“In some ways, it's my spiritual autobiography”
BY REBECCA KENDALL
Recognizing and understanding feminine images of God in the Bible may be the first step toward a new understanding of religion, according to a new book by Rev. Canon Lucy Reid, an ecumenical minister at U of G. The book, titled She Changes Everything: Seeking the Divine on a Feminist Path, was launched in February.
“It's not a standard academic book,” says Reid. “In some ways, it's my spiritual autobiography. When you stop using masculine language for God, the language we mostly use in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and you begin to explore feminine imagery, all our theology changes, everything changes. If people get away from this image of God as a controlling, all-powerful omnipresent figure to an image of God as the divine within and an energizing life-giving presence, it's a completely different feel.”
Reid's interest in feminine images in the Bible began in 1980 while she was in training for ordination at an all-male seminary in England, at a time when the Church of England didn't ordain women. She moved to Canada in 1984 and was ordained as a priest in 1985.
“I knew these images were Biblical, but we just didn't hear much about them,” she says.“There are images of God as a labouring mother, a nursing mother and a midwife.”
Examples include a metaphor in the Book of Isaiah that alludes to a woman in labour when describing how much God struggles to reach people spiritually, she says. The image of a midwife is evident in other passages describing God's support in helping people achieve their goals and make the most of their life.
Acknowledgment that Jesus had female disciples has also been largely forgotten, says Reid.
“I feel a bit like an archeologist clearing away the buildup of centuries of ways of seeing things through a masculine lens and of hushing the other side. It's not a new thing I've created as a feminist. It's part of our history that's been lost.”
