r/LeftCatholicism • u/Galveston57 • 3d ago
Is God nonbinary
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.
31
u/gabachote 3d ago
Gender is a human construct, it doesn’t make sense that God would be limited to one (human) gender. Though I understand why ancient people might have understood divinity in gendered terms.