Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon - God’s Preferred Pronouns

Episode Date: May 12, 2022

Alan responds to the claim by some gender theorists that God’s pronouns should be they/them.

Since God does not have a gender, and since he's actually three persons in one, shouldn't his preferred pronouns be they them? That's what some gender theorists suggest. And so this is what I want to explore in this 61st episode of my podcast, Thinking Out Loud with Alan Schling. God is not a he. Okay, this is what some gender theorists are now claiming. They're saying, look, God's pronouns should be they, them. After all, they'll say, look, God does not have a gender, right?

He's a spiritual being. And in fact, when you think about the Trinity, what this points to is the fact that he is three persons in one, right? He's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So notice that's a plurality of persons. And then they'll further add this other piece of evidence. They'll say, look, the word Elohim, which is the ancient Hebrew word for God, it's actually written in a plural form. And so all of this evidence seemed to suggest that we have good reason to change how we refer to

God. And so then shouldn't we abandon the whole he, him sort of pronouns and adopt a they, them? Now, to be fair, all right, there is some truth to what they are saying, okay? It is true that God is a spiritual being, right? He's not physical. He doesn't have a gender in the same way that we do, right? Therefore, he's not really male or female like a human being is. OK, so so all of this is true. It's also true that God is triune, which means, yes, he does exist as father, son and Holy Spirit. Right. Three persons in one divine being. And so therefore, it does make sense to refer to the listen carefully to the three persons of the Trinity as they, them. For example,

if I was to say the phrase, they all have the same divine nature. So if I'm referring to the three persons of the Trinity and say, they all have the same divine nature, well, then that makes sense, right? To use the pronoun they, right? But apart from that instance, I want to suggest there's no reason to assign the Almighty God any kind of new pronouns, right? Now, it's also worth noting that modern gender ideology is, historically speaking, incredibly recent, and by the way, I'd argue highly dubious. And so to grant it full authority and then retroactively impose this ideology on an ancient culture that never operated in those terms

is like trying to impose automobile regulations on horse-drawn carriages, okay? This is completely anachronistic. And so the attempt to map this modern ideology onto an ancient text is nothing new. We've seen cancel culture, which of course is fraught with problems, because it assesses past behaviors and expressions of ideas according to these modern sensibilities. People have also recently claimed that the Bible doesn't limit sex to male and female, which again, attempts to map today's cultural categories onto ancient texts. And of course, there's many other examples.

But all of these fail because they are anachronistic, right? Now, I would say, though, that even besides that, we have plenty of good reasons to reject they, them pronouns for God, right? So, let's try to unpack some of these. So, first of all, God has already revealed his pronouns in the Bible, and they are he, him, right? So, in one sense, there's no need to debate this question since, as I'm trying to point out, God has already decreed his decision. Remember what scripture teaches in 2 Timothy 3.16, that the Bible is God-breathed. That means it's the Holy Spirit who has inspired biblical authors to write the words of scripture. spirit who has inspired biblical authors to write the words of scripture. And that includes singular masculine pronouns that God chose for himself. So from the get-go of creation,

we see scripture say this, God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Okay, so notice, right, the Old Testament in the creation account, right, uses the pronouns he in that very well-known passage. Okay, the Old Testament continues, though, to use singular masculine pronouns throughout the Bible. continues, though, to use singular masculine pronouns throughout the Bible. And we see the singular masculine pronoun used when God is described as father in Deuteronomy 32.6, as husband in Isaiah 54.5, and as king in Isaiah 44.6. And so all of these different phrases are examples that seem to presuppose a masculine singular reference that would therefore justify a corresponding pronoun as of he, him. Now, there are some verses in scripture that might suggest a pronoun that is not masculine. So, for example, the Bible occasionally refers to God with feminine characteristics.

So God is described as being like a mother who comforts her child. This is Isaiah 66, 13. Or as a mother bear robbed of her cubs in Hosea 13, 8. But notice, though, these verses are similes. And they refer to God like or as a mother. They are not saying God is a mother, okay? So it's an important point of distinction there, right? There's also some verses that might suggest a pronoun that is not singular, okay? I already mentioned earlier how gender theory

advocates claim that Elohim, that Hebrew word for God, is written in plural form, which they believe justifies they-them pronoun usage. But that fails to consider, though, its grammatical usage in the Old Testament. And scholars recognize that although Elohim is indeed masculine plural, and can be used to refer to various deities, in fact. The term is grammatically singular when used to refer to the God of Israel. So I'm suggesting then that the Old Testament witness then does not support the they-them usage. Now, the New Testament also provides additional support for the usage of singular masculine pronouns.

So, for example, the Greek word theos, which is translated God, is used 1,315 times, okay, and it is distinctly singular and distinctly masculine. And so all throughout the Old Testament, we see God is remote, he's hidden, and only reveals himself on rare occasions. But when the New Testament era begins, God initiates a remarkable history-altering event. What does he do? Well, he reveals himself by entering humanity and taking on the creaturely nature of man. That's what Philippians 2 talks about. And so the incarnation is the expression of God himself in bodily form.

Jesus, a distinctly male person. And scripture calls Jesus Emmanuel, which is God with us. So he represents what God is like to the world. Colossians 2.9 tells us that in Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And so the bottom line here is that scripture repeatedly refers to God in a singular masculine way. And not only was Jesus God in bodily form, but he also spoke authoritatively

about how we can better understand God. In fact, Jesus routinely referred to God as Father, right? Remember in John 10 30, Jesus says, I and the Father are one. And then when Jesus taught us to pray, he told us to call God Father. This is Matthew 6, 9. And then Jesus personally referred to God as Abba, Father. This is Mark 14, 36. So all these examples further justify the use of singular and masculine pronouns. And so, you know, in conclusion here, I think the biblical data overwhelmingly supports the position that God wants us to refer to him with singular masculine pronouns. And since that's how God has chosen to reveal himself, you know, in scripture, it seems like that we should therefore honor him by using the pronouns that he suggests. All right, well, that's all I have for you today. If you enjoy these short

podcast topics that I address, I'd encourage you to either rate or review my podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to this podcast on. Thank you again for listening, and I look forward to thinking out loud with you next time.