When the Dean of Bristol, The Very Reverend Dr Mandy Ford spoke inn support of the Church of England's plan to reconsider God's gender - saying it makes sense "theologically" - it provoked lots of comment from readers. She said the move could help inclusivity - but "isn't really a change at all" and that "actually God has no gender".
It comes over reports of a new project exploring making God "non-gendered" with calls for "more inclusive language".
The potential move and the Dean's approval sparked fierce debate among Bristol Live readers, prompting over 240 comments on Facebook.
Read More: Dean of Bristol backs plans to review God's pronouns as 'God has no gender'
Rui Rötten wrote: "Makes perfect sense. To any god, by the way, not just the Christian one." Bronwyn Boyd wrote: "I always thought it was silly that God is apparently a dude, like okay, so god doesn't look/behave/think anything like humans, God is some all mighty being, but also he's a man?"
Others suggested that the whole concept of rendering a deity is flawed. Sharon Dykes posted: "God is not referred to as being human. So a human label maybe doesn't fit.
"You will never be able to prove God's gender, so personally call him a gender of your preference. I don't understand how attaching a gender can offend people. I don't even know if Gods have a gender. What matters is someone's faith or belief."
Soapstone wrote: "To me, it's perfectly obvious that God is 'non' gendered, at least in one way. However, since Bible scripture refers to Him as God the Father, plus other descriptions have quite 'feminine' or 'motherly' attributions, I see no reason to muddy the water by changing things.
"I have always seen 'man' and 'mankind' as referring to both male and female or anything in-between! I don't understand why people can't understand these concepts. It doesn't seem hard or confusing to me."
Susan King pointed out that with phrases such as 'a hen covers her chicks', there are times in the Bible when God is likened to a female. They added: "But in a book written by men, it's hardly surprising that they are in the minority."
Many people questioned how a re-labelling might work in practice, with Sharon Hughes asking: "How does that work with the Bible referring to God as The Father? Will it be rewritten to incorporate modern thinking?" Wendy Roberts said: "Absolute nonsense; how do we say the Lord’s Prayer then?
"God is our Father and always will be. Fed up with this woke society."
Several commenters were not in favour of the proposed changes or even the prospect of the discussion surrounding changing the pronouns used by the church. Dizzy1 wrote: "This world has finally gone mad. What utter nonsense." Meanwhile, Kelly Kelbel Atkins said: "It is absolutely absurd that we are even having a conversation about this."
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