn't humankind be set off on a different course if we in the Abrahamic tradition stopped trying to please only this implacable, vindictive, angry, warlike father figure?"

The truth is that we are utterly incapable of pleasing God. There is no one on this earth, male or female whose acts of kindness or worship can in and of themselves placate or satisfy the righteous anger of a holy God against sinners like you and especially like me.

The sooner we realize our arrant helplessness to please God on our own terms, and that all we have to offer Him even on our best day falls immeasurably short of the mark, the sooner we position ourselves to receive the infinite, unbridled expression of His great love for us in the Person and the work of Jesus Christ.

It is Christ's obedience and not ours, that perfectly satisfies God. It is Christ's blood, the blood of the one and only Son of God, that turns away God's fierce anger, and makes us objects of His love rather than objects of His wrath. When we trust in Jesus, we receive not only total forgiveness for our sins, but also the benefits of adoption by a loving Father who considered us and sought us out to be part of His family long before anything that ever was ever was.

Is God a God of wrath? Yes! Yet, is it accurate to say that God is "vindictive", that He is somehow predisposed to revenge, when He set forth His will to display His love and mercy on us from eternity past?

Is God angry at our sin? Yes! Yet, is it right to say he is "implacable," when He has completely accepted Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for our sins? Is it just to say that God is "warlike" when He lavishly emptied out the very Treasure of heaven to bring us into peace with Him?

It is accurate and just and right to say unequivocally that God is our Father - not with a little "f", for He is not like us and we are certainly not like Him. No, he is "Father" with a big "F" because He is the author of all creation who sustains all matter and every living thing, He has paid our ransom, made us alive when we were dead in our transgressions, and brought us into His house as adopted sons and daughters.

If we see God for who He is, and for what He has done for us, only then will "humankind be set off on a different course," indeed a better course.

Where, outside of religion, do you come across total wackos like "Kinghas" who submitted the drivel below? This is what religion does to people.

Why make up gods at all...male or female?

Our ancestors had a good excuse for thinking and hoping that there were gods up there in the sky.
They didn't know any better.

We know better. It is time to stop pretending there's anyone 'up there'. We know there really isn't.

Sarah Palin is of this faith

Remember, the roman faith has twelve stations of the cross, The roman cross and the greek cross, and the so-called jewish cross. In Roman mythology Saturn was the god of agriculture founder of civilisations and of social order and conformity. The glyph is most often seen as scythe-like but it is primarily known as the "CRESCENT BELOW THE CROSS", whereas Jupiter's glyph is the "CRESCENT ABOVE THE CROSS". THESE TWELVE JESUS SENT FORTH. Like the twelve jesus’s, like twelve signs of the zodiac. Sarah Palin is of this faith, even though she may deny it. She is a warmonger, THE GOD OF WAR, MARS, she believes IN THEIR GODDESS OF LOVE, VENUS. She belives in conception is life, WOLF-AND-SHEPHERD-GOD LUPERCUS WHO BROUGHT FERTILITY. She belives in the light of the world, PHOSPHOROS AS LUCIFER ("LIGHT BEARER"). She belives in THE MOON DIANA, the light who dwells in darkness. As well as the cross, Oak groves were especially sacred to her. She believes in the trinity, DIANA MADE UP A TRINITY WITH TWO OTHER ROMAN DEITIES, EGERIA THE WATER NYMPH, AND VIRBIUS THE WOODLAND GOD
She believes in WORTHY IS THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN TO RECEIVE POWER AND RICHES, PLUTO WAS THE ROMAN GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD
THESE METALS, JEWELS AND OTHER RICHES LIE UNDER THE EARTH. and THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS FELL DOWN AND WORSHIPPED HIM, “THE BROTHER OF GOLIATH THE GITTITE”. She believes in 'GOD OF OUR FATHER', DAGAN. And she believes in eternal life, THE EGYPTIAN GOD PTAH IS GIVEN THE TITLE DŪ GITTI 'LORD OF GATH', PTAH IS OFTEN CALLED THE LORD (OR ONE) OF ETERNITY

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God said, Let the waters under the Heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA extended the mission of the busy Phoenix lander on Monday, saying it will operate until it dies in the cold, dark Martian winter.
The lander found evidence that the chemical makeup of the dust on the surface of Mars resembles that of sea water, adding to evidence that liquid water that once may have supported life flowed on the planet's surface.
And, said JPL's Michael Hecht, further analysis shows the Martian dust is about as alkaline as seawater, with a pH of 8.3, more evidence that life could have existed on Mars.

THE DUST ON THE SURFACE OF MARS RESEMBLES THAT OF SEA WATER
MARTIAN DUST IS ABOUT AS ALKALINE AS SEAWATER

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

THESE TWELVE JESUS SENT FORTH

I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

I AM DEBTOR BOTH TO THE GREEKS, AND TO THE BARBARIANS
I AM READY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO YOU THAT ARE AT ROME

To ancient astrologers the planets represented the will of the gods and their direct influence upon human affairs. To modern astrologers the planets represent basic drives or impulses in the human psyche. These drives express themselves a) with different qualities through the twelve signs of the zodiac, and b) in different spheres of life through the twelve houses. How the planets manifest themselves also depends on the aspects (or angles) that they form with each other in the sky as seen from Earth.

THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
SPHERES OF LIFE THROUGH THE TWELVE HOUSES

Romulus (c. 771 BC–c. 717 BC) and Remus (c. 771 BC–c. 753 BC) are the traditional founders of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war, Mars. According to the tradition recorded as history by Plutarch and Livy, Romulus served as the first King of Rome.

the twin sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, fathered by THE GOD OF WAR, MARS.
Luperca's husband is the WOLF-AND-SHEPHERD-GOD LUPERCUS WHO BROUGHT FERTILITY to the flocks.

The evening star they called Hesperos (Latinized Hesperus) (Ἓσπερος, the "star of the evening"), but by Hellenistic times, they realized the two were the same planet. Hesperos would be translated into Latin as Vesper and Phosphoros as Lucifer ("Light Bearer"), a poetic term later used to refer to the fallen angel cast out of heaven. The Romans would later name the planet in honor of their goddess of love, Venus, whereas the Greeks used the name of her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite

PHOSPHOROS AS LUCIFER ("LIGHT BEARER"), a poetic term later used to refer to the fallen angel cast out of heaven
The Romans would later name the planet in honor of THEIR GODDESS OF LOVE, VENUS,

Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, honour, and glory, and blessing.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

WORTHY IS THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN TO RECEIVE POWER AND RICHES
every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea
Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb for ever and ever
THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS FELL DOWN AND WORSHIPPED HIM

And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew THE BROTHER OF GOLIATH THE GITTITE, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had ON EVERY HAND SIX FINGERS, and ON EVERY FOOT SIX TOES, FOUR AND TWENTY in number; and HE ALSO WAS BORN TO THE GIANT.
And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.
These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

“AND THERE WAS YET A BATTLE IN GATH”
“THE BROTHER OF GOLIATH THE GITTITE”
“ON EVERY HAND SIX FINGERS”
“ON EVERY FOOT SIX TOES, FOUR AND TWENTY in NUMBER”
“HE ALSO WAS BORN TO THE GIANT”

The Egyptian god Ptah is given the title dū gitti 'Lord of Gath' in a prism from Lachish which has on its opposite face the name of Amenhotep II (c. 1435–1420 BCE) The title dū gitti is also found in Serābitṭ text 353. Cross (1973, p. 19) points out that Ptah is often called the lord (or one) of eternity and thinks it may be this identification of Ēl with Ptah that lead to the epithet ’olam 'eternal' being applied to Ēl so early and so consistently.

THE EGYPTIAN GOD PTAH IS GIVEN THE TITLE DŪ GITTI 'LORD OF GATH'
PTAH IS OFTEN CALLED THE LORD (OR ONE) OF ETERNITY

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and also of the moon.
Along with her main attributes, Diana was an emblem of chastity. Oak groves were especially sacred to her. According to mythology, Diana was born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos, daughter of Jupiter and Latona. Diana made up a trinity with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god.

Diana was the goddess of the hunt
associated with wild animals and woodland, and ALSO OF THE MOON.
Oak groves were especially sacred to her
DIANA MADE UP A TRINITY WITH TWO OTHER ROMAN DEITIES
EGERIA THE WATER NYMPH
VIRBIUS, THE WOODLAND GOD

Pluto was the Roman god of the underworld, known in Latin as Tertius, the counterpart of the Greek Hades. He was originally the Roman god of certain metals and, because these materials are mined, he also took on the role of god of the underworld. The Greek word for wealth is Πλοῦτος (Plοutos) and it is believed that the Romans derived Pluto from the Greek because these metals, jewels and other riches lie under the Earth.

PLUTO WAS THE ROMAN GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD
THESE METALS, JEWELS AND OTHER RICHES LIE UNDER THE EARTH.

Amorite inscriptions from Zinčirli refer to numerous gods, sometimes by name, sometimes by title, especially by such titles as ilabrat 'god of the people'(?), il abīka 'god of your father', il abīni 'god of our father' and so forth. Various family gods are recorded, divine names listed as belong to a particular family or clan, sometimes by title and sometimes by name, including the name Il 'god'. In Amorite personal names the most common divine elements are Il ('God'), Hadad/Adad, and Dagan. It is likely that Il is also very often the god called in Akkadian texts Amurru or Il Amurru.

especially by such titles as ilabrat 'god of the people'(?), il abīka 'GOD OF YOUR FATHER', il abīni 'GOD OF OUR FATHER' and so forth.
In Amorite personal names the most common divine elements are Il ('God'), Hadad/Adad, and DAGAN

The word El was found at the top of a list of gods as the Ancient of Gods or the Father of all Gods, in the ruins of the Royal Library of the Ebla civilization, in the archaeological site of Tell Mardikh in Syria dated to 2300 BC. He may have been a desert god at some point, as the myths say that he had two wives and built a sanctuary with them and his new children in the desert. El had fathered many gods, but most important were Hadad, Yam and Mot, each of whom has similar attributes to the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon or Ophion and Hades or Thanatos respectively. Ancient Greek mythographers identified El with Cronus

El had fathered many gods, but most important were Hadad, Yam and Mot, each of whom has similar attributes to the Greek gods Zeus, POSEIDON or Ophion and HADES or Thanatos respectively

A bilingual inscription from Palmyra (KAI. 11, p. 43) dated to the first century equates Ēl-Creator-of-the-Earth with the Greek god Poseidon. Going back to the eighth century BCE the bilingual inscription at Karatepe in the Taurus Mountains equates Ēl-Creator-of-the-Earth to Luwian hieroglyphs read as da-a-ś, this being the Luwian form of the name of the Babylonian water god Ea, lord of the abyss of water under the earth.

the TAURUS Mountains equates Ēl-Creator-of-the-Earth to Luwian hieroglyphs read as da-a-ś, this being the Luwian form of the name of THE BABYLONIAN WATER GOD EA, LORD OF THE ABYSS OF WATER UNDER THE EARTH.

The Egyptian god Ptah is given the title dū gitti 'Lord of Gath' in a prism from Lachish which has on its opposite face the name of Amenhotep II (c. 1435–1420 BCE) The title dū gitti is also found in Serābitṭ text 353. Cross (1973, p. 19) points out that Ptah is often called the lord (or one) of eternity and thinks it may be this identification of Ēl with Ptah that lead to the epithet ’olam 'eternal' being applied to Ēl so early and so consistently.

THE EGYPTIAN GOD PTAH IS GIVEN THE TITLE DŪ GITTI 'LORD OF GATH'
PTAH IS OFTEN CALLED THE LORD (OR ONE) OF ETERNITY

And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew THE BROTHER OF GOLIATH THE GITTITE, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had ON EVERY HAND SIX FINGERS, and ON EVERY FOOT SIX TOES, FOUR AND TWENTY in number; and HE ALSO WAS BORN TO THE GIANT.
And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.
These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

“THE BROTHER OF GOLIATH THE GITTITE”
“ON EVERY HAND SIX FINGERS”
“ON EVERY FOOT SIX TOES, FOUR AND TWENTY in NUMBER”
“HE ALSO WAS BORN TO THE GIANT”

In Roman mythology the sun was represented by Apollo, the god of light.
In Roman mythology the Moon was represented by Diana, the hunter goddess.
In Roman mythology Mercury was the messenger of the gods, noted for his speed and swiftness .
In Roman mythology Venus, was the goddess of love and beauty, famous for the passions she could stir among the gods.
Mars was the Roman god of war and bloodshed, whose symbol was a spear and shield
In Roman mythology Jupiter was the ruler of the gods (having overthrown Saturn) and their guardian and protector, and his symbol was the thunderbolt.
In Roman mythology Saturn was the god of agriculture founder of civilisations and of social order and conformity. The glyph is most often seen as scythe-like but it is primarily known as the "crescent below the cross", whereas Jupiter's glyph is the "crescent above the cross".
In Greek mythology Uranus was the personification of the heavens and the night sky.
In Roman mythology Neptune was the god of the sea, and the deep, ocean blue colour of the planet Neptune reflects this.
In Roman mythology Pluto was the god of the underworld and of wealth, hence the coin-and-chalice glyph.

"After the long struggle of Senator Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee for President, and the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee for Vice President, most Americans are spending a lot of time thinking about ending gender discrimination and breaking glass ceilings."

Well, please don't equate these things. As much as some try to say otherwise, Hillary didn't really lose cause of some 'glass ceiling.' At least not among those who actually have known for decades women can be world leaders. She didn't win... cause among those for whom equality is a natural fact, she wasn't as appealing as Obama for real and practical reasons.

I'd have been proud to support her for President. But she was actually my third choice, this time around. Loved Obama, still think he's the one for the job in these times. Thought Edwards' labor policies were pretty important.

Palin's another matter entirely. She's tokenism. There were plenty of better-qualified Republican women to pick from, but they were too 'pro-choice' to draw the conservative Christian 'base' ...Palin wants to have the power to say, 'A woman can subjugate women to patriarchal religion, too!'

And if she sets back the notion women can be qualified for office apart from religious obedience, so much the better for some.

As for the male-gendered-autocratic-white-guy -depictions of 'God,' well, that seems to be a Christian problem.

Don't much care to argue whether or not 'The God Of The Bible Is A Mother Saying 'Patriarchal' Things , Too,' ...

It's enough to know the Mother's here.

Hi, Mom! :)

The idea that God is male has been used to perpetuate the inferior status of women for centuries. However, from a logical perspective, the belief in a gendered creator makes no sense. Male and female are definitions that are drawn from a creature’s role in sexual reproduction. Neither male nor female can exist apart from one another. A creature that does not sexually reproduce is neither male nor female. Amoeba are just amoeba; they have neither sex nor gender. Thus, if there is but one God, God can not be either male or female. Maybe we should just go with "Our God in heaven, hallowed by thy name..." and leave sex/gender out of it.

In this post, the author asks whether women can have gender equality on earth if they do not have it in heaven. The assumption seems to be that since the Bible does not refer to a heavenly mother, than there isn't one (at least in the minds of most Christians). However, in at least one Christian faith, women do have full equality in heaven: the LDS Church has taught since the days of its founder, Joseph Smith, that there is a mother in heaven, right next the father. And while Mormons do not actively worship her, they believe that she is equal in power, knowledge -- and most certainly in beauty.

Those interested in the LDS position on this interesting issue can read more here:

http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/godhead/heavenly_mother.html

"Our Mother in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done . . ." We can all imagine how different the world would be if most of us prayed that way half the time.

I imagine that the world would be different if half of us could tolerate anyone who prayed that way ever. Perhaps it's that paternalistic religions are often patronizing that makes me believe that many people would be offended and offensive if asked to accept a female deity as an option for anyone outside of sketch comedy, "primitive folklore" or extreme feminist stereotypes.

BTW I loved The Melting Points website, looking forward to the book.