What do we persist in thinking of God as male?
540421
I think it's because it was mostly men who were in control of  nearly everything in the past. It was men who worked, voted, drove, and etc. I'm sure that when "God" was first acknowledged or came into existence, it was probably men who preached and wrote about "God" and they could only relate to a "God" that mirrored them in some manner. And because women were once considered weak, how could someone or something as powerful as"God" be female? \n\nI also agree with what you said about language constraints.
541304
God is not a man. God is holy and He created ALL things so He does not think like us as far as "checking us out"\nGod is looking at your heart.\nSatan is the one that wants to give you a complex and make you think that God and His Angels are staring at you\nas if you were an object of curiosity.\nDon't let the devil blow your mind.\nGod is Love and His love is pure and not one of fear.\nI never think of God nor His Angels in that way as a  "peeping tom"\nGod is a Spirit.\nWhen you see a new-born baby without clothes, getting changed, you don't think of the baby as an object to be\ngawked at. You see the baby as an innocent creature.\nThat's how God sees His children.\nHe knows all things even before we do so why not trust in Him and not worry about the physical aspects of our being. Whenever this thought comes up again, rebuke the devil and say "Get lost Satan!"\nAnd never think that God doesn't understand that we are human beings, for He made us.\nAngels are not human beings. They don't know the first thing about "nakedness" and have no interest in your\nbody except to help you take care of yourself.\nSo, laugh off your silly fears and be a good person and all will be well.
1001683
D and E. A bit of a contradiction, true. Cognito ergo sum. I think therefore I exist. Man thinks of God, therefore he exists. Which points to the fact that if the God is a product of man, then the supposed God of (A) does not exist. Therefore I motion that a god, or gods, do not exist at all. How can a god exist and de-exist, through the thought of man? Logic101. My weak point in college, but a great tool in regards to faith, religion, and gods.
287245
Turn your life over to God.  If you seek him and put Him in the center of your life, God can turn you into a man first among men.
795343
I wrote a paper about language used for God while I was in college, I'll just paste parts of it in here where it fits in between my thoughts now.\n\nGod being referred to as a man is a perfect example of the overuse of a metaphor. the metaphor is supposed to bring out certain feelings and allow the reader to relate better to the subject at hand. the overuse of a metaphor obviously proves to have problems, when in this case, referring to God as a woman somehow tends to turn heads.\n\nit seems everyone is hitting it with saying that God is neither male nor female. biblically, there are referrences to giving God both male and female characteristics, as well as comparisons to animals and inanimate objects. God is all things. whoever quoted the I Am scripture got it right.\n\nmale references:\n\n"Along with God as a father, there are other male images for God in the Bible. God is referred to as a shepherd in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34 (103). God is referred to as “. . . LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth” in Psalm 47:2 and a judge and king in Psalm 96:10 (103-104). God is portrayed to have great strength and courage. In Psalm 24:8, God is referenced as being a warrior. It says, “Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.”"\n\nfemale references:\n\n"God is also referred to in feminine aspects. In Isaiah 49:15, God is given the characteristics of a nursing mother. Isaiah 66:13, states that “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem” (104). God is given the characteristics of a midwife in Psalm 22:9-10 and gives birth in Deuteronomy 32:18 and Isaiah 42:14. Characteristics of women by giving birth can also be found in John 3, when God gave his “only begotten son.”"\n\nanimal references:\n\n"God is also equated with animals throughout the Old and New Testaments. In Matthew 23, as well as Luke 13, God is spoken of as a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings. In Deuteronomy 32 God is referenced to be a mother eagle, and then again a few animal references are made in Hosea 13:7-8. It states, “So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart” (98)."\n\ninanimate object references:\n\n"Throughout the Bible God is also referenced as inanimate objects. In Deuteronomy 4:24, God is “a consuming fire” and in Psalm 84 God is “a sun and shield” (98). In Deuteronomy 32, God is a rock. However, “‘Rock’ applied to God implies a set of qualities, particularly ones that focus on stability and reliability, that rose in the consciousness of the believing community at a particular time” (102)."\n\nit is also important to note that God's name, which is "’ehyeh ‘asher ‘ehyeh," or roughly YHWH is found over 6,000 times in the old testament. it is roughly and most often translated as "I am (who I am)," and is a form of "to be." due to the fact that jews regarded God's name as sacred and should never have been spoken, they often substituted YHWH with "Adonai" (which is "kyrios" in greek and "dominus" in latin). all of those forms are masculine and translate as "lord." lord obviously has masculine, dominant conotations. since all these forms are masculine, the masculine idea of God was pushed over God's name. God is often also referred to as "elohim" which has no gender. the shortened, "eloh," however is feminine and means goddess, so the addition of "im" at the end could make the translation of the word merely mean, “god,” “gods,” “goddess,” or “diety.”\n\nwhoever stated that the term for spirit was ruah and was feminine was also correct. it is important to note that the spiri
354906
Yes, but this is not as important as God believes in me. For I can imagine any kind of a God or none at all but as long as he thinks of me I continue to exsist. This can not be said of all people. I am an orgininal thought of God, very unique and there is none like me on the earth though there be billions with my form. He has spoken to me a few times and he is more real than I am, for I am just a thought of his
514075
Well, in the Mormon faith, it would help tremendously to be male.  Other than that, you have to go through the temple, pay your tithing, keep the Ten Commandments, and believe in the Book of Mormon.  \n\nThe complete answer is much more complicated.  If you're considering becoming a Mormon, please don't do it.  I speak from experience in that being a Mormon causes great psychological damage (because it IS a cult).
337666
Because God is unknowable. (Honestly, the universe, even as we know it is incredibly vast. If the Creator created it, then the Creator must be far beyond what our imagination can devise.) People use pronouns and terminology such as a man or woman in order to conceptualize something so vast. I use the pronoun "He" because it shows more respect than "it", and in English, gender-neutral is "he" as well as male.
598574
I am unfamiliar with 'Azna', but I believe that masculinity and femininity are included in the character of God. In my latest sermon (a mother's day sermon) I mentioned that we would not really understand the love of God if we didn't have loving mothers. The love that our mothers give us is essential in having a clearer view of the kind of God that exists.\nIf God created humanity in God's image, then it should be clear that at least half of that image is not male, but female.
578980
If I had to pick one of your options it would be 5=> God is present in our own self and enjoying his creation through us.\n\nWhile I am very uncomfortable with a personification of God, I do believe that there is divine energy that runs through each of us and everything in this existence.  I believe that our consious mind is tapped into that energy and that we can direct it as we navigate through this life.  \n\nI think that when we die we will return to source as it were and be reunited with this energy source.  I believe this energy source is commonly called god and the reuniting is more commonly called heaven.  I think after a brief rest at home (heaven) we will set back out to learn more things using a new lifetime to learn new lessons.
264120
Men created gods and goddesses to explain the things he couldn't understand. As men evolved and learn ways to understand what was going on around him, the need lessened for deities. But even after all of these years, most of us still haven't let go those beliefs in things greater than ourselves. It's in our nature. Call it faith if you will. It may be right, or it may be wrong, but it is still what we personally choose to believe in.
1152476
No, you're correct. Many believers can't seem to grasp this simple concept.\n\nIn the following argument (which is the same as yours, just more in depth) the author does not assign god a gender, therefor god is referred to as "it", instead of "he" or "she".\n\n"The problem here is that God knows everything that has happened and everything that will happen. Its knowledge cannot be wrong. There is not a single event that it has not foresaw. Given that it created the Universe the way it did, do we have free will? Consider that when God made the Universe it could see every possible result of what it was doing. Which means: it could not create something without knowing what the results would be, and without knowing how it would be affected (and effect) the things around it.\n\nLet's say that Fred has a choice that will save his life, to accept God or not to accept God and the final choice is to be made tomorrow. God knows already what choice he will make - God cannot be wrong therefore Fred cannot choose otherwise to what God has predicted. When God created the chain of events that made Fred it also knew that it was making Fred's choice for him, and knew how the various circumstances and character would make him choose either right or wrong. Fred would go forth and make that very decision that God knew he would make, and by virtue that God knowingly set up all the factors that affected his decision, it was not up to Fred but to God to decide how Fred would fare.\n\nThis argument does not imply that God does not exist. It leaves us with three results, two of which have to be wrong.\n\n   1. God created everything with full knowledge and we have no free will to change it\n   2. God does not have full knowledge\n   3. God did not make the Universe or there is no God"\n\n - Written by Vexen Crabtree
1155519
The GOD is the same FORM as YOU are...........\n\nI will give you a simple explanation.............\n\nHave you ever thought GOD to be a dog or elephant or shark or a tree ! We humans think GOD as a human being only......isn't it ? Even a man will see GOD as a MAN and a woman will think GOD as a WOMAN.......true isn't it ? \n\nProbably a Dog will see his God to be a Dog only.........I tell you why this is so...........because no one has seen GOD and it exists only in our mind.........so we make a picture of GOD like ourself. \n\nI think GOD is nothing but a "Driving Power" that gives us inspiration to live ahead........
601409
He is God, he always existed. This is difficult for man to understand because we are not infinite creatures. The finite can never understand the infinite.
142307
God feels the same way about this that He does about mastication.  It's a natural thing that actually is a genuine part of being a man, but if you make it the center of your life it becomes sin.
383757
I'm not sure that god has a gender.  I think that is a human convention used to help us feable humans comprehend and relate to a god.  After all God is omnipotent and logically must be able to relate to both genders.  If God was a man or woman the God would run the risk of being biased.
166777
God is both male and female and IS the source.