Feminist theology and the changing roles of men and women

Question 1

What is at the heart of feminist theology?

Answer 1

The idea that religion has played a part in this historic and continuing oppression of women.

Question 2

Why is it shocking that there is a hostile reaction amongst Christians when God is referred to as a women?

Answer 2

As God is understood to be beyond gender.

Question 3

What is androcentrism?

Answer 3

Focused on men - placing men at the centre of history and culture.

Question 4

Why can women be considered more responsible for the fall than men?

Answer 4

Because Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

Question 5

What did Aristotle characterise women as?

Answer 5

Misbegotten males

Question 6

What did Aristotle and Aquinas believe about the natural hierarchy?

Answer 6

Male - Female hierarchy is not just a result of sin but also a result of the natural order created by God.

Question 7

Why do many suggest that men are closer to God than women?

Answer 7

A male God created us and a male God is needed to save us (Christ).

Question 8

What does androgynous mean?

Answer 8

Having a combination of both male and female characteristics.

Question 9

In the Church, what type of characteristics have women been restricted to?

Answer 9

Passivity, gentleness, meekness and obedience.

Question 10

In Church, why are women only seen as truly spiritual if they are not sexual?

Answer 10

As Mary remained a virgin.

Question 11

Why could it be seen as a bad thing to be associated with Eve?

Answer 11

She is viewed as the temptress and bringer of sin into the world.

Question 12

What does Ruether say about the persecution of women as witches?

Answer 12

She argues that the persecution of women stems from religious gender stereotyping.

Question 13

What did a 15th century Dominican manual say about witchcraft?

Answer 13

“Since women are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that they should come under the spell of witchcraft.”

Question 14

Ruether cites the 1976 Vatican declaration against women’s ordination (becoming priests), what quote did she pick out?

Answer 14

“there must be a physical resemblance between the priest and Christ”.

Question 15

What does Gnostic mean?

Answer 15

Relating to an ancient spiritual movement focused in attaining spiritual knowledge.

Question 16

How did Gnostic writings view women?

Answer 16

As Apostles and describe the nature of God as having both male and female principles.

Question 17

Which movement allowed women to be in leadership?

Answer 17

Quakers

Question 18

What is the ‘Shakers’ view of God and where did this view stem from?

Answer 18

God as bisexual or androgynous. This stems from the notion that we are made in God’s image so in some sense God must be both male and female.

Question 19

What does Ruether say about groups such as ‘Shakers’?

Answer 19

• Shakers were celibate and Gnostics advocated an unwordly asceticism.
• Also none of these groups fought for women’s rights outside their gatherings.

Question 20

Why can the prophetic tradition be linked to fighting sexism?

Answer 20

The prophets didn’t specifically fight sexism but manifested the principles which extended to all forms of oppression.

Question 21

what are the four themes in the prophetic liberating traditions?

Answer 21

• God’s defence and vindication of the oppressed.
• a critique of dominant power systems and their power holders
• a vision of where injustice ends under the reign of God
• a critique of the religious ideology maintaining injustice.

Question 22

According to Daly, what are the three versions of God as a noun?

Answer 22

• God as a judge of sin
• God as a stop - gap (an explanation for the unknown)
• God as otherworldliness (Gives rewards and punishments after death.

Question 23

According to Daly, why is God as a noun wrong?

Answer 23

The images of God as a noun are static and doing nothing to inspire creativity, dynamism and growth.

Question 24

According to Daly, rather than viewing God as a noun, what must we do?

Answer 24

Consider God as a verb, to see God in a process of becoming with the universe as the force that helps us to become the people we are meant to be.

Question 25

Why would it be a problem, for Daly, to change our language to female language?

Answer 25

God is still seen as a noun, just as a female noun rather than a male noun.

Question 26

Give four things that we see when we view God as a transforming power, according to Daly.

Answer 26

• Original sin is not disobedience, it is turning women into objects who are forbidden to develop outside of their biological destiny.
• If there if no fall, no frowning judge, there is no need for a saviour.
• To believe in the power of God is to believe in the power of being and becoming in all people.
• Christians commit Christolatry and bibliolatry when they insist that biblical forms of patriarchy are the final truth.

Question 27

According to Daly, what is the ‘unholy trinity’?

Answer 27

Rape, genocide and war

Question 28

According to Daly, what is at the heart of all violence?

Answer 28

Treating women as objects

Question 29

According to Daly, when does violence become permissible?

Answer 29

When we no longer see human beings as on a valuable journey of being and becoming and turn them into objects to either increase our pleasure or decrease our pain.

Question 30

A Bible quote which shows that both rape and war view humans as objects.

Answer 30

“kill every male among the little ones and kill every women who has known a man by sleeping with him.”

Question 31

What sort of values are attributed to females in society?

Answer 31

Passivity, gentleness, self sacrifice.

Question 32

What does Daly call on women to do?

Answer 32

Be anti church and leave the patriarchal structure.
Seek relationships with other women to oppose the lovelessness of a sexually hierarchical society, make a ‘sisterhood’ for support.

Question 33

Give an example of female apostles mentioned in the New Testament.

Answer 33

• Junia described by Paul as “prominent among the apostles”
• Mary Magdalene
• The samaritan women

Question 34

Why was Junia changed to Junias in many early translations of the Bible?

Answer 34

Changed to the male form of the name as many thought there had been a mistranslation of Paul’s words.

Question 35

How is the concept of apostleship described in Luke and Acts?

Answer 35

12 apostles who were all men.

Question 36

Give 3 common arguments against women being in ministry.

Answer 36

• God chose to incarnate ‘himself’ as a man
• Christ appointed only men as the apostles
• Scripture forbids the leadership of women

Question 37

What arguments emerged for the liberation of women in ministry?

Answer 37

• Jesus didn’t restrict his message to men
• Many biblical passages refer to ministry in inclusive terms
• Women were ordained to the diaconate in the early church.

Question 38

When did women’s ordination become standard practice in established denominations?

Answer 38

1970s

Question 39

Give 3 things that happened in the Church of England concerning women priests.

Answer 39

• In 1992, there was a narrow vote to allow women to be ordained.
• In 1993, Church voted to allow individual congregations to opt out of accepting women priests.
• In 1994, 1500 women were ordained but 470 male clergy protested by leaving the Church.

Question 40

What can women not do in the Roman Catholic Church?

Answer 40

Cannot be ordained as deacons, priests or bishops.

Question 41

What did Pope Francis do in 2014?

Answer 41

Affirmed the tradition of refusing to ordain women.

Question 42

Give three issues that females who have been ordained suffer?

Answer 42

• Having to fight for maternity rights in some denominations
• Unpaid women clergy
• Many women find it difficult to access ‘senior pastorates’ or the role of a Bishop - with lack of experience being used as an excuse.