Gender-neutral pronoun for God?

[MyLittleWonders]

Out of habit, I refer to God as "he". But, I do not personally believe that God is a He any more than I believe God is a She. I believe that the Divine is masculine and feminine, for if we are all made in the image of the Divine (or manifestations of the Divine), then both female and male must be present. That said, I'm having the hardest time because English does not have a gender-neutral, singular pronoun (I'm not hip on the idea of "they"), so my question is this: Is there a gender-neutral, singular pronoun in any other language that can be used for God without implying either the masculine or the feminine? Or, does anyone who has similar issues have a suggestion of what works for you?

[flowers]

I have the same issue and would love to resolve it. I usually end up just saying God over and over.

[artgoddess]

Why do you need a pronoun? I think saying "The divine" or "The creator" could work also if you aren't liking the use of the word God. But God's only got one syllable, just like she and he, so no need to shorten it.

[Ruthla]

Here's my view on it:

ITA that G-d encompasses both male and female qualities, and is neither male nor female because G-d does not have a body or physical attributes. Referrring to G-d as "He" or "She" or "It" wouldn't change that.

I've often wondered why G-d didn't create another pronoun in Hebrew, the language of the Torah, which both Christians and Muslims also consider to be a sacred text (although they have other names for it, and often use translations into other languages rather than the original Hebrew. But all agree that the Hebrew version is "the original.") If you're coming from a monotheistic viewpoint outside of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, what I'm saying may not have much meaning for you. Nor will it have much meaning if you don't beleive that the Torah was divinely written- I beleive that G-d dictated and Moses wrote down the exact words.

G-d Himself chose to write the Torah in Hebrew, and also chose to use the male pronouns do describe Himself, rather than using female pronouns or creating a gender-neutral version (which would anyway be incredibly difficult as Hebrew verbs, nouns, and adjectives need to be conjugated based on gender and plural/singular. Even inanimate objects such as shoes and toothbrushes have genders.) I don't beleive there were any "accidents" in this- G-d could have used an entirely different language or created new grammatical structures if needed. Or G-d could have alternated between male and female descriptions based on context.

So, in essense, G-d decided to be described with male pronouns and grammar. Who am I to argue with that?

[mamabadger]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

G-d Himself chose to write the Torah in Hebrew, and also chose to use the male pronouns do describe Himself, rather than using female pronouns or creating a gender-neutral version <skip> I don't beleive there were any "accidents" in this- G-d could have used an entirely different language or created new grammatical structures if needed. Or G-d could have alternated between male and female descriptions based on context.

So, in essense, G-d decided to be described with male pronouns and grammar. Who am I to argue with that?

A very good point, although of course not relevant to people who do not have the same scriptures.

This also applies to Christianity. Jesus came to earth as a man rather than a woman; he spoke of God as his Father and used male "characters" - king, father, shepherd, bridegroom - in describing God metaphorically. Jesus chose to call God "Father" specifically, rather than Parent.
I do not believe that God is either male or exclusively masculine, but I do believe that God has revealed Himself through male/masculine images, almost exclusively. Either important aspects of God's nature are best represented as masculine; or we are better able to comprehend God, to our limited ability, through masculine imagery.
In either the Jewish or Christian religions, it can never be wrong to follow Scripture and refer to God as He, but it might well be wrong or misleading to use She or It.

[Murihiku]

Originally Posted by artgoddess

Why do you need a pronoun? I think saying "The divine" or "The creator" could work also if you aren't liking the use of the word God. But God's only got one syllable, just like she and he, so no need to shorten it.

Because of the awkward prose: "God made the universe so all praise to God and kudos to God's plan and I would really like to ask God why God allows evil to exist in God's universe and if I ever do meet God I will ask God why God did so."

If you want to use language to discuss God, you need a pronoun.

[xekomaya]

Technically, English does have a gender neutral singular pronoun. It.

ou and a are historical, gender-neutral English pronouns according to wikipedia, but I have no real experience with their usage.

[TzippityDoulah]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Here's my view on it:

ITA that G-d encompasses both male and female qualities, and is neither male nor female because G-d does not have a body or physical attributes. Referrring to G-d as "He" or "She" or "It" wouldn't change that.

I've often wondered why G-d didn't create another pronoun in Hebrew, the language of the Torah, which both Christians and Muslims also consider to be a sacred text (although they have other names for it, and often use translations into other languages rather than the original Hebrew. But all agree that the Hebrew version is "the original.") If you're coming from a monotheistic viewpoint outside of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, what I'm saying may not have much meaning for you. Nor will it have much meaning if you don't beleive that the Torah was divinely written- I beleive that G-d dictated and Moses wrote down the exact words.

G-d Himself chose to write the Torah in Hebrew, and also chose to use the male pronouns do describe Himself, rather than using female pronouns or creating a gender-neutral version (which would anyway be incredibly difficult as Hebrew verbs, nouns, and adjectives need to be conjugated based on gender and plural/singular. Even inanimate objects such as shoes and toothbrushes have genders.) I don't beleive there were any "accidents" in this- G-d could have used an entirely different language or created new grammatical structures if needed. Or G-d could have alternated between male and female descriptions based on context.

So, in essense, G-d decided to be described with male pronouns and grammar. Who am I to argue with that?

totally agree.

[Shantimama]

I use the name G-d instead of a pronoun. It felt awkward at first but that didn't last. Now the use of a gendered pronoun sounds odd to my ears and feels awkward on my tongue.