Is God sexist?

This question first appeared in my head when I was a young impressionable Sunday school attendee, but it eventually faded into the recesses of my mind without ever being completely quelled. I wonder how many women are forced to either ignore this question or simply come to a point of limited comfort with the explanations given by their church leadership. My feeling would also be that for many women this issue is central to their willingness to pursue the Christian faith. I do not believe that God is sexist because I do not believe God is a particular sex. One of the themes of my psychology of religion class has been the idea of metaphor in the scriptures. Metaphor in scripture allows us to see God as father instead of God is father. The emphasis becomes on the way we relate to the being of God not on the physical sex of God. The easy part of a discussion about sexism in Christianity is on the physicality of God, the more difficult discussion centers around the way Christianity has actually practiced responsible gender equality. Of any Biblical author Paul is the most criticized for his writings about women and their role in society and religion, yet a more careful examination of Paul's writing shows us that they were often directed at a specific church in a particular culture. Paul's view of men and women can be understood in the broader context of how they reflected the image of Christ. Consider the imagery used in Genesis to depict the creation of woman. Genesis depicts woman as having been created from the side of Adam. In Hebrew this is a statement that shows the equality of men and women. The side was seen as the exact middle of the body, thus giving credence to a woman's equal right to be seen as a being created in the image of God. What is interesting about the Genesis account is that it depicts men and women as essentially the same being. Thus when a man and women become united sexually they are recommitting themselves to the imagery of being of one flesh. The Bible uses this same imagery to describe Christ's relation to the church. How does this imagery fit with the traditional view in fundamental Christianity of women as meek, subservient, assistants to their husbands? If we are of the same body, than is it not more appropriate to see our roles as males and females as a mere expression of the function we hold within the larger body of Christ? A different way of saying it would be that the role of a husband or a wife is of equal importance, because they are both serving a function within the body of Christ. This is where I think Christians have misunderstood the duty of a husband to their wife, and of a wife to their husband. Instead of seeing themselves as part of the same body they have begun to see themselves as separate individuals, with one part of the body being of greater importance. By Paul telling women to submit to their husbands, and by telling husbands to love their wives, he is really stating the need to honor each other as one flesh. Now I understand that I probably lost some people in this lengthy examination of gender in scripture, and that it is nowhere near an exhaustive explanation of all the instances of perceived sexism in the scriptures. I simply hope that it will serve as a catalyst for a more in depth examination of perceived sexism in the scriptures, and within the practices of Christianity. For others I hope it will become a different way of viewing their role as either a husband or wife. There is so much more that could be said about this subject, but it will be contingent upon the responses of others. I appreciate you taking the time to read this rant, and I hope that it will in some way spark a conversation whether that be with me or someone else. Please feel free to direct your comments toward the progression of the discussion or as a critique/agreement of what was written. Thank you again for taking the time to read this, I honestly value all of your thoughts and opinions.