Defining God: The Arguments of Elizabeth Johnson Essay

The modern world witnesses the success of women in different areas of life. Religion is one of the spheres where women’s contributions become more and more tangible. As mentioned by Johnson, women’s influence is already felt in different aspects of religion and, particularly, in the one dealing with the “central issue of the image and concept of the divine, the One who is the source, sustaining and saving power, and goal of the world, whom people call God” (Johnson 134). In her Naming God She: The Theological Implications, Elizabeth Johnson proposes an argument that our definition of God affects who we are and what we do; she supports this idea with evidence from biblical texts and the works of women scholars drawing important conclusions in the course of her work.

To begin with, in her work, Johnson argues that the way in which people define God affects strongly what they are and what they do. Her thesis focuses on the idea that “God has a unique potential for affecting change at a deep and lasting level” (Johnson 135). At this, the author mentions that certain theological implications emerge when the image of women is used for naming God: “If God is “she” as well as “he,” a new possibility can be envisioned of a way of living together that honors difference but allows women and men to share life in equal measure” (Johnson 135). Therefore, her work focuses on the influence that the image of God has on the lives of believers.

Additionally, Johnson provides quite convincing evidence in support of her thesis. She draws attention to the female images in the biblical texts, such as the image of Divine Sophia in the book of Wisdom, a female protagonist searching for a silver coin in Luke’s Gospel, as well as to the works of such female scholars as Julian of Norwich, Linda Reichenbecher, Naomi Janowitz, Maggie Wenig, and Mary Kathleen Schmitt. Taking into account these examples, Johnson suggests that “owning the belief that we are truly created in the image and likeness of God, we are seeking sources that bless rather than demean the reality of being female” (138). This creates a further idea that naming God from the women’s reality has implications for the truth about God and for the dignity and equality of women.

And lastly, Johnson draws several important conclusions based on the ideas that she advanced in her work. One of the most important conclusions is that “every use of female images for God produces one more fragment of the truth of the mystery of God healing, redeeming, and liberating all human beings and the earth” (Johnson 149). Another important conclusion concerns the effects of naming God she, namely, challenging the dominance of men over women because those are mainly males that the image of God is associated with; among such effects, Johnson identifies physiological, social, and spiritual effects that make the struggle for social justice for women possible.

In conclusion, Elizabeth Johnson argues about how much the image of God means for people in her Naming God She: The Theological Implications. Exploring the effects of naming God she, Johnson presents the examples from the book of Wisdom and New Testament to support her ideas and concludes that the use of the images of women for God can break our fixed idea regarding the image of God.

Work Cited

Johnson, Elizabeth. “Naming God She.” Princeton Seminary Bulletin 22/2 (2001): 134-149.