Theologian N.T. Wright recently emphasized that while God transcends gender, using traditional male pronouns like “Father” remains theologically appropriate when understood in light of Scripture.
In a wide-ranging conversation on the “Ask N.T. Wright Anything” podcast, the theologian and former bishop of Durham addressed the question: Is it appropriate to refer to God using male pronouns?
The question came from a listener in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who noted the tension between the use of male language for God — such as “He” and “Father” — and the theological understanding that God transcends human categories, including gender. The listener acknowledged Jesus’ own references to God as Father and wondered whether using male pronouns for the Trinity remains valid today.
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Wright, who has spent decades teaching and writing about Christian doctrine, was quick to note the layered nature of the discussion. “It is, of course, a vast question, which has bubbled up during the course of my lifetime,” he said. “Of course, God is beyond gender. That’s one of the first things to say.”
Still, Wright emphasized that the Christian faith is grounded in the revelation of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That language, he said, is drawn directly from Scripture and upheld throughout Church tradition.
“Jesus, who was and is emphatically male … referred to God as Father,” he said. “So we have to say, hang on, there are various things going on here which our present culture isn’t helping us with.”
Wright acknowledged the critiques of theologians like Mary Daly, a feminist thinker who famously wrote, “If God is male, then the male is God.” That logic, Wright said, has fueled real concern among women who have experienced male dominance both in the church and in broader society.
“Some people using male pronouns for God … do give themselves airs and imply that, therefore, basically, we men are in charge here.”
He added, “You only have to read Ephesians 5 to see how Paul reverses that … the job of the husband vis-à-vis the wife is to take the role of Christ giving Himself for the Church. And there is a huge self-giving about that.”
Rather than throwing out masculine imagery of God due to abusive settings, Wright emphasized the reclaiming and redefinition of such terms based on biblical use.
“We have language about God as Father, but who is this Father? He isn’t this angry, bullying, domineering, typically male god. He is a God of compassion, a God of mercy, a God of gentleness.”
He pointed to the Hebrew roots of the word for compassion, which derive from the word for “womb.” “God is like a mother whose womb is crying out for her children,” he said, referencing multiple maternal images of God found throughout the Old Testament.
Wright also noted that the gendered language associated with the Holy Spirit varies across languages. “In Syriac and Hebrew, the word for Spirit is feminine. In Greek, it’s neuter. And in Latin, it’s masculine. So that genderedness is built into those languages in ways that it scarcely is in English.”
He cited Romans 8, where the Spirit is described as groaning in travail, a distinctly feminine image. “That extraordinary sequence of thought in Romans 8 does imply that there is something transcending the whole thing about God, and that God … covers all possible bases.”
Still, Wright warned against removing the traditional names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit from Christian worship and sacraments. When asked about a Catholic parish in Brisbane that began baptizing “in the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Renewer” to avoid gendered language, Wright expressed concern.
“If you were the Bishop of Brisbane … would you declare all the baptisms void and make them go back and do it again?” podcast co-host Mike Bird asked.
Wright responded with what he called “a typical Anglican response,” focusing on the intent behind the act. He recounted a time when a priest inadvertently omitted “the Son” from the baptismal formula. “He just missed out the Son … but we didn’t say, ‘actually, you need to go back and do all those again,’ because the law of intention [applied].”
Yet Wright drew a clear line when it came to deliberately replacing Trinitarian language. He recalled a 2004 service at Durham Cathedral celebrating the 10th anniversary of women’s ordination to the priesthood. The organizers scripted a final blessing “in the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.”
“I looked at that before the service, and I said, I can’t do that. That’s not Trinitarian,” Wright said. “Each member of the Holy Trinity … does each of those things. It’s not a Trinitarian blessing.”
“I said, I think the blessing of God Almighty, the Holy and undivided Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier,” he said.
Wright emphasized that when it comes to speaking about God, theological precision matters, adding: “We have to be very careful, especially when we’re talking about God. You can’t just muck around and invent things. You know, God is God, and we are humans struggling to get our heads and our hearts around who God is.”
While affirming that God transcends gender, Wright maintained that male references to God, rooted in Scripture, can and should still be used, provided they are rightly understood. “Rather than say, because we’re aware of bullying male dominance, we should stop calling God Father, I would say, no. Let’s look at what the Bible actually says about God.”
A 2013 Harris survey of 2,250 adults in the United States revealed that 43% of women and 34% of men believed God is male. Overall, 39% of Americans believed God is male, 31% believed God is neither male nor female, 10% believed God is both genders, and 1% believed God is female.
In recent years, the theological debate over God’s gender has gained renewed attention, notably with the release of The Shack, a bestselling novel by William Paul Young. The fictional story portrays God the Father as a woman, as well as the Holy Spirit, sparking widespread discussion among Christians. The book was adapted into a feature film in 2017.
More recently, pop star Ariana Grande fueled cultural conversation on the topic with her hit song, “God is a Woman.”
In a 2014 blog post, theologian John Piper explained that although God is spirit and not biologically male, the consistent use of masculine pronouns in Scripture is deliberate and theologically important.
“God is revealed as father, not mother. God is revealed as a king, not a queen. I don’t mean that there aren’t motherly metaphors for him. I am just saying, mainly father, not mother; mainly king, not queen; mainly Lord, not lady,” he said.
“In the marriage with the Church, Christ is the husband, and the Church is the bride. He is not the bride and she the husband. He installed priests in the Old Testament — all of them were men. Jesus comes into the world as a man and not as a woman. He invests his unique apostolic authority in 12 men, not 12 women.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
