Does Referring to God as Male lead to Domestic Violence???

You really have to wonder about churches who issue reports like these....Hat tip: Jeremy.

A new report backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams accused the Church today of failing at "many points" to protect people vulnerable to domestic abuse.

The Church has not only failed at many points to address the processes that lead to domestic abuse but has - intentionally or unintentionally - reinforced abuse, failed to challenge abusers and intensified the suffering of survivors, the report said.

The document highlights "misguided" or distorted versions of Christian belief which have contributed to the problem of domestic abuse in contrast to "life-giving" theology which could help the Church counter abuse.

These harmful beliefs include a conception of God derived from the Bible and the Christian tradition portraying divine power in "unhealthy and oppressive" ways, the report said.

There are particular problems in the attribution of violent actions and attitudes to God, chiefly but not solely in the Old Testament, which require "careful" interpretation, it said.

A view of our relationship with God in terms of domination and submission, along with uncritical use of masculine imagery to characterise God, can validate "overbearing and ultimately violent patterns of behaviour" in intimate relationships, it said.