I am the Pastor of a small Presbyterian congregation in Northern Oregon. I joined this community in order to communicate more easily with other folks who are interested in disscussing matters of faith and morality. I would describe myself as Evangelical and Conservative, but I try to give those with whom I disagree the same respect I hope they would give me.

WHY I REFER TO GOD AS "HE"

The astute reader will notice that I have chosen not to follow current academic trends in avoiding gender specific language when referring to God. This is not because of any illusion on my part that God is either male or female. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24 NRSV) The use of masculine third person pronouns (He, Him, His) is, in part, because it is the way in which I am most comfortable referring to God. I was brought up doing it and, with the exception of three years of seminary, I have done so for the last 46 years or so. The second reason for this is that the English language does not contain a respectful gender neutral way to refer to a person. (It and Its just don’t measure up to the majesty of God.) The third reason is that using the noun “God” as though it were a pronoun can lead to some pretty convoluted and poorly written sentences. “God, in God’s good pleasure, determined to carry out God’s purpose…” (To use the vernacular, yuck!) The final, and my opinion, most compelling reason is that in Scripture, God is consistently revealed using the masculine gender. Some of this was probably cultural, but if we are to accept Scripture as the Holy, Inspired Word of God, we should probably pay close attention to the ways in which God has chosen to reveal Himself in its God-breathed pages. Christ Himself instructs us to refer to God as “Father.” If it really bugs you to refer to God as He, you have my permission to mentally edit anything I might write so that it is gender neutral.