A quote from “A God Who Looks Like Me” by Patricia Lynn Reilly

I realize that I’m on dangerous ground when I call into question the exclusively male language and imagery for the divine that permeate our religious and cultural life. For many the male God of traditional religion has been a rich and meaningful concept. And the roots of these God-words reach deep into the Hebrew and Christian traditions.

However, these traditions also teach that God is beyond human naming and imagination. Thus I carry out this questioning not as a heretic but in compatibility with the original teachings of traditional religion. It is my work among women that gives me the courage to call for an examination of the images and words for God that we heard in our childhoods and continue to hear today. It is these words and images that have shaped our sense of ourselves. Women have been excluded from the divine.

“A God Who Looks Like Me: Discovering a Woman-Affirming Spirituality” was first published in 1995. That the quote above could be current proves that patriarchy is still strong and influential. Not that most readers of this blog would doubt that, of course. But who knows, maybe someone will stumble across this post and others and something new will happen. Or perhaps reading something you already know to be true can encourage you to stay the course. Blessings.

Patricia Lynn Reilly’s site “Imagine a Woman Internationsl”