Customer Reviews

In Whose Image: God & Gender

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Jann Aldredge-Clanton does an excellent job of laying out specifically the imagery of God presented in both Hebrew and Christian Scriptures (Old and New Testaments). Although most Christians are unaware, there are many masculine/feminine/gender neutral images of God in Scripture. This book feels to be an elaboration on The Divine Feminine, by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott. She methodically goes through Scriptural images and discusses the social implications of using unorthodox images in spiritual journeys. She emphasizes the healing possibilities for using alternative imagery with people who have difficulty connecting to God as Father/Judge/King. For example, God as Mother (common theme, though rarely discussed in Church) feels safer to many victims of rape, sexual abuse, or incest.
I absolutely loved this book. Because it was so technical, however, it did not seem accessible to the average layperson. Each chapter is dense, intellectually stimulating, and requires a great deal of writing in the margins. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone involved in the field of Christian feminist theology. However, for an introduction to Christian imagery, I recommend The Divine Feminine by Mollenkott or Sexism and God-Talk by Rosemary Radford Ruether. Both of these would be excellent to work into Sunday School, Bible Study, or personal quiet time sessions.