God: Male or Female?

Every time someone mentions God, they refer to Him as male. Even I am guilty of this. In fact, I have only ever thought of God as a He. That is how we are taught to refer to God. This is why when I was reading Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult, I was so shocked to hear the main character, a little girl named Faith, referring to God as She.

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

In Keeping Faith, a little girl named Faith is experiencing the trauma of her parents' divorce. She starts to speak to her mother about a woman visiting her and calling herself Faith's guard. Faith's mother thinks that she has created an invisible friend until Faith begins to recite parts of the bible - a book she has never read. Then she mysteriously has holes appear in her hands and feet - mimicking those that would have been made on Jesus when he was crucified. When Faith told her mother that she was speaking to God, Faith's mother was shocked to hear Faith call God, She and describe God as a woman.

The Traditional View of God

In this novel, when the world finds out how Faith is describing God, there is backlash from priests and people alike as they proclaim that God cannot be  female. We all know that there are people in our society that would be extremely upset if someone said God is female. Well, those people are wrong.

An Artist's Depiction of a Female God

In Revelation 22:13, God says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."  So, what does God mean by saying He is the Alpha and the Omega? This means that God is neither male nor female. He is both. Which makes sense seeing as how the bible states that we are all made in God's image.

Some View God as a Ball of Light

In lieu of this, I see nothing wrong with viewing God as male or female. In fact, it would probably be easier for little children to view God as being their gender. I know I like to think of God as female over male. The female side of God is what I picture to be the nurturing one that listens to our prayers and woes while the male God is the God I think of who takes revenge on others and serves punishments.

Alpha and Omega

What do you guys think about the many genders of God?


Links:
Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
Book of Revelation 22:13