Gender variance in spirituality: Difference between revisions
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* The exact nature of the '''God of Abraham''' is much disputed, even within one particular religious sect. God is often thought of as a male patriarch, but there is also a long history of seeing God as partly or entirely other than female or male, or as both. Jehovah's wife or female aspect is Shekinah. Many Jewish and Christian sects have called God by the title Father-Mother. Jewish mystics saw God as having been originally an androgyne, noting that the name "Eve" is derived from "Jehovah".<ref>Barbara Walker, ''A Woman’s Dictionary'', p. 195-196. </ref> | * The exact nature of the '''God of Abraham''' is much disputed, even within one particular religious sect. God is often thought of as a male patriarch, but there is also a long history of seeing God as partly or entirely other than female or male, or as both. Jehovah's wife or female aspect is Shekinah. Many Jewish and Christian sects have called God by the title Father-Mother. Jewish mystics saw God as having been originally an androgyne, noting that the name "Eve" is derived from "Jehovah".<ref>Barbara Walker, ''A Woman’s Dictionary'', p. 195-196. </ref> | ||
** Most Christian sects believe in God as a trinity, having three parts: God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The latter is an abstract entity depicted as a dove that flew down to be born as Jesus, and it is said to be neither male nor female. | ** Most Christian sects believe in God as a trinity, having three parts: God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The latter is an abstract entity depicted as a dove that flew down to be born as Jesus, and it is said to be neither male nor female. | ||
* Jewish and Christian teachings often interpret the first human, '''Adam''', as having been created as both male and female, before God extracted Eve from him.<ref>Norman Solomon, ''The Talmud: A selection,'' p. 271.</ref> Jewish Gnostics said that dividing this complete human was what made humans mortal, and that if they could | * Jewish and Christian teachings often interpret the first human, '''Adam''', as having been created as both male and female, before God extracted Eve from him.<ref>Norman Solomon, ''The Talmud: A selection,'' p. 271.</ref> Jewish Gnostics said that dividing this complete human was what made humans mortal, and that if they could obtain both sets of genitals again, they would be complete and achieve immortality.<ref>Walker, ''A Woman’s Dictionary of Sacred and Symbolic Objects,'' p. 196. </ref> This is an example of the Primal Androgyne motif. | ||
* In Jewish mysticism, '''Lilith''' is a supernatural masculine female demon. God meant her to be the first human woman, creating her before Eve, but she refused to be submissive to Adam. She left him, and wanders the world making trouble for humankind. Some scholars think Lilith was a goddess introduced from another Southwest Asian religion. | * In Jewish mysticism, '''Lilith''' is a supernatural masculine female demon. God meant her to be the first human woman, creating her before Eve, but she refused to be submissive to Adam. She left him, and wanders the world making trouble for humankind. Some scholars think Lilith was a goddess introduced from another Southwest Asian religion. | ||