Is ‘Wisdom’ a female goddess?
Those into ‘New Thought’ will believe in Sophia or the ‘wisdom body’ or some such character. Before considering why God is personified using male pronouns, it is useful to consider why wisdom is personified as female in the Bible.
“Wisdom is justified by all her children.” Those who act out the most rational, objective, truthful and charitable desires will not only form good character but will also succeed in practical and material enterprise. These children of wisdom will inspire others to use their minds to seek out new, equally good, ways of living.
Wisdom is neither innate nor natural, it is an invisible creation of meaning and ideas that relies on the stable structures offered by truth, and uses love to flesh out form, in each unique circumstance. Even though wisdom is painted as a personality that waits for us to discover her, wisdom cannot exist outside of self-aware minds, it is not pure consciousness, rather its the product of much effort and discernment. So if she were a person she would be in various states of disrepair in some cultures, and in others, constantly changing into a more beautiful person. The search for wisdom is a part of the reason for creation, it is something angels desire and enjoy. It is not a substance or a single person, its not even a force, it is a unique creative combination of morality, understanding, curiosity and enterprise; it is fluid enough to adapt to each individual situation. Even though we are born with intuitive knowledge and with a sense of what is appropriate, rational and moral wisdom is a construct that must be cultivated in the heart and minds of individuals and within our collective culture.
Things of great worth and elegance are often referred to in the feminine, like a ship or a work of art. Therefore those who use the feminine description of wisdom in Proverbs 8 to justify the belief in a female demigod, and give her the name Sophia, Mother Ayahuasca, or even Gaia have no Biblical basis, or spiritual basis to justify their Gnostic leanings. Wisdom may be vulnerable, creative, beautiful and vital but it is not a person or a single figure, but rather the collection of all good personalities working in unity towards a common goal. God’s Holy Spirit is working constantly in the universe to bring about this reality.
The writers of the Bible know that Yahweh could not be an actual male because God is a spirit being who can manifest in whatever form he pleases. But it seems important to God that we should relate to him primarily as we would to a wise and good father figure, rather than as an accepting and gregarious mother figure. As God is the creator; the judge; wise; and ultimately motivated by grace; the only appropriate response to him is humility and reverence, and then to trust. Once we come to God on the basis of faith in his character, and with humility in our heart, then all of the more fluid and gracious elements of God can also be received. Thus we primarily ought to relate to God as a masculine figure, then once we know him we receive his more feminine blessings.
There is a popular idea among mystics that when we die everything will be fine, no mater what, even for Jack-the-ripper and Stalin. Their god will not judge; they just need their evil melted away and to learn from their mistakes. Then they will be absorbed into the ‘source’ and sort of exist in a state of restful bliss. But if God built cause-and-effect into the physical creation then we ought to conclude that he also build it into the spiritual dimension of meaning, attitude and purpose. the only thing that can nullify the destructive effects of our sin is grace, and grace that is grasped by faith through a humble, repentant and consecrated heart. This exchange was made effective through the atonement of God’s own perfect sacrifice.