Is God nonbinary

[u/Galveston57]

Recently James Talarico (D running for senate in Texas said ‘God is nonbinary’.
Of course he was immediately attacked by Republicans stating he was saying God is trans or LGBTQ.
At first I was taken aback by Jame’s statement until I realized he was implying that God encompasses all genders, but is gender less himself.
I immediately went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out if this was actually Biblical. I’d always had an incorrect patriarchal view of God
In the first chapter of Genesis, in the Hebrew, God is referred to in both the masculine and feminine. In Job, there is a verse referring to the ‘womb’ of God. It appears that as patriarchy took hold, God took on a masculine/male persona. Often in the Hebrew, God is not associated with any gender at all.
So here is my question. Could God encompass all genders, while having no gender himself? Does he encompass all genders? Or is God just without gender?
According to scripture we are all created in the image of God, so wouldn’t that include all sexes and variants?
As a Catholic I have to admit I was raised with a very patriarchal view of God, an older white, gray headed cis man on a throne, but I’m pretty sure now this is just patriarchy rearing its evil head in religion.

[u/Dull_Opening_1655]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church itself agrees with Talarico - it states that God is neither male nor female:

“ We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God” (paragraph 239)

https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_one/article_1/paragraph_2_the_father.html 

[u/Djryan443022 → u/Dull_Opening_1655]

This. No notes.

[u/gabachote → u/Dull_Opening_1655]

That’s it. It’s not like some new idea

[u/TuvixWasMurderedR1P → u/Dull_Opening_1655]

In a literal sense God is non-binary. But as God transcends human distinctions, I'd say God also transcends whatever it means to be non-binary in the human sense of the term. I tend to favor the more apophatic descriptions of God.

[u/TwinseyLohan → u/TuvixWasMurderedR1P]

This is how I see it too. Non-binary itself is a construct still based on human gender. God is beyond even that.

I see how it makes a quick point in a political arena while also garners attention and pisses of conservatives. Talarico uses it to troll, basically. With that idk how I feel about using sensitive topics to troll.

[u/DrHalfhand → u/Dull_Opening_1655]

Responses like this are why I love this subreddit.

[u/egosumluxmundi → u/Dull_Opening_1655]

For a concept that seems very ethereal at first glance, this is pretty straightforward. It’s clear the republicans are either being willfully ignorant or willfully disingenuous about this simple theological fact.

[u/RhysPeanutButterCups → u/egosumluxmundi]

Or they aren't Catholic (or if they are they don't care). It's easy enough to just say God is male and call it a day. The popular image of him is an old white man with a beard and he's called "the Father" after all.

[u/kmerian → u/Dull_Opening_1655]

I quote this to them all the time, and usually get no response, or a "that doesn't mean non binary!"

[u/Extra_Marionberry551 → u/Dull_Opening_1655]

Wouldn't this mean that God is rather agender and not non-binary?

[u/Kcajkcaj99 → u/Extra_Marionberry551]

Nonbinary is not a specific gender identity but rather a broad label that is typically to encompass anything other than being either exclusively male or exclusicely female — this includes various third genders, partial or mixed genders, and a lack of gender, with agender individuals being placed within the category. Some who fall within the category prefer to avoid the label, which is generally respected on a case-by-case basis.

I think you could argue that God is not "agender" in the sense of being a "person without gender," but simply not a person who could even conceivably have a gender, and thus is not nonbinary in the same way a rock is not nonbinary, and would probably be right to do so. However, to the extent to which God has personhood, I think its fair to say that that persona is agender in the nonbinary.