A robust theological argument against the assumption that God is
male.
God values women.
While many Christians would readily affirm this truth, the widely held
assumption that the Bible depicts a male God persists--as it has for
centuries. This misperception of Christianity not only perniciously
implies that men deserve an elevated place over women but also
compromises the glory of God by making God appear to be part of
creation, subject to it and its categories, rather than in transcendence
of it.
Through a deep reading of the incarnation narratives of the New
Testament and other relevant scriptural texts, Amy Peeler shows how the
Bible depicts a God beyond gender and a savior who, while embodied as a
man, is the unification in one person of the image of God that resides
in both male and female. Peeler begins with a study of Mary and her
response to the annunciation, through which it becomes clear that God
empowers women and honors their agency. Then Peeler describes from a
theological standpoint how the virgin birth of Jesus--the second
Adam--reverses the gendered division enacted in the garden of Eden.
While acknowledging the significance of the Bible's frequent use of
"Father" language to represent God as a caring parent, Peeler goes
beneath the surface of this metaphor to show how God is never sexualized
by biblical writers or described as being physically involved in
procreation--making the concept of a masculine God dubious, at best.
From these doctrinal centers of Christianity, Peeler leads the way in
reasserting the value of women in the church and prophetically speaking
out against the destructive idolatry of masculinity.