I've got this feeling we'd better ease off a little before this thread gets locked....
FWIW, Dan, and I'd say quite a few others here believe God's a man, and there is no argument that can be posed that can change that.
Me personally? I obviously believe the creator is likely without gender, as the Archbishop suggest. The notion seems logical to me, further I agree with Dave, that to me anyway, it seems rather absurd and unlikely that we were created in God's image, and much more likely that our God was created in
our image.
But neither case can be proven scientifically, so it really just comes down to what each of us wants to believe.
Dan's view frankly, is shared with the majority of Christians, so he has that on his side, and though I do personally disagree, I still respect his religious views. For that matter, he may be right... who
knows?
One bit of advice for Dan though, at the risk of directing this thread to locked status, over the years I've held my share of spiritual views, most of them contrary to what's commonly accepted as truth by people in general. This holds true to this day. I generally don't hide my opinions on matters of the divine, and as a result of my unorthodox views, I've had to just get used to having people completely and blatantly disrespect my beliefs, say I'm going to hell, I'm lost, etc etc... And I mean, people have been downright crass and rude about it.
I pretty much took it in the chin, because I realize my views fall in the extreme minority. The result of this for me anyway, was a somewhat comical view of divine that has helped me have a sense of humor of sorts when it comes to spiritual discussions. It generally doesn't offend me when someone challenges my views, because even I know, they may be right.
So my advice in a nutshell is to take it easy. As the world becomes more diverse, and people become more educated, questions are going to be raised and individual conclusions will be reached. Your spirit and well being will be a lot better off if you can learn to accept that some people will have different religious beliefs than you, learn to tolerate this, and don't be afraid to have an open minded discussion. Chances are, both parties may just learn something.
Take Fred for instance. I've had the privilege of meeting him, and we may differ on some religious and political issues to an extent, but we can talk about the issues without getting into fights. That's because we're friends, but also because we have respect for each others right to find our own paths in life and see no reason why such differences should get in the way of a fulfilling friendship.
And by the way...
Mobile homes have skirts too!
And lesser known is the fact that commercial dishwashers also have skirts.
The "skirt" is just so danged versatile! I mean, how many items, other than legs can you, or would you put a pair of trousers on?