The Image of God's Goodness | Sojourners

The Image of God's Goodness

Wisdom shines bright and never fades: She is easily discerned by those who love her, and by those who seek her she is found. She is quick to make herself known to those who desire knowledge of her....

For in Wisdom there is a spirit intelligent and holy, unique in its kinds, and yet made up of many parts; subtle, free, lucid, pure, clear, invulnerable, loving what is good, eager, unhindered, beneficent, kindly toward all, steadfast, unerring, untouched by worry, all-powerful, all-knowing, and permeating all intelligent, pure, and delicate spirits....

Like a fine mist she rises from the power of God, a pure effluence from the glory of the All-mighty. She is the illumination that streams from everlasting light, the flawless reflection of the active power of God and the image of God's goodness. - Wisdom 6:12-14; 7:22-23, 25-26

In the Christian churches today, there is deep conflict over language for God, particularly gender imagery for God. Many Christians, women and men, are deeply disturbed by the exclusive use of masculine images and pronouns for God. They see exclusive use of terms such as Father, Lord, and All-Mighty as falsifying the nature of God and God's relation to us. The predominance of such language in the worship of the churches has become for them a barrier to prayer. They feel they cannot pray in such language, and some even feel they have to leave the church altogether because they cannot abide such language for God.

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Sojourners Magazine January-February 1996
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