It is disheartening to observe our culture’s attempt to change the God of the Bible into an idol to fit its own image.
For millennia, Pagans worshiped female deity, but now these ancient practices are attempting to infiltrate the Christian church.
Not long after the Anglican church began ordaining women in 1977, some of the ordained women clergy begin agitating for Christians to pray to “mother god.” Examples could be given of other Protestant groups that are also agitating for this, including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and some within the Presbyterian church. The Lutheran Church of Sweden has a female head and believes that God is “gender fluid.” A sample prayer in their new handbook begins, “God, Holy Trinity, Father and Mother, Son — Sister and Brother, and Spirit — Lifeguard and Giver of Inspiration, lead us to your depths of wealth, wisdom and knowledge ….”
The remnant church has not been immune to these societal pressures. Many years ago, an apostate Adventist from Korea left the church and founded the World Mission Society Church of God. Although the group continues to profess to keep the Sabbath, this cult believes in Mother God, arguing their position from Gen 1:27 and Rev 21:9.
Gaia, goddess of Mother Earth
We can be thankful for the Bible. It is our protection from all such winds of false doctrine (Eph 4:14).[i]
A week ago, I was confronted by a professional who believes and teaches that God is “gender fluid.” As I listened to his arguments I became more convinced that we should only portray God as He portrays Himself. Since the Bible alone can keep us safe, I turned to the Bible to review its portrayal of God. Here’s what I found:
Though some refer to a few texts in an attempt to justify their speculation regarding the “gender fluidity” of God, none of Bible passages they use refer to God as a feminine being, but simply illustrate some character trait such as tenderness. The Bible is unambiguous in presenting God as our heavenly Father. So is the Spirit of Prophecy:
“In all the Bible, God is represented not only as a tender father but as a righteous judge” (PP 469).
“Mother god” is not found in the Bible and thus is a god of man’s own creating. The Second Commandment forbids making and praying to gods we create (Ex 20:4-6), and the Bible is unsparing in its condemnation of such idolatry. Furthermore, teaching the false concept of “mother god” destroys an important biblical symbolism of God’s last day prophetic message since a woman is “a figure which is used in the Bible as the symbol of a church” (GC 381).
Do we want to give the message of the spiritualists and Pagans? Or do we want to give the clear and consistent message of the prophets, of the Bible, of Jesus, and of God the Father?
“He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord” (Jer 23:28).
Phil Mills, MD, is a graduate of the Loma Linda School of Medicine, and a dermatologist in private practice. Phil also enjoys writing and theology.
[i] In sharing this paper with a number of friends for their constructive criticism, I heard several stories of experiences where they were confronted with someone who prayed to “mother god”, or refer to god as “he/she.” Like a latent virus, such ideas swirl in the brackish backwaters of Christianity, particularly among some feminists, only awaiting the right circumstance to spread like a contagious epidemic.