Monotheism and the Problem of God’s Pronouns

Back in the early sixties of the last century, when the first manned space flights were underway, a joke made the rounds. An astronaut returns to earth after a week in space and faces a press conference. He smoothly answers questions about the flight, his thoughts and feelings in the course of it, how he passed the time, the view of Earth from above, and so on, until a reporter asks, “Could you please tell us whether, having been so close to heaven, you managed to catch a glimpse of God?”

The astronaut reddens. He squirms in his seat. He coughs. “Yes,” he says at last. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

A hush falls over the room. “And what was He like?” the reporter asks eagerly.