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Originally Posted by cjb
So what does that have do with the name "Nursing Mother"..????
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El or YHWH with descriptive
El Shaddai
Shad = female breast
evidence for androgyny of God
English translation: God Almighty
patriarchalization stemming from fear of feminine aspects of God
somtimes explained as 'God of the mountains'
mountains = breasts
The bottom line is that most biblical writers were men. They wrote out of their own culture of patriarchy and subjugation of women. And on top of that the texts were translated years ago while women still were essentially the property of their fathers & husbands. The church has effectively blocked women from an equal participation in forming and leading our holy communities.
I believe God is "gender-less." I believe our faith & our understanding of God can be be wonderfully impacted by realizing that God is more than gender. By acknowledging the divine feminity as well as the divine masculinity of God, we welcome women into an equal & honest journey of faith.
For me this isn't about making God into a Goddess. It's about acknowledging that God is bigger... more masculine and more feminine... than our selfish & chauvinistic concepts.
If praying to Mother God impacts my heart with a new understanding God's compassion... of a mother's compassion... then I welcome & invite that prayer, even though it isn't customary or usual for me.