This article discusses the use of Feminine or Maternal images or metaphors for God. Many get uncomfortable with this. For me, I think we need to separate between metaphors that help us understand something about God, and the potential reification of such symbols. The “Goddess Worship” cults that are on the periphery of Christianity seems to be an unhealthy reification (considering symbols as “real”), thinking that God is “female.” Of course the same can happen with masculine imagery of God. Recall the scene in the movie My Fair Lady, where a minister is trying to explain how God is “male.” I use masculine terms for God, in line with the majority metaphors in the Bible, and in line with Jesus being incarnated as a male human. But it is reasonable to recognize that there are some limitations to such symbology.

My question, of course, is whether there are times where feminine metaphors for God are useful in missional (cross-cultural) contexts? Not sure…