“God is non-binary? I must have missed that verse in the Bible.” – Ken Paxton.
Dear Ken Paxton,
I heard your opponent’s comments on the gender of God are causing you some confusion over what Scripture says about the subject, so I thought I could help you out. Don’t feel bad, it’s easy to misunderstand something you haven’t sought expertise in.
Your point about there being no verse in the Bible explicitly stating “God is non-binary” is correct. But you know what else the Bible doesn’t explicitly clarify? The Trinity. The doctrine of the trinity was formed by the Church fathers as a way to understand the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit using the entire body of text and tradition. This understanding of God is so foundational to the Church, that any departure from it is the literal definition of heresy.
Using the same methodology that formed the doctrine of the Trinity, we can make some pretty decent conclusions about the gender (or lack thereof) of God. Let’s start at the beginning:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” – Genesis 1:1-2
Candidate Talarico came under fire for claiming God is non-binary. In his argument, he states that Genesis begins with both a male and female reference to God. His understanding of the text is an accurate reflection of the original language. God, in verse one, is the masculine Elohim, while Spirit of God in verse two is the feminine Ruach.
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” – Genesis 1:2-27
Here, God made both male and female humans in God’s image and likeness. Both men and women are the image of God.
In the second creation account in Genesis 2, God says it is not good for Adam to be alone and creates a helper (Ezer) for him (v.18). This word translated to “helper” is elsewhere used in the Bible to identify God as rescuer (Psalm 46:1, 5; Isaiah 30:5). So, this word is used to describe Eve and God.
The Feminine God
Many passages in the Bible refer to God acting in feminine roles. In Deuteronomy 32:18, God is a mother who gives birth. In Job 38:29, the elements of nature come from God’s womb. In John 16:21, God labors. In Psalm 90:2, God is described as giving birth to the world. Isaiah talks about God as a nursing mother who will never forsake her child (49:15) and comforts her children like a nursing mother (66:12-13). In Hosea, God is a protective mama bear (13:8). Jesus talks about gathering the people like a mother hen (Luke 13:34). Wisdom is depicted as a woman (Proverbs 4:13; 8:15, 22, 35).
How God Became Male
A gender based language translated into a non-gender based language, combined with thousands of years of patriarchal societies, contributed to the belief of God having a gender. Hebrew, unlike Greek or German, doesn’t have neutral grammar so things have to be assigned a gender. That’s why in Hebrew, a table is masculine and a bow is feminine. Despite the grammar, God is considered a nonsexual Spirit. Spirit, by the way, is almost always feminine in ancient Hebrew. Referring to God by gendered pronouns helps people think of God in terms of personhood instead of an object. Even though God, as omni-everything Spirit, cannot be confined to man’s social structure of gender, “He” = personhood, love, will, desires, thoughts, consciousness, but “it” = an object like the force in Star Wars. Therefore, human language likes gendered pronouns to speak about a God who is outside of gendered pronouns. This is why, although I agree with Talarico’s conclusion, I still use “He” when referring to God.
“Non-Binary” Has an Image Problem
Using “non-binary” to describe God existing outside the restraints of Gender is quite accurate. Websters uses the following three definitions for “non-binary”:
a: not restricted to two things or parts. nonbinary voting.
b: of, relating to, or being a system of numbers that does not use 2 as its base. nonbinary math.
of, relating to, or being a system of numbers that does not use 2 as its base
c: or non-binary : relating to or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that is neither entirely male nor entirely female. non-binary people
When scholars refer to God as non-binary, they are referring to God existing outside of gender. You Ken, however, implied your opponent understands the term the same way your base does: To mean a left-leaning, blue-haired barista rebelling against gender roles they were taught (But if they’re also the image of God, then…..). This just takes God from one human-restricted understanding and places them into another, keeping God small, instead of what the definition is intended to do which is make God bigger than we could understand.
If you found this helpful, I’m happy to help you understand a Biblical basis for other subjects, since you’ve expressed how much the Bible means to you. I’ve got a lot of material on corruption and adultery.
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