I love that this is quintessential Rabbi Rami: part theology, part linguistic excavation, part social commentary, part stand-up comedy. And then—just when you’re taking it seriously—he slips in a Beatles lyric and runs away laughing.
I am more inclined to say:
God transcends all categories, including gender.
Rabbi Shaya Isenberg z”l would say, “Every name for God is true, and every name for God is inadequate.”
We’re arguing about pronouns for the Infinite!
The deepest line for me is not “God is nonbinary.”
Seeing God as having a gender turns the monotheistic God into a deity close to the multitude of Greek and Roman gods. One of the many fallacies of evangelical “Christianity.”
LOL'd at the beginning (I live in your sister theocracy, and am looking forward to voting for Mr. Talarico in five months), as well as at the end, and was fascinated by the explanations in the middle. I learn so much, and get so much food for thought from your columns. Thanks, and please keep up the good work.
God is but a projection of one’s identity—-personal, social, cultural. This insures validation of the individual’s own stupidities, bigotries, and intellectual laziness. Rs in Texas, Tennessee, wherever evangelical Christians dominate the electorate, will simply use “God” to justify their prejudices.
I love that this is quintessential Rabbi Rami: part theology, part linguistic excavation, part social commentary, part stand-up comedy. And then—just when you’re taking it seriously—he slips in a Beatles lyric and runs away laughing.
I am more inclined to say:
God transcends all categories, including gender.
Rabbi Shaya Isenberg z”l would say, “Every name for God is true, and every name for God is inadequate.”
We’re arguing about pronouns for the Infinite!
The deepest line for me is not “God is nonbinary.”
It is this:
“God says ‘I.’”
And as Rabbi David Cooper z”l might remind us:
God is not a noun to be defined.
God is a verb to be lived.
💕 Bahira Sugarman
My favorite take on this very thing: https://youtu.be/SilgjFpdtwM?si=dRdMPyx5FOYCi64o
One of Fr. Rohr’s best - and there are so many!
This is a wonderful video, Dawn. Thank you for sharing.
You didn’t mention Popeye, who said “I am who I am”.
“I’ing” is indeed awkward; but accurate!
Seeing God as having a gender turns the monotheistic God into a deity close to the multitude of Greek and Roman gods. One of the many fallacies of evangelical “Christianity.”
LOL'd at the beginning (I live in your sister theocracy, and am looking forward to voting for Mr. Talarico in five months), as well as at the end, and was fascinated by the explanations in the middle. I learn so much, and get so much food for thought from your columns. Thanks, and please keep up the good work.
God is but a projection of one’s identity—-personal, social, cultural. This insures validation of the individual’s own stupidities, bigotries, and intellectual laziness. Rs in Texas, Tennessee, wherever evangelical Christians dominate the electorate, will simply use “God” to justify their prejudices.
I love that you also live in Tennessee! I would love to visit you if we’re not too far apart.