Hugely. My practice is to refer to God as male, female or neuter depending on who's listening, and what they'll prefer or be offended by one or the other. In private prayer I just do what I feel like, and very often call God 'mother'.
You'd be surprised about how much of 'the established church' takes that on board (it is, after all, perfectly biblical: in the old testament especially, God is sometimes referred to as female.) I've been to several 'respectable' Anglican churches which begin the Lord's Prayer with 'Our mother and father in heaven' or similar.
And of course there's Sophia, the Judeo-christian wisdom goddess - found in the apocrypha (books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon) AND the bible (Proverbs,) not to mention Mary the Mother of God (confusing to call her a goddess, in my opinion - she was just an ordinary human being whom God raised to be incomparably more glorious than the seraphim, and queen of heaven and things.)
Do you know this website (http://northernway.org/cpinfo.html) on 'Christo-Paganism'. I don't agree with all of it, but it's very interesting.
I see it as more a case of pagan religions being subsumed (is that the right word? 'Absorbed,' maybe) by Christianity than them standing in anything like an equal relationship. Christianity can't be true if it's not the most important thing in the world. I think that's what's symbolised by the three wise men thing - pagan astrologers not giving up their old beliefs, but using them in the service of the new religion.
If and when I become a priest, I can't decide whether to be Father Catriona or Mother Catriona. The former would show that my orders are just the same as a man's orders and be more... well... you know, but the latter would show that as a woman I'm represented the (neglected) female side of God. To be honest, both sound a bit silly. I don't really see myself as very parental.
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timeasmymeasure
Christian goddesses etc.
Date: 2002-10-22 02:26 am (UTC)You'd be surprised about how much of 'the established church' takes that on board (it is, after all, perfectly biblical: in the old testament especially, God is sometimes referred to as female.) I've been to several 'respectable' Anglican churches which begin the Lord's Prayer with 'Our mother and father in heaven' or similar.
And of course there's Sophia, the Judeo-christian wisdom goddess - found in the apocrypha (books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon) AND the bible (Proverbs,) not to mention Mary the Mother of God (confusing to call her a goddess, in my opinion - she was just an ordinary human being whom God raised to be incomparably more glorious than the seraphim, and queen of heaven and things.)
Do you know this website (http://northernway.org/cpinfo.html) on 'Christo-Paganism'. I don't agree with all of it, but it's very interesting.
I see it as more a case of pagan religions being subsumed (is that the right word? 'Absorbed,' maybe) by Christianity than them standing in anything like an equal relationship. Christianity can't be true if it's not the most important thing in the world. I think that's what's symbolised by the three wise men thing - pagan astrologers not giving up their old beliefs, but using them in the service of the new religion.
If and when I become a priest, I can't decide whether to be Father Catriona or Mother Catriona. The former would show that my orders are just the same as a man's orders and be more... well... you know, but the latter would show that as a woman I'm represented the (neglected) female side of God. To be honest, both sound a bit silly. I don't really see myself as very parental.