Of course God isn’t a man – ignore this cynical attempt by the Church of England to fill empty pews

From The Independent-

Asked in a church in Trafalgar Square whether God had a gender, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said “God is not a father in exactly the same way as a human being is a father. God is not male or female. God is not definable.” The argument is extraordinarily dated in Christian circles, but arguments and discussions over gender pronouns and whether people can define as whichever gender they feel they belong in are a considerable part of the modern discourse. Welby will have been aware his comments would spark a large argument, and of course, many words have been spilled over his belief by writers, myself included.

As a practising Catholic, the guiding books of the faith make clear Welby is right: that there should be any argument is bizarre. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states “In no way is God in man's image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes.” As Welby says, human language is utterly inadequate when trying to describe many aspects of faith, including the Holy Trinity. But Welby’s intervention has led to many others speaking out and complaining that gendered language is still used in religious services, referring to God as “our father”.

More here-

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/justin-welby-church-of-england-god-man-father-catholic-church-a8647351.html 

also here-

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/11/22/archbishop-of-canterbury-declares-god-gender-neutral/

Archbishop of Canterbury says God is not male

From La Croix-

The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury has dropped a theological bombshell on the heads of many deeply conservative Christians by announcing that God “is not male,” even though this aligns with the church’s official catechism.

Archbishop Justin Welby told an audience at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square in mid-November that no gender word is suitable to describe the eternal being at the heart of the religion.
“All human language about God is inadequate and to some degree metaphorical,” he was quoted as saying by Britain’s Daily Mail.

Despite God continually being referred to as “our Father” in the Bible, it is erroneous to appoint a human gender to “Him” as this is too limiting, the archbishop said.

More here-

https://international.la-croix.com/news/archbishop-of-canterbury-says-god-is-not-male/8910 

and here-

https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/god-is-neither-man-nor-woman-but-is-gender-neutral-says-archbishop-of-canterbury-1946579.html

Church of England should avoid only calling God 'he', Bishop says

From the Telegraph-

The Church of England should avoid only calling God "he", a bishop has said, as a survey found that young Christians think God is male.

Research by YouGov found that almost half of 18-24 year-old Christians believed God to be male, with just one in three over-65s believing the same.

The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester, the Church of England's first female diocesan bishop, said: "I don't want young girls or young boys to hear us constantly refer to God as he," adding that it was important to be "mindful of our language".

She raised concerns that non-Christians could feel alienated from the Church if its public pronouncements used solely male language to describe God.

More here-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/16/church-england-should-avoid-calling-god-bishop-says/

God no longer male, Scottish Episcopal Church rules

From The London Telegraph-

The new form of worship, which removes words such as "Lord, he, his, him" and "mankind" from services, has been written by the church in an attempt to acknowledge that God is "beyond human gender".

Episcopalian bishops have approved the introduction of more "inclusive" language, which deliberately removes references suggesting that God is of male gender.

Traditionalists have criticised the changes on the grounds that they smack of political correctness and because they believe they are not consistent with the teachings of the Bible. The alterations have been made to provide an alternative to the established 1982 Liturgy, which, like the Bible, refers to God as a man.

The new order of service, which can be used by priests if they have difficulties with a male God, has been produced by the church's Liturgy Committee in consultation with the Faith & Order Board of General Synod and the College of Bishops.

The controversial changes were discussed at the church's General Synod recently. The minutes of the synod reveal that female priests had asked why God was still referred to as a man.
The altered version of the 1982 Liturgy sees masculine pronouns removed when they refer to God and the new approach has even been extended to humans. For example, the word "mankind" has been taken out and replaced with "world".

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7982904/God-no-longer-male-Scottish-Episcopal-Church-rules.html