I was listening to the radio last week and tuned into “The Chapel Hour” which is a production of Bob Jones University [Bob Jones is an ultra-conservative Bible college in town], and got to hear Chancellor Bob Jones himself preach. He preached on one of the Psalms and then he said “God is masculine”. He went on to say that all the attributes of God (such as strength and power) were masculine. He took a few jabs at the femininists and said “I could not worship a goddess” and then “I could not worship a feminine God”. “God is masculine and don’t let anyone tell you any different.”
Of course I expect a Neanderthal sermon from Dr. Bob. That’s his viewpoint and that of his University.
But besides God being a Spirit, I thought that his view was a highly biased view of the Bible. Beyond the image of God as an eagle caring for its young (at the end of Deuteronomy), even attributes such as strength and might are not truly masculine. For example, looking at the mightiest things on the earth: earthquates, hurricanes, volcanos — these are neither masculine nor feminime.
If the Orthodox priest is an Icon for Christ (and Christ was an Icon for the Father (“show us the Father”)), then an all male priesthood is presenting God with exclusively masculine images. Unless you are prepared to say that God is male, then I suggest that there is some reasonable to reconsider the all-male priesthood.
The LOGOS was not male (indeed Wisdom is arguably female), so the Incarnation as a male is an accident, not essence. The priesthood might be better focused on essence (love and mercy) rather than on accidents (gender).