We have choices in life, and one of them is to take our faith seriously, but not give God so much responsibility for everything that happens in life that we stop taking responsibility for our own choices and decisions. God Talk can literally be too literal and too serious, and it can take the place of serious, but retrospective dialogue and action instead.
Many feminists criticize the traditional image of God as Father because of the male dominance of this view of religion and the Church. Marthaler writes his book from the viewpoint of the Church, and this viewpoint is exceptionally male-oriented. The heads and leaders of the Church are male, and there are few women in the Church except for nuns and community representatives, and women can never rise to the leadership of the Church. Thus, the entire doctrine of the Church, and the view of a male God and Son is male-dominated and demeans females as weak, ineffective,...
Feminists feel women should have more of a role in the Church, but that there are other explanations for God and God's creation, including that God could indeed be a woman. I do believe they have a point, at least when it comes to most organized religions, including the Catholic Church. Most religions are male-dominated and religion is male dominated, with women playing a role, but a much less dominant and much more subservient role. Feminists do have a point, although I do not think I believe God is a woman. Perhaps God can be anything we choose to believe He is, and that might be closer to the real truth. I think too much emphasis is placed on who God is, and not enough on what his leadership means and how to follow him.
References
Marthaler, Berard. The Creed: The Apostolic Faith in Contemporary Theology. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1999.
