When pressed, most Christians will tell you they believe God is spirit. Still, we love to personify God. As a result, an ongoing discussion of God’s symbolic gender has ensued for the last two millennia. The question is simple: How should God be personified in art, hymns, poetry, discourse, and dialogue, not to mention our imaginations—as male or female? Why is this so important? Because we identify with our personifications. On some level, we start to think of God as a man or a woman even though we know better. This, in turn, affects not only our personal relationship with God, but also the relationships we have with members of the opposite sex here on earth, especially within the Church—the body of Christ.

The question of gender comes up frequently when discussing the nature of the Trinity—"God in Three Persons." This discussion has preoccupied me since I first became a Christian. When preparing for baptism years ago, I had several meetings with my pastor. At our last meeting, I told him there was one hurdle I had to overcome before I could surrender to Christ and to the Church. "About the Holy Spirit," I said. "I believe the Holy Spirit is the feminine manifestation of God. That is why she is referred to as the ’Comforter.’ (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7 KJV) Within the Trinity, God is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the Mother. Can I continue to imagine that the Holy Spirit is feminine after I become a Christian?" My pastor thought for a moment. Then he said, "Well, Christianity is not meant to stop you from thinking for yourself. If you want to believe the Holy Spirit is feminine, that’s okay with me." (I was relieved to hear this, and I will admit that if my pastor had not been so flexible I would not be a Christian today.)

The Christian belief in the Trinity stems from two passages in the Bible: "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one" (1 John 5:7 NKJV); and "Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19 NKJV) The concept of the Trinity became official during the late fourth century, having been accepted during the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in A.D. 381. From that point on, the Trinity was seen officially as completely masculine—or at least personified as completely masculine.

Despite this traditional view of the Trinity, many groups have insisted that at least one aspect of the Trinity should be represented as feminine. The gnostics held this belief in the first century. Others point out that Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Writer John Dart suggests that there is also the argument that the Holy Spirit can be represented as feminine because "the Hebrew word for spirit (ruach) is of the feminine gender."

While all interested parties continue to argue about the best way to represent the gender of the Holy Spirit, I would like to pose two questions: (1) Can we, to suit our own psychological needs, choose to see the Holy Spirit as feminine if doing so gives us a more meaningful experience? and (2) would doing so improve the political relationship between men and women in the Church?

My experience of Christ has always been emotional. Because of this, I want to choose a metaphor that enhances my feelings, and only I know what imagery will evoke the intimacy that keeps my faith strong and enduring, as well as pleasurable. That is the whole point of the Trinity. God is the Father; God is the Son; God is the Holy Spirit. Each personification satisfies me in a different way. My Father is strong and wise; with him I am safe and I know that everything has meaning and will turn out all right in the end. Christ died for my sins and with him I can have a fresh start when, despite my best efforts, I fall short. He inspires me to make my best effort, to grow in my faith and to love my neighbor as myself. The Holy Spirit comforts me when I am discouraged. She holds me in her arms like a mother cradling a child after a nightmare when life gets difficult. She is my confidante and my counselor.

Not only do I believe that we can—and should—choose our own gender-specific perception of the Holy Spirit, I also refuse to believe that the choice we make is always related to our gender. Some scholars believe that the New Trinity is part of a feminist agenda—that only women want to see the Holy Spirit as feminine. However, I think men as well are drawn to the feminine metaphors of the Holy Spirit. I believe many men respond to the inference that the "Comforter" is a woman either because they had a nurturing mother or they wanted one.

Beyond the personal and emotional rewards of personifying the Holy Spirit as feminine, what might be the political impact within the Church? Well, there is the notion of equality that can only stem from respect. Some men (certainly not all) lack respect for women. They secretly, or openly, devalue women to some extent. This devaluation makes it difficult for them to make room for women as equals in the Church. This might change over time if one aspect of an all-powerful and revered God were personified as feminine. We tend to respect what we revere and revere what we respect.

There are also men—and some women—who resist the notion of political equality between men and women within the Church out of fear. I use the word "fear" because I do not believe, like some feminists, that all men resist the notion of equality out of ego or lack of respect. They simply fear this idea because they find great solace in tradition or they confuse tradition with the law. However, change is a part of life and the personification of the Holy Spirit (which may or may not pave the way to equality) is not law, it is tradition. The Nicene Creed, coming out of the Second Ecumenical Council, only discussed the relationship of the Holy Spirit to God not his (or her) gender, according to one recent article on the subject.

Metaphorically, we can perceive God in any reasonable form. Those who choose only a masculine God are missing something in their spiritual lives that they have access to in their temporal world: an emotionally intimate and equal relationship between the masculine and feminine—androgyny. Am I the only one who thinks this makes life more complete?

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