Subtitle: Vote To Stop Using Male Pronouns For God
Excerpt: The Episcopal Church faces declining membership due to secularization, theological disagreements, and an aging congregation. The use of male pronouns for God in the Bible is rooted in Biblical revelation.
Words of Wisdom from the Babylon Bee –
The Episcopal Church in General
Episcopalians in the United States has been losing members steadily over the past few decades. In the 1960s, the Episcopal Church, which is the American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, had more than 3.4 million members. Today, there are less than 2 million members, and the average number of those who go to church on Sundays has also dropped considerably. Many churches have closed, merged, or had trouble with finances because their members are getting older and fewer young families are joining.
There are several reasons for this drop. The Episcopal Church, like many other mainline Protestant denominations, has had to deal with the growing secularization of American culture. Also, disagreements within the church about the authority of the Bible, human sexuality, the ordination of women, and LGBTQ clergy have caused people to leave and divide. Some dioceses and congregations have left to join or start more conservative Anglican groups. Changes in the population also have an effect. Episcopal congregations are usually older, and the number of new members joining has not kept up with the number of members leaving or dying. The decline is part of a larger trend among historic mainline churches in the United States. It demonstrates that as the church tries to conform to our changing culture, it undermines the core doctrines of the Bible and loses the authority that comes from God through Christ.
The Issue of the use of a Male Gender for God in the Bible
Use of male pronouns for God in historical Christianity is largely derived from Biblical revelation rather than cultural inclination. God consistently employs masculine language to reveal Himself in both the Old and New Testaments. God is not biologically male, but He has chosen to reveal Himself in personal, relational terms that include masculine pronouns.
In the Old Testament, God is often called “He,” and names for the covenant, like “Father,” can be found in verses like Isaiah 63:16. Jesus always calls God “Father” in the New Testament (Matthew 6:9), and He tells His followers to pray, “Our Father in Heaven.” The Greek word “pater” is clearly male. Further, Jesus calls Himself the “Son” (John 3:16) which adds evidence based on the Trinity.
The doctrine of the Trinity makes this language clearer. God is one in essence but three separate people: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father and the Son are shown to be male by their personal names, and certainly Jesus, in His human form, was male. The Holy Spirit is also treated as a person, even though Greek and Hebrew use different grammatical constructions for the word.
In historic Christian theology, being faithful to the Bible means accepting the words God has given us about Himself and remembering that His nature is more than just biology. To reject those Biblical principles, as implied by the Babylon Bee headline on Episcopalians, is to further undermine the Scripture and drive members to more conservative and traditional churches.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. - Revelation 22:18-19
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
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