God Is A He, And Can Never Be Called A "she"

[HisChildForever]

This is relevant to the topic,

[quote]For St. Thomas, it is through the active or male generative principle that original sin is transmitted, hence he concludes that if Eve only had sinned, we would not have inherited the sin, since she as the merely passive principle cannot have passed it on, and Adam could not have conferred what he himself did not have.39 The male seed then does all determination in generation; the female contributes the matter but plays no active part.[/quote]

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=2793&CFID=30892310&CFTOKEN=73221739

I understand "active" and "passive" now to be "giving" and "receiving" in biological terms. What I am not clear on, however, is how our roles during sexual intercourse determine our roles as human beings. We are more than our sexuality.

Edited March 8, 2010 by HisChildForever

[Catholictothecore]

[quote name='BarbaraTherese' date='06 March 2010 - 06:20 PM' timestamp='1267917628' post='2067669']
Very true! But male gender surely not chosen 'willy nilly'? - rather to tell us something about Himself that we can grasp and relate to - rather than leaving it at "I Am Who Am" which is total mystery to us, which He also is in that He is totally beyond all human understanding. God is at once "I Am Who Am" and Total Mystery and He is also our Father, revealed to us by Jesus.

Blessings this Lent - Barb
[/quote]

Also remember that the world that God revealed himself to was a dominately patriachial society. If God has revealed himself using the feminie pronouns, they never would have listened to him.

And I don't mean any disrespect to females by saying this. I believe that the simple fact is that both male and female are dependent on each other. Regardless of who came first, he always intended to make the other one.

[HisChildForever]

From the same source used above,

[quote]Since the male as active principle does the generating of the offspring, forming the matter supplied by the female, conferring on it its soul, and actualizing it as a new living being, the masculine sex as active is superior to the feminine, [b]which plays no role other that merely supplying the blood which gets transformed and actualized by the male seed.[/b] [/quote]

The woman does much more than the man when it comes to new life, as she carries the child for nine months in her womb. The man's part is done (physically) when the marital act is done.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='HisChildForever' date='08 March 2010 - 11:51 AM' timestamp='1268070686' post='2068879']
From the same source used above,



The woman does much more than the man when it comes to new life, as she carries the child for nine months in her womb. The man's part is done (physically) when the marital act is done.
[/quote]
To be fair, carrying the child is a passive act. I don't mean to minimize it in any way, but you carry the child by not doing anything to disturb it. The concept of passive isn't a negative, in my opinion. You seem to be of the opinion that it's a disparaging term, am I right?

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='08 March 2010 - 12:53 PM' timestamp='1268070823' post='2068881']
To be fair, carrying the child is a passive act. I don't mean to minimize it in any way, but you carry the child by not doing anything to disturb it. The concept of passive isn't a negative, in my opinion. You seem to be of the opinion that it's a disparaging term, am I right?
[/quote]

I see nothing passive about pregnancy. A woman's body is feeding the child and helping the child grow. Labor itself is active.

Not so much disparaging as making a woman's role seem less important.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='HisChildForever' date='08 March 2010 - 11:56 AM' timestamp='1268071014' post='2068885']
I see nothing passive about pregnancy. A woman's body is feeding the child and helping the child grow. Labor itself is active.

Not so much disparaging as making a woman's role seem less important.
[/quote]
I think I mean passive in a more philosophical sense. You don't have to 'actively' will anything for the child to develop inside of you. Sure, your body is definitely active, but that's not under your control. A man has to consciously will an action (intercourse) to initiate the pregnancy, while the woman in theory only needs to be passive (i.e. accepting the initiation on the part of the male). Labour still could be considered passive because it's going to happen whether or not you want it to. You can't will it not to happen. It's just the natural course of development.

I can see why it feels that it makes the woman's role less important. I understand where your feelings come from, but I don't quite agree. I see a woman's acceptance of this (philosophically) more passive role as meritorious in and of itself. We all have different roles to play, right? Performing your own role to the best of your ability is heroic. We've already shown that both roles are co-dependent on each other, so we know that the woman's role is indispensable. The heroic bit is when she accepts her role and gives herself wholeheartedly to it.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='08 March 2010 - 01:04 PM' timestamp='1268071440' post='2068891']
I think I mean passive in a more philosophical sense. You don't have to 'actively' will anything for the child to develop inside of you. Sure, your body is definitely active, but that's not under your control. A man has to consciously will an action (intercourse) to initiate the pregnancy, while the woman in theory only needs to be passive (i.e. accepting the initiation on the part of the male). Labour still could be considered passive because it's going to happen whether or not you want it to. You can't will it not to happen. It's just the natural course of development.

I can see why it feels that it makes the woman's role less important. I understand where your feelings come from, but I don't quite agree. I see a woman's acceptance of this (philosophically) more passive role as meritorious in and of itself. We all have different roles to play, right? Performing your own role to the best of your ability is heroic. We've already shown that both roles are co-dependent on each other, so we know that the woman's role is indispensable. The heroic bit is when she accepts her role and gives herself wholeheartedly to it.
[/quote]

Does a woman not also have to will an action (intercourse) to initiate pregnancy? Does she not have to agree to it and be an active participant?

[Apotheoun]

The will of the Theotokos can be said to be active in the conception and development of Christ God in her womb, because her original fiat remained operative throughout the entire process that brought about the redemption of mankind.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='08 March 2010 - 01:12 PM' timestamp='1268071932' post='2068899']
The will of the Theotokos can be said to be active in the conception and development of Christ God in her womb, because her original fiat remained operative throughout the entire process that brought about the redemption of mankind.
[/quote]

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='HisChildForever' date='08 March 2010 - 12:09 PM' timestamp='1268071790' post='2068897']
Does a woman not also have to will an action (intercourse) to initiate pregnancy? Does she not have to agree to it and be an active participant?
[/quote]
At the basic level? Not really. In theory (while it's obviously a terrible perversion of the ideal) she could be completely unconscious and pregnancy would still occur.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

A woman may be passive throughout sex, while a male has to be active. However, both parties could be very active.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='08 March 2010 - 01:17 PM' timestamp='1268072275' post='2068903']
At the basic level? Not really. In theory (while it's obviously a terrible perversion of the ideal) she could be completely unconscious and pregnancy would still occur.
[/quote]

Are you kidding with me right now?

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='HisChildForever' date='08 March 2010 - 12:20 PM' timestamp='1268072419' post='2068906']
Are you kidding with me right now?
[/quote]
I'm sorry. Not trying to offend you.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='Raphael' date='08 March 2010 - 01:19 PM' timestamp='1268072353' post='2068904']
A woman may be passive throughout sex, while a male has to be active. However, both parties could be very active.
[/quote]

Exactly. The sperm to egg is active to passive [b]biologically[/b] as it is the sperm that goes to meet the egg, but this does not mean that the woman herself is passive during the marital act.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='HisChildForever' date='08 March 2010 - 12:21 PM' timestamp='1268072509' post='2068909']
Exactly. The sperm to egg is active to passive [b]biologically[/b] as it is the sperm that goes to meet the egg, but this does not mean that the woman herself is passive during the marital act.
[/quote]
She doesn't *have to be* passive in a practical sense. She can certainly actively will the marital act, but it's not a fundamental necessity. The man has to actively will it, or it literally cannot happen.
I guess this is assuming that the man is not being raped though.....

I'm not saying that the woman is just some kind of sperm receptacle. Far from it, and I hope I haven't given that impression. What I'm saying is that at a philosophical level, her role is one of accepting the active will of the male.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Nihil Obstat