Table Of ContentEdited by
This
Alvin F. Kimel Jr.
is MY
with essays by
William P Alston
NAME
Stanley J. Grenz
FOREVER
Paul R. Hinlicky
Christopher R. Seitz
The Trinity
and others
& Gender
Language
for God
LIBRARY
This
is MY
name Edited by
Alvin F. KimelJr.
Forever
The Trinity
& Gender
Language
for God
ivp
InterVarsity Press
Downers Grove, Illinois
InterVarsity Press
PO. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 v
World Wide Web: wtvw.ivpress.com ^
E-mail: [email protected]
©2001 by Alvin F. Kimel Jr.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission
from InterVarsity Press.
InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA?, a
student movement active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in
the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical
Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept.,
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI
53707-7895.
Chapter one (“The Divine Name in Christian Scripture") is taken from Christopher R. Seitz, World
Without End, ©1998 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. Reprinted by
permission; all rights reserved.
Chapter three (“The Pronouns of Deity: A Theolinguistic Critique of Feminist Proposals”) by Donald
D. Hook and Alvin F. Kimel Jr. previously appeared in The Scottish Journal of Theology 46 (1994):
297-32.
An earlier version of Thomas E. Schmidt's essay “The Christological Phallicy in the New Testament”
appeared as “The Penetration of Barriers and the Revelation of Christ in the Gospels,” Novum
Testamentum 34, no. 3 (1992): 229-46.
Chapter seven (“Feminist Theology as Modern Project”) by R. R. Reno previously appeared in Pro
ecclesia 5, no. 4 (1996): 405-26.
Chapter eight (“Is God Sexual?") by Stanley J. Grenzpreviously appeared in Christian Scholar’s
Review 28, no. 1 (1998). Copyright © 1998 by Christian Scholar’s Review. Reprinted by permission.
Cover photograph: Superstock
ISBN 0-8308-1506-6
Printed in the United States of America °°
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
This is my name forever: the Trinity and gender language for God / edited by Alvin F.
Kimel, Jr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8308-1506-6 (alk. paper)
1. God—Name. 2. Nonsexist language—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3- Feminist
theology. 4. Language and languages—Religious aspects—Christianity. 1. Kimel, Alvin
F, 1952-
BT180.N2 T48 2001
231 ’.01 '4—dc21
00-047171
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Contents
introduction_7
Gary W. Deddo
PART Is CALLING ON GOD: BIBLICAL ROOTS
1 The divine name in Christian scripture__ 23
Christopher R. Seitz
2 THE GENDER OF ISRAEL’S GOD_35
Paul Mankowski
3 The pronouns of deity_62
A Theolinguistic Critique of Feminist Proposals
Donald D. Hook & Alvin F. Kimel Jr.
4 THE CHRISTOLOGICAL PHALLICY IN THE GOSPELS_88
Thomas E. Schmidt
PART II: KNOWLEDGE, LANGUAGE, SOCIETY:
PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS
5 FEMINIST HERMENEUTICS-108
Some Epistemological Reflections
Francis Martin
6 LITERAL TALK OF GOD_ 136
Its Possibility & Function
Wiliam P. Alston
\ v
PART III: GENDER & THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF GOD:
Theological considerations
7 FEMINIST THEOLOGY AS MODERN PROJECT .. . 161
R. R. Reno
8 IS GOD SEXUAL?_ 190
Human Embodiment & the Christian Conception of God
Stanley J. Grenz
9 SECULAR & ESCHATOLOGICAL CONCEPHONS
OF SALVATION IN THE CONTROVERSY
OVER THE INVOCATION OF GOD_213
Paul R. Hinlicky
CONTRIBUTORS_240
Introduction
Gary W. Deddo
Human address of God has always been a very important matter and one
often subject to contention. This has been true across time and religions.
Increasingly there has been a cry to change our language about God,
especially in Western societies where Christian language has been used
in particular to refer to God. Some critics contend that traditional Chris¬
tian ways of speaking of God have had harmful effects on women. More
particularly, they allege that masculine pronouns and masculine images
such as Father, Son and King used in reference to God misrepresent God
as being male, encourage men to take advantage of women, provide a
religious justification for violence done to women and alienate women
from the worship of God. These are serious charges.
For the sake of discussion we can formulate these concerns in two
questions: (1) Does masculine language for God encourage the abuse of
women and the self-justification of men in their violation of women? (2)
Does masculine language about God alienate women from true worship?
Often those calling for a reform of language assume that such lan¬
guage serves as a strong factor in creating such harmful situations. It is
also often assumed that the elimination of such language is possible and
This is my name forever
8
would certainly make a decisive contribution to alleviating wrongful be¬
havior. Furthermore, it is assumed that solving the ethical problem of
abuse by altering the practical matter of language is of ^greater signifi¬
cance than any other concern. Consequently, a consideration of other
damaging yet unintended consequences such as spiritual harm to wom¬
en (or others) or the abandonment of Christian authority and faith are of¬
ten neglected. These matters are considered of secondary or even of no
concern.
The contributors to this volume find the mistreatment of women or of
anyone else deplorable, especially when done in the name of the Chris¬
tian God. Consequently, we are adamantly concerned to provide a genu¬
ine solution to the ethically abhorrent problem rather than a pseudo
solution that might be ineffectual or even contribute more or even great¬
er harm. This means that our concern for a person’s spiritual welfare, as
understood within the Christian biblical and theological framework, is of
greatest importance. Any alleviation of the ethical problem must be
worked out within that framework, not for the sake of the Christian tradi¬
tion in itself, but for the sake of the spiritual welfare of all persons,
whether they share the Christian faith or not.
Of course, this means that biblically grounded theological concerns
must be integral to any proposed pragmatic change of language for the
sake of greater ethical faithfulness. A concern for the deepest welfare of
persons must include a regard for biblical and theological faithfulness as
well as ethical behavior. In fact, an essential Christian conviction is that
ethical behavior can only truly be grounded and sustained on the basis
of a biblically authorized faith. Consequently, careful consideration must
be given not only to the problem but to the unquestioned assumptions
behind any proposals no matter how seemingly pragmatic, especially
those which might have theological, and so faith-affecting, conse¬
quences.
Some may regard the biblical and theological focus of this book as
evasive of the more pressing issue of the harmful effects that the misuse
of reference to God is associated with. Surely, many have argued, there
is a simple and straightforward solution: change the language. But as a
number of articles in this book imply, this analysis is too simplistic. It
