The Trinity

[Not_Now.Soon]

To PeterJens. I like the idea you pose that whatever is eternal is God. I'll have to think on that for at least a little while, but that might help me accept the Trinity a little bit better. I don't know, so I like to think on things a bit before changing a position. Kind of like letting a tea or a bear brew for a while in order to make sure it's right, I like to let new thoughts sit for a bit. And that one I'll have to let sit and consider it.

Thank you for that.

 

[Susannah]

Here is the article that got me banned from christianforum.com . . .

The Many Faces of the Holy Spirit

Susan Peabody

I am using the feminine pronoun for my own personal edification.
We all know that the Holy Spirit has no gender.​

The world we live in very tangible. We see it with our eyes. We feel it with our hands. Yet the God we believe in is invisible. So how are we able to relate to our creator? Mentally, we can do this by reading the scripture and stories in the Bible. But where does the passion for God come from? How do we know him in our heart? And how does God work miracles in our lives? How does he move mountains? The answer is simple—through the Holy Spirit.

He (or she) is the metaphysical manifestation of God who came to us when the historical Christ left. She is the presence, here and now, of God and his son Jesus Christ. When touched in a mysterious way by the Holy Spirit we see God in all his glory. We know what before we only suspected. Then we feel God through our sixth sense. Her love pours over us and our passion is aroused. Finally, we are the recipient of miracles and we know God lives. Surely, God has not forsaken us. He has sent us the Holy Spirit.

To understand the Holy Spirit more fully, we must embrace all the metaphors. They give form and substance to this reflection of Christ. They stir up emotions which lead to a profound intimate connection with God through the Holy Spirit. With each metaphor the reflection sharpens and reveals more about the nature of an invisible God. Here are examples of Biblical metaphors for the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is called a Gatekeeper because she acts. We wait at the Gate. Christ is on the other side. We are afraid and then the Holy Spirit opens the gate and invites us to embrace the Lord.

The Holy Spirit is called a Comforter because she is the caretaker of our emotions. What we cannot see we can feel. When I met the Holy Spirit it felt like falling into the arms of a lover. The emotions He stirred up in me made his presence known in a profound way.

The Holy Spirit is called a Counselor because she helps us think proper thoughts. She helps identify our sins. She encourages us to set sin aside and grow into healthy, spiritual people.

The Holy Spirit is compared to the wind because she is invisible. But the wind is not inert. It can pick up a feather and blow it anywhere.
The Holy Spirit is compared to a flame because she acts like a crucible, melting away our sins and transforming us into new creatures.

The Holy Spirit is compared to a dove because a dove brought the good news of a new world.

The Holy Spirit is called an Emissary because she represents the master. Everything the Holy Spirit does is courtesy of a God who loves us. First came this historical Christ (flesh and blood) then the Holy Spirit—the invisible footprint in the sand.

* * *​

This is just a superficial list to give you some ideas of the power of metaphor. I encourage you to find your own manifestation of the Holy Spirit and draw closer to God through the power of imagery. My image is that of a woman, named Spirit, who comforts and guides me. No matter how awful my life gets, I turn to this image of the Holy Spirit and find the solace I need. Does this mean think the Holy Spirit is a woman? No. This means I draw close to he Holy Spirit through an comforting image that works for me. Try this yourself and see if you don’t get closer to an amazing God who wants to get personal and intimate with you in a way that defies description.

Addendum​

While I like to IMAGINE [pretend] the Holy Spirit is female, God, the Father, is male to me as the Bible says.. Jesus is also male. Like most mystics I have taken him as a spiritual partner.

The Awaited Suitor

My heart pines away, I sing the blues
I ask now and then where are you .
Are you real, are you there for me.
When will I see you when will it be.
I face the horizon and take Christ's hand.
In great expectation, I look over the land.
Nothing happens; oh woe is me.
When will it happen? When will it be?
With tears in my eyes, I look up and smile.
Christ cups my face and after awhile.
He softly speaks and breaks the news;
I am the one who was chosen for you.
Can you love me year after year,
The way you would have loved him, if he has appeared.
My face grew pale, my body shook.
I took his hand too frightened to look.
Then I agreed to give it a try.
My suitor was here. He had finally arrived.

 

[WIP]

We all know that the Holy Spirit has no gender.

I don't think I can be counted among the "all." Throughout Scripture God is referred to as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Father and Son are both male references. The Word, Jesus, came as a man. He was also identified by the angel, Gabriel, to Mary as the son of man (Luke 1:26-38) and even Jesus Himself many times identified Himself as the son of man. Also, there are a number of references to the Holy Spirit that use the male gender reference. Here are a few.

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."
John 14:15-17 NKJV

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."
John 16:12-15 NKJV

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV

I am not aware of any Scripture reference where the Holy Spirit, Jesus, or the Father are referred to in the female gender or even in a neutral gender (it) except for possibly one in a subtle way. In Genesis 1:27 it says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (ESV) This eludes to God creating woman in His image as well.

 

[GodsGrace]

I was discussing ideas about God and eternity with a muslim.
In the discussion it became apparent that whatever is eternal, that has no beginning or end, is actually part of God.

It then becomes each eternal thing or expression, is not the whole of God, yet is an expression of God Himself.

I realised that in my own thinking all of Gods expression I felt had to include every aspect or reality of the whole. But scripture appears to express that Jesus could exclude various expressions of himself as He chose.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!
Phil 2:5-8

In some discussions, there appears to be a miss-understanding of Gods ability to express Himself, and be separate from the whole, yet still be the same. In our human terms, our possession of two arms and legs, does not mean losing an arm makes us less than who we are, but does limit how we can express ourselves.

So Jesus is Gods message, His creative force, His nature and His essence, but placed in human form. So everything Jesus feels, expresses, reacts is the same as the Father, so if you have met Jesus you have met the Father, though they are separate, they are the same. Now Gods nature or essence is to never change, to not vary, and to be consistent totally.

What confused me for a time, is with Gods nature, and His response, why would He participate with man and partake in interactions where responses are needed. But on considering free will, for God to express His reaction to a changing situation, with appropriate free will interaction, the discussion needs to happen, along with the emphasis that a free will response is required to bring about Gods will, requires the interaction to achieve this appropriate response.

Jesus had to be God, to be the expression of Gods love and willingness to sacrifice everything He could on our behalf and then forgive us, to provide the healing remedy for our hearts.

I wonder if what we experience as identical twins having identical bodies is similar to the trinity, if the very heart and reactions of both were identical. Jesus and the Father are both different individuals yet show the same heart that drives actions and reactions.

As humans we are bound to the idea though two can look the same but they react differently, because they choose how to develop, how to sow and reap as they grow.

In a sense an eternal being does not develop or grow, but rather expresses the same approach and aptitude through differing situations.
So eternal beings, expressing the same nature, and are yet the same, are one God, yet three expressions. Without the separateness they could not operate independently, yet each agree with the nature of their response, being one God. Because they are eternal their oneness is infinite, yet their separateness is within their own permission.

Without Jesus being a man, our relationship and our belief we could be friends or have communion with the Lord, would be the blasphemy and denial of Gods otherness that otherwise is obvious.

David expressed this when the man who held out his hand to steady the Ark on a wagon died, he got angry, yet it was their own sin towards the Ark that was at fault. The Pharisees legalism also missed the relationship with God from the heart.

Great post.
A few comments...

What is eternal except God?
Nothing. Even mountains end. Even stars end. Even galaxies most probably will end at some point.
Only God is eternal.

Everything we learn about God is an expression of HIM.
How else could we finite humans understand God except in bits and pieces as our brain is able to grasp.

Jesus gave up a lot of the 2nd Person of the Godhead when He became human. He Himself said that He could not know some things and this because He was limited while here on earth. He spoke only what the Father gave Him to speak.

You made some great points on the Trinity too.
I like how we each have our way of understanding it...and if we read carefully, we find that we are really saying pretty much the same concepts.

 

[GodsGrace]

How do you figure? Jesus said at least a few times that His words were not His own but were the Father's. That Jesus does the Father's will not His own. And even on the mount of olives when Jesus prayers to God, in one of the gospels Jesus begged God to not give Him this cup to drink (the cross), but then Jesus added that He wants God's will not His own.

As far as I can tell Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit work together and are ways on the same page as one another. But when it comes right down to it, it sounds like God the Father is in charge.

Jesus is God,,,the 2nd Person part of God.
When He was human, do you suppose He had the same capabilities as when He was in heaven and acting as God and not as a human?

PeterJens posted the perfect scripture for this:
Philippians 2:5-8
5You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7Instead, he gave up his divine privilegesb;
he took the humble position of a slavec
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,d
8he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

I certainly believe that the 3 Persons speak to each other.
Jesus, in the Garden, as the Son...was speaking to God as the Father -- He was not speaking to Himself.

And, as He said, He wanted to do His Father's will, not His own.
Jesus experienced much fear knowing what He was to face the next day. He was in human form and suffered all that we suffer so that we could identify with Him.

God the Father was "in charge" only in this case....if they are all God, then they must ALL be in charge....
Otherwise 2 are not really God.

 

[GodsGrace]

My point is that if you're searching for God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit seperately, you won't be able to distinguish between them. It's fruitless to try and say that "This came from the Holy Spirit, or from God, or from Jesus." Since they all work together and in agree in unison on everything they do, then there's no way for us to distinguish what is from God, what is from Jesus, and what is from the Holy Spirit. If we find a discrepancy then I would doubt the source we frond it from to be really from any of the three. Testomies the spirits kind of thing I think.

Even in creation, God said "let us make man in our image." The debate on who is "us" in this verse has a lot of theological overtones in it to debate over. However one conclusion is that the "us" is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. If that conclusion holds merit then even then it would be too difficult to distinguish between God the Father, Jesus the Word of God and the only begotten Son (everything God made He spoke into existance). As for the Holy Spirit, how can anyone distinguish between God who is Spirit, and the Holy Spirit that is send by God.



That's the point I was trying to say. Even with the possible differences between God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. None of those differences are things we will be able to see when we have contact with any of them. Those distinguishes (if there are any) are probabley only noticeable to themselves not to us. So the concrpt of the Trinity regardless of the debate about it, is a practical approach. Because if we find one, we find all three

Too much nuance here and it's difficult to reply.
As I matured as a Christian, I DID come to understand WHO was speaking to me.

When I got saved, it was Jesus.
Sometimes I would feel the Holy Spirit's presence.
I pray to God in the name of Jesus.

I think that if you concentrate on their attributes, the understanding will become better and better. Not that we ever arrive (I think),,,but at least we make a nice journey.

As to the Holy Spirit...the Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of God made person.

Yes. I think it's complicated.
And we shouldn't think we'll ever really understand.
I also just thought that we don't really pray to the Holy Spirit.
These are all things to think about.

 

[Not_Now.Soon]

I don't think I can be counted among the "all." Throughout Scripture God is referred to as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Father and Son are both male references. The Word, Jesus, came as a man. He was also identified by the angel, Gabriel, to Mary as the son of man (Luke 1:26-38) and even Jesus Himself many times identified Himself as the son of man. Also, there are a number of references to the Holy Spirit that use the male gender reference. Here are a few.

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."
John 14:15-17 NKJV

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."
John 16:12-15 NKJV

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV

I am not aware of any Scripture reference where the Holy Spirit, Jesus, or the Father are referred to in the female gender or even in a neutral gender (it) except for possibly one in a subtle way. In Genesis 1:27 it says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (ESV) This eludes to God creating woman in His image as well.

There's a decent amount of things to consider with God identifying Himself as male. And in the same things would have to be considered with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. For instance as we know men from women, it's a biological difference. You can see the difference and know guys have something that girls don't, and girls can give birth while guys can't. That sort of thing. But with God, His Word (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. They are not flesh (except for Jesus maybe) but are spirit. What does it mean to say that God and the Holy Spirit are male.

In my opinion I think God uses the relationship we have, and teaching on the roles men and women have with eachother as a way to convey our relationship with Him. He is the head of the Household. And some of the roles that men are suppose to have are the things that God takes as His responsibility. Protector, provider. Love and discipline His children. Willing to lay down His own life. All of these things are the role God has in our lives and in history.

So what does that make us. Hopefully the bride. The true church. A helper, and possibly a good reference would be the discription of a good woman in Proverbs 31. This is probabley something to think about as a church as a whole (the whole body of Christians) as well as individually with our relationship with God.

Proverbs 31:10-31

10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
21 She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24 She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
27 She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31 Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

 

[Susannah]

No matter how hard I try to articulate that we are talking about my imagination or pretending, someone wants to say "The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as male." I know this. Believe me. But this comment misses my whole point and it makes me sad. By the way, "The grammatical gender of the word for "spirit" is both masculine and feminine in Hebrew" ( rūaḥ),

 

[Susannah]

We all know that the Trinity is spirit. But writers, in trying to describe this spirit for human beings, gives them genders. God the Father. Jesus the son. Him, the Holy Spirit. So we have an all-male Trinity but only because the church fathers chose to use the male pronoun except for the Hebrew version. Anyway, I give up. This will have to remain something personal between me and God, and I need to stop sharing that certain gender-related metaphors enhance our relationship with the Trinity. Everybody has a right to their own point of view. I also have to let go of the need to convince people that I am right. This is an ego trip and shows lack of humility on my part.

 

[PeterJens]

To PeterJens. I like the idea you pose that whatever is eternal is God. I'll have to think on that for at least a little while, but that might help me accept the Trinity a little bit better. I don't know, so I like to think on things a bit before changing a position. Kind of like letting a tea or a bear brew for a while in order to make sure it's right, I like to let new thoughts sit for a bit. And that one I'll have to let sit and consider it.

Thank you for that.

What was new for me was to think eternity means God does not change,
so however the trinity expresses themselves it is the same nature. Our perception of change is we grow and respond differently as our hearts are cleansed or are defensive etc. God is different because He is eternal. Jesus learnt facts etc. yet his nature stayed the same. That oneness is profound. The Father confirmed this reality for our benefit. God was not testing their reality but showing it, demonstrating how different they are and what free will wrapped in love is.

The temptation of Jesus was real, but also the response that rose from His nature, equally it would from us if we communed with Him.

We cannot have the oneness of the trinity, but we can be of one heart and mind. The impossible made true.

 

[JLB]

How do you figure? Jesus said at least a few times that His words were not His own but were the Father's. That Jesus does the Father's will not His own. And even on the mount of olives when Jesus prayers to God, in one of the gospels Jesus begged God to not give Him this cup to drink (the cross), but then Jesus added that He wants God's will not His own.

As far as I can tell Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit work together and are ways on the same page as one another. But when it comes right down to it, it sounds like God the Father is in charge.

The father in any family has authority over the son.


JLB

 

[PeterJens]

We all know that the Trinity is spirit. But writers, in trying to describe this spirit for human beings, gives them genders. God the Father. Jesus the son. Him, the Holy Spirit. So we have an all-male Trinity but only because the church fathers chose to use the male pronoun except for the Hebrew version. Anyway, I give up. This will have to remain something personal between me and God, and I need to stop sharing that certain gender-related metaphors enhance our relationship with the Trinity. Everybody has a right to their own point of view. I also have to let go of the need to convince people that I am right. This is an ego trip and shows lack of humility on my part.

Is the trinity Spirit?
Jesus, the son is a man. The Father is the Lord, the creator. He dwells in the temple. The Holy Spirit is God's presence potentially everywhere.
God is everywhere, knows everything yet somethings are in His presence and Holy, while other things are not.

It is not obvious, but layered. God is sovereign yet uses evil people as judgement. We see the surface, He knows all. God is. We see hints and must be careful not to sin.
My words are but a distant description of something beyond measure, to which His word testifies Amen

 

[Christ the King]

I thought the trinity was just a Catholic teaching.
Do all the churches agree on the trinity?

I might be getting mixed up with the Eucharist

 

[OzSpen]

No thanks.

I was just interested in what you believe.

JLB

JLB,

1 John 5:7-8 has some variations in the MSS evidence:

1 John 5:7 Other mss (Vg and a few late Gk mss) read testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are One. 8 And there are three who bear witness on earth:​

My views on the Godhead of the Trinity are expounded in: Is the Trinity taught in the Bible?

My understanding of the persons of the Trinity are in: How to understand three persons in the Trinity

Oz

 

[OzSpen]

I thought the trinity was just a Catholic teaching.
Do all the churches agree on the trinity?

I might be getting mixed up with the Eucharist

Christ the King,

The Trinity is taught by both Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches.

The groups that deny the Trinity include cults such as the JWs, Christadelphians, Unitarians, Mormons, Oneness Pentecostals, etc. See: '9 Faith Groups That Deny the Trinity'.

Oz

 

[PeterJens]

I thought the trinity was just a Catholic teaching.
Do all the churches agree on the trinity?

I might be getting mixed up with the Eucharist

All churches agree on the trinity.
Jesus had to be God for the cross to have meaning.
The Holy Spirit is Gods presence in the believer.
The Father, creator is in heaven, in the temple on His throne.

All three are distinct yet one God.
Scripture shows examples of all three acting at the same time in Jesus's baptism.
Jesus is baptised, the Spirit appears as a dove, the Father speaks.

We do disagree about what the Eucharist is and whether it is the actual body and blood of Christ or just symbols of remembrance of Christ sacrifice, the blood and body as done at passover. The more non-conformist, the more it is a remembrance rather than a sacrament.

 

[WIP]

There's a decent amount of things to consider with God identifying Himself as male. And in the same things would have to be considered with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. For instance as we know men from women, it's a biological difference. You can see the difference and know guys have something that girls don't, and girls can give birth while guys can't. That sort of thing. But with God, His Word (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. They are not flesh (except for Jesus maybe) but are spirit. What does it mean to say that God and the Holy Spirit are male.

In my opinion I think God uses the relationship we have, and teaching on the roles men and women have with eachother as a way to convey our relationship with Him. He is the head of the Household. And some of the roles that men are suppose to have are the things that God takes as His responsibility. Protector, provider. Love and discipline His children. Willing to lay down His own life. All of these things are the role God has in our lives and in history.

So what does that make us. Hopefully the bride. The true church. A helper, and possibly a good reference would be the discription of a good woman in Proverbs 31. This is probabley something to think about as a church as a whole (the whole body of Christians) as well as individually with our relationship with God.

I don't think I said that God or the Holy Spirit are male. I said, Scripture refers to them in the male gender. Scripture is inspired and provided to us by God and since God chose to use the male gender in describing Himself, I believe it is respectful for us to also refer to Him in the same way.

 

[WIP]

We all know that the Trinity is spirit. But writers, in trying to describe this spirit for human beings, gives them genders. God the Father. Jesus the son. Him, the Holy Spirit. So we have an all-male Trinity but only because the church fathers chose to use the male pronoun except for the Hebrew version. Anyway, I give up. This will have to remain something personal between me and God, and I need to stop sharing that certain gender-related metaphors enhance our relationship with the Trinity. Everybody has a right to their own point of view. I also have to let go of the need to convince people that I am right. This is an ego trip and shows lack of humility on my part.

I don't think this is about whether God is male or female. I believe it is about respect. With the exception of just a few books, the Bible was not written by the early church fathers. Most of the Bible, 39 of the books (current Protestant Bible), were written long before the early church fathers were even born.

In the Old Testament God is referred to as King (ex., Psalm 10:16) and Father (ex., Psalm 89:26). For whatever reason, that we may not understand, God chose to use the male gender to represent Him in His inspired writings and I believe it is disrespectful to God to do otherwise.

 

[Susannah]

I hope I have not offended anyone. But I am not alone in my views. I think it comes down to semantics. Did God dictate the male pronoun to the writers of the Bible or did they just follow the times and choose it themselves. In my opinion we will never know for sure. Before I move on to another topic I have discovered that I am not alone in my attraction to the feminine personality. Below is a book about it.

Just to clarify, we are not talking about physical gender, but personality traits. Dividing the personality into masculine and feminine were Carl Jung's idea and he believed in God. The feminine personality traits are listed under "diffused awareness" or the ability to see the past, present, and future all at once. [The big picture] Masculine personality traits are listed under "focused consciousness," or the ability to live in the moment and focus. The perfect person, Jung says, is androgynous or a interplay of feminine and masculine personality traits. The word "comfort" is considered a feminine trait whether it be expressed by a man or woman.

 

[PeterJens]

I hope I have not offended anyone. But I am not alone in my views. I think it comes down to semantics. Did God dictate the male pronoun to the writers of the Bible or did they just follow the times and choose it themselves. In my opinion we will never know for sure. Before I move on to another topic I have discovered that I am not alone in my attraction to the feminine personality. Below is a book about it.

Just to clarify, we are not talking about physical gender, but personality traits. Dividing the personality into masculine and feminine were Carl Jung's idea and he believed in God. The feminine personality traits are listed under "diffused awareness" or the ability to see the past, present, and future all at once. [The big picture] Masculine personality traits are listed under "focused consciousness," or the ability to live in the moment and focus. The perfect person, Jung says, is androgynous or a interplay of feminine and masculine personality traits. The word "comfort" is considered a feminine trait whether it be expressed by a man or woman.

Male or female traits only matter in sexual roles within a human context.
As can be shown it is the extremes where you see the big differences.
Males fill prisons, aggression issues, women fill the caring professions, where interaction and empathy matter most.
For most we share the attributes, where some women are very masculine in their expression and some men very feminine in their expression.

In most of my interactions, it is the person who matters not their sex.
So equally with God. Sexual attraction if anything gets in the way of intimacy, and puts our emphasis in the wrong place.

My kids say I am very feminine because I express my emotions, but this is not a feminine or masculine trait, men are set up for brutal non-emotional situations, while women often need to network and connect to deal with their burdens.

The mistake is to project this on to God, and then suggest God is x. God is.
We need to learn how to have fellowship with all, on a similar basis irrespective of their gender, and encourage all to pursue the ways of Jesus.