She?

[Poplife]

Now I'm sure you all know the 23rd Psalm. Even though I'm not religious, it's one of my favorite things to read. Recently I put together a little tape relaxing music to play when I'm stressed, and on it I recorded a beautiful acapella song called "The 23rd Psalm" that was on a Bobby McFerrin CD. It uses many lines from the Psalm, but does not recite it from word to word. It's more of a variation...

However, the whole song is in the feminine. Wherever it is written as "he" they sing "she", and instead of "glory be to our father and son" the say "glory be to our mother and daughter". One of my friends feels that the whole song is sacrilegious and wrong. I just wanted the forums opinion on this....since it is Sunday.

I can post the lyrics if anyone wants to see just what I'm talking about.

[onesavvydiva]

Please post lyrics to clarify!!

------------------
'Cause I'm a woman,
Phenomenally
Phenomenal Woman
That's me

Maya Angelou

[Poplife]

The lyrics are as follows:


The Lord is my shepherd
I have all I need...
She makes me lie down in green meadows
Beside the still waters she will lead
She restores my soul, she rights my wrongs
She leads me in a path of good things
And fills my heart with songs
Even though I walk through a dark and dreary land
There is nothing that can shake me
She has said she won't forsake me
I am in her hand...
She sets a table before me in the presence of my foes
She anoints my head with oil
And my cups over flows...
Surely...surely goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life
And I will live in a house forever...forever and ever
Glory be to our mother and daughter
And to the holy of holies
As it was in the beginning
Is now and ever shall be
World without end
Amen

[Diva_56]

If God found it so to put "He" as opposed to "She" in the word..who are we to change it?

No thank you...

[Discogoddess]

I view it like this: Jehovah God is spirit and incomparable for humans to fully understand. Because we are finite, we must categorize things in an attempt to understand them. Hence the use of personal pronouns in describing God. Since men ran/still run things, they used masculine pronouns to describe the Creator in Scripture, which suited/still suits their paternalistic worldview.

God is love, spirit, and incomprehensible to my feeble human mind. I have been raised to view God as male, but I believe God transcends such categorization.

DG

[This message has been edited by Discogoddess (edited June 12, 2000).]

[Poplife]

DG, You basically took everything I thought and said it (and eloquently, might I add?).

I agree with you. I was raised by Christians and am used to saying "He" as well. It might be my broad liberalist streak talking, but I refuse to believe that the being who created me has a gender. I think God is just bigger than that...

[niceone]

I was also raised to believe that God is a he as well but if that is Bobby McFerrin's interpretation then so be it, who am I to judge.