Recently, in an address to the General Synod of the Church of England, the Archbishop of York recognized that the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer are problematic for some Anglicans. We say that God is a spirit and thus beyond gender, but if that is so, why address him as “Our Father”? Behind the Archbishop’s remark is the fact that the Church of England has been considering whether to adopt gender-neutral language in referring to God. And yet, the Lord’s Prayer, the most important of all Christian prayers because it was instituted by Jesus himself, opens by clearly referring to God as a male. Nor is this the only time that Jesus refers to God as the Father.
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July 14, 2023
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Recently, in an address to the General Synod of the Church of England, the Archbishop of York recognized that the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer are problematic for some Anglicans. We say that God is a spirit and thus beyond gender, but if that is so, why address him as “Our Father”? Behind the Archbishop’s remark is the fact that the Church of England has been considering whether to adopt gender-neutral language in referring to God. And yet, the Lord’s Prayer, the most important of all Christian prayers because it was instituted by Jesus himself, opens by clearly referring to God as a male. Nor is this the only time that Jesus refers to God as the Father.