I remember when my sister bought a t-shirt that said, “When God created man . . . She was only fooling.” Robert Morey rightly observed, “The modern radical feminist movement …attempts to liberate women from being ‘oppressed’ by white, European, heterosexual males.” He continues, “Many radical feminists feel they must liberate themselves from male dominance in any form. God the Father and the entire Trinity must be either recast in feminine images or rejected altogether. This is why the typical radical feminist today dismisses the Bible as so much ‘patriarchal claptrap.’” Mary Daly suggests that the only way to liberate women truly would be the killing off of God the Father. Eliminating the idea and language that God as “father” would somehow, liberate women. She never says how. Some Feminist Theologians are arguing, “God is neither male nor female but encompasses all things. To speak of God as male only is to limit God and commit idolatry. Gender-free language is unoffensive but does not correct the traditional concepts of the church. The majority of references to God should be feminine to counteract past traditions.”[1]
God spoke from heaven, declaring his fatherhood of Jesus. At Jesus’ Baptism, as recorded in Matthew 3:17, God spoke from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus often acknowledged God the Father. When He taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9, it began with “Our Father, who art in heaven.” In Matthew 11:27, Jesus said, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father…” Actually, according to Arnold Fruchtenbaum (a Messianic Jew), there are six different aspects of God “The Father.” He says they are “the Father of the Messiah, the Father of Creation, and the Father of angels, the Father of all men, the Father of Israel, and the Father of believers.” Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father who art in Heaven.”
Surely, some fathers have irreparably marred the meaning of the term in the lives of their children, but to eliminate the thought of the “Fatherhood of God” would destroy much for men and women alike. The scriptures always use the idea of fatherhood as it relates to God as a perfect father. In him is no flaw like in earthly fathers. James 1:17-18 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” To kill the Father would kill the one who takes care of us in our times of need (see Job 29:16). It would eliminate the one who feeds us and clothes us and looks after our every need (see Isaiah 22:21). It would kill the voice of wisdom because most of the Proverbs are written like a father speaking to his child. They show how to live wisely, with dignity, respect, and self-control. In human terms, there should be nothing more loving, comforting, caring, and protecting than the idea of God as our Heavenly Father.
[1] Sailer, William, J. Creighton Christman, David C. Greulich, Harold P. Scanlin, Stephen J. Lennox, and Phillip Guistwite. 2012. Religious and Theological Abstracts. Myerstown, PA: Religious and Theological Abstracts.