What is the reasoning given by Trinitarians for using 'He' instead of 'It' to refer to God, inclusive of 3 persons?
Upvote:3
In the Trinitarian conception of God, usually the term Godhead is used to encompass all three Persons of the Trinity. Thus, conceptually we need a suitable term that connotates MORE, not less, especially when collectively the three persons work together to:
- create the universe
- infuse all of us with truth, goodness, and beauty
- redeem all of us by indwelling within us to rejuvenate our corrupted nature
- etc.
Consequently, for each human language we need to find a suitable pronoun which matches the dignity, honor, and greatness of the Trinitarian Godhead. At the very minimum, we should then use the best pronoun out of the pronouns we are using for individual Persons of the Trinity, since although the Godhead is not a person, the Godhead is MORE than a person.
The pronoun should be suitable for a King of Kings at the very least. In English we even created expressions such as "Your highness" or "Thou" when referring to kings. Imagine using "it" to refer to the King of England! In English this comes across as insulting, demeaning, etc.
I refer you to @curiousdannii's answer on the proper reasoning which should be used to find a suitable pronoun for the Godhead for a variety of linguistic considerations, although his answer has to do with the pronoun for the Holy Spirit.
Please also see paragraphs 30-31 of Vatican document Liturgiam authenticam (On the use of vernacular languages in the publication of the books of the Roman Liturgy) which covers translation criteria for referring to God.
CONCLUSION: At the very minimum, a "He" should be used, not an "It". As @DJClayworth has pointed out, "It" simply doesn't work.
Upvote:6
Let's clear this up once and for all.
"It" is insulting.
To refer to a human being as "it" is to demean them, to label them as "less than human". Racists use "it" when the want to ultimately dehumanize their victims. Even in fictional or mythological settings non-human intelligent beings are always referred to as "him" or "her" even when gender is unclear or irrelevant. "It" means subhuman.
Applied to God this is even worse. You are referring to God as "less than human".
"It" is still singular, so it doesn't get round the singular/plural problem. Calling God "it" would still imply that he is singular in the exact same way that "he" does.
It is occasionally acceptable in English to refer to a multi-person entity as "it". ("This is the team. It plays football.") However "they" is much more usual. And this usage would strongly declare that God is three persons connected only organizationally, - to at least the same erroneous extent that "he" emphasizes the singularity of the Trinity - and is thus wrong to the same extent. And the usage would still run the risk of being taken as the deeply insulting sub-human sense of "it".
So in short 1. No grammatical benefit 2. Very insulting.
That's why it isn't done.
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