Some liberal Anglicans want the Church of England to abolish references to God as male in Scripture and in religious services, saying it is “a theological misconception” that is the basis of current sexism, reports The Telegraph.
The debate was raised this week at a session of the General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, by the Rev. Joanna Stobart, of the Diocese of Bath and Wells, who asked the Liturgical Commission what steps are being taken “to develop a language more inclusive in the permitted liturgy”, that is, what alternatives are there to address God without using only masculine pronouns. Stobart stressed that parishioners should have the opportunity to “talk about God in a non-generic way,” especially in prayers.
This issue has been discussed within the Church of England for several years and has confronted the liberal and conservative sectors of the institution. In this regard, the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rev. Michael Ipgrave, vice-president of the Liturgical Commission, the body responsible for establishing how religious services are held, announced that “a new joint project on gender language will begin this spring.”
Despite the efforts of liberal Anglicans, any change to the Church’s liturgy is possible only with the unanimous approval of the Synod, where there is strong opposition. Thus, the Reverend Ian Paul, member of the General Synod and the Council of Archbishops of the Church of England, criticized this initiative of the Liturgical Commission elaborated together with the Commission of Faith and Order.
“The use of masculine pronouns to refer to God should not be understood to mean that God is male, which is heresy. God has no sex, unlike humanity,” declared the Rev. Paul. The cleric added that “male and female images are not interchangeable” and specified that “the fact that God is called ‘Father’ cannot be substituted for ‘Mother’ without changing the meaning, nor can his gender be neutralized and called ‘father’. ‘ [‘parent’, en inglés] without there being a loss of meaning.
“If the Liturgical Commission intends to change this, then in a major way they are moving the Church’s doctrine away from being grounded in Scripture,” the Rev. Paul concluded. with RT