Seth Udinski, FISM News
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According to multiple outlets, the Church of England is potentially seeking to institute the use of “gender-neutral language” when referring to God.
Based on a Wednesday report from Reuters, this potential change will not alter the order or worship liturgy of church services, though it should be noted that many bishops have already begun to refer to God as “they/them” or even begin the Lord’s Prayer with the phrase “Our Father and our Mother.”
One Anglican representative claimed,
Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female. Yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship.
One Anglican bishop told the New York Times,
God is not male. Certainly not the white cis male with a beard, sitting on a cloud we seem to reduce and limit God to so often.
Though some within the church have protested, many seem to agree with the acceptance of LGBTQ-friendly language to refer to the sovereign Lord of the universe.
This push comes as the latest in what appears to be an open uproar within certain Christian sects against the traditional understanding of maleness and femaleness that Christians have universally upheld for 2,000 years.
Author’s Biblical Analysis
It would be foolish to waste our entire time on delving the depth of why the Church of England is wrong in this area, because the answer is so blatantly obvious. Still, it needs to be said: the Church of England’s potential new stance on this issue is profanely erroneous.
For true Christians (and this report highlights the fact that we need to discern between true believers and wolves in sheep’s skin), there is a simple yet profound lesson from this report. The lesson is this: “For the Bible tells me so” is always the right way to live.
Some will argue, “Well, since the Bible never explicitly says that God is a male, maybe the Anglican Church is right.” But we must never make the clear, simple words of scripture confusing and chaotic. That, in fact, is what the devil is skilled at doing. He confounded Eve’s understanding of God’s clear command in the Garden of Eden, and as such she fell to temptation.
So in this situation, what does the Bible tell us? It always refers to every member of the Triune God as “He” and calls the First Person of the Trinity “God the Father.”
Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. – Matthew 23:9
Therefore, we are obligated to not rebelliously confound the clear teaching of God’s Word. Instead, we are to simply obey it in its fullness.
This is a great lesson for us. Believer, do not become so fickle to assume that you know better than the God who breathed out every “jot and tittle” of the 66 books of the Bible. Instead of questioning God’s Word and confounding its meaning, let us submit to God’s Word and obey it, out of a virtuous desire to please the God who has been so gracious to us!
Does this mean we cannot healthily debate or question certain things? Certainly not. But it does mean that, even in those times of questioning, we anchor our souls to the fact that God’s Word is right, God’s Word is true, God’s Word is unchanging, and most importantly, we find true freedom and joy in submitting to God’s Word.
Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. – Psalm 119:97-98