The Christian use of God-language has become a matter of debate among laypersons, theologians, worship leaders, and others. Such debates are often heated, because the address of God impinges on what many persons find to be close to the heart of their spirituality.

Combining doxological, Christian, and feminist concerns, Gail Ramshaw examines each of the primary types of Christian language about God and in the process, evaluates gender issues and proposes helpful guidelines and solutions.

Many questions are involved in this issue. Can masculine pronouns for God be retained on the basis of biblical usage? Can Trinitarian language be gender-inclusive? What should be the Christian understanding of the divine name of God (YHWH) in the Old Testament? What are the possibilities and what are the hazards of using human images ('judge,' 'shepherd,' 'father,' 'mother," "Sophia') for God? Is all human language and possibly all human thought-necessarily metaphorical?

"The current wave of Christian linguistic reform, producing once more both delight and horror, seeks to diminish, if not totally eliminate, androcentric speech from the language of worship. In this book I am concerned with the most tumultuous aspect of this pursuit: the reform of God-language in the liturgy."

-FROM THE INTRODUCTION