Gender and theology Flashcards
1
Q
keyword
radical feminism
A
The view that equal rights is not enough to gurantee equality because that does nothing to address or undo the cultural impact of thousands of years of oppression caused by gender roles.
2
Q
INTRODUCTION
A
- Fundamentally, both Ruether and Daly are trying to promote and subsequently rectify the same issue of gender inequality within Christianity
- However, they have different perspectives and approaches to the issue as, while Ruether focuses on reforming the Church to make it less patriarchal and sexist,* Daly holds a more radical and extremist view* and is seeking total female dominance.
- With regard to their teachings on God, it is evident that there are various similarities as they both ultimately disagree with the fact that God is referenced in male terms,
3
Q
keyword
Gender Traditionalism
A
The view that traditional gender roles are natural and that human life is best when following them.
4
Q
theologist
MARY DALY
QUOTE
A
'’Whenever man has thought it necessary to create a memory of himslef, his efforts has been attended with torture,blood and sacrifice’’ The Genealogy of Morals
5
Q
Ruether
A
- Reformed feminist theologian
- christianity needs reinterpreting without patriarchal elements,* cleansed of their distorting influences*
- the Church has lost its egalitarian roots as by saying ‘God the father’ patriarchy is denoted and this seems unjust for women.
- the patriachal understanding of christianity is mistaken and that a better non-sexist interpretation can be found
- 2 main concepts of her argument:
1. Jesus as a challenge to the warrior messiah expection - the maleness of this view (takes a tender-masucline approach)
2. Jesus as the incarnation of wisdom - associated with feminity.
6
Q
Ruether Point 1: Male warrior messiah expectation
the jesus they expected vs. the jesus they got
A
- When Jesus was alive, many people were expecting a military-style leader that could save them from Roman rule and oppression
- restorer, special relationship with GOD
- Jesus’ life and preaching focused on the oppressed and marginalised and he is presented as being on the side of women on a number of occasions = heals the bleeding
- This was not the norm and extremely liberal in such an Orthodox society.
- E.g. when a woman is caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11).
- she Distinguishes between Jesus as Davidic Messiah and Servant Messiah.
- Davidic Messiah is patriarchal. ‘the messiah can only be imagined as a male’
- however ruether argues that this is not the messiah that was expected - he is a servant king, focusing on serving his people rather than ruling over them
- This can be supported by John 13 where Jesus washes his disciples feet.
7
Q
Evaluation of Ruther of Jesus
A
- Daly claims that it doesn’t matter if Jesus was pro-feminist or gender-inclusive.
- It doesn’t matter if Jesus’ actions and teachings can be interpreted in that positive way – the issue with Jesus is that he is a man – having a male spiritual leader of a religion is simply too legitimating of the patriarchal association between maleness and power.
- Jesus may have died for everyone’s sins – but the idea which comes from this is that women need a male saviour.
Futher Evaluation:
* Pope John Paul II draws on this verse, arguing that overly focusing on earthly socio-economic progress is “anthropocentric”, meaning human-focused. This leads to secularization and a lack of genuine spirituality.
8
Q
Mary Daly: The maleness of God
A
- Daly argued that God being male gave people the concept that power was a male thing, not female.
- She uses terms like “the transvaluation of Christianity” to suggest that there is no need for an objective God, and in removing him, women will have more power within society.
- Daly regards this as a false spirituality because this Christian idea of the maleness of God alludes woman to be obedient/passive = all quality which are attractive in the church this to reinforces a patriarchal mindset trying to justify its having power.
- women need to go beyond religion - need to remove the old androcrntric (male centred) - as religion has SPAWNED the oppression for women - god should be casturated
- this relfects how tertullian (early chrsitian theologian) saw women as ‘the devil’s gateway’ - responsible for the fall and the reason why jesus had to die for evryone = Aquinas -nwomen are not made in thr image of God
- “If God is male, then the male is God”.
9
Q
Daly’s solution: “God” as a verb.
A
Daly claimed the concept of God needed to be castrated by referring to God as a ‘she’ but also by changing the meaning of God from a noun to a verb, so people think of God as ‘be-ing’ rather than ‘a being’, since verbs are beyond the masculine/feminine description.
10
Q
Daly: the misogynistic teachings of the Bible and Church
A
- Daly points to the sexist teachings of the Bible and Church as evidence that Christianity is irredeemably sexist.
- 1 Corinthians 14:34 “The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says”.
- Ephesians 5:22-33 ‘Wives, submit to your own husbands as you do the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the world”
- Strengths: highlights how the church tradition is outdated
11
Q
Biblical Patriachy
subjugation =bringing someone under control
A
- A key concept in feminist biblical criticsm is the idea that the bible is the man made for the purposes of subjugating women.
- The consequences is that the bible is then not the perfect word of God but written by men
- HUMES points out reason is a slave of the passion over will therefore be subconsciously drawn to ideology that their intrest.
12
Q
Ruether: Golden thread
A
- Ruether’s golden thread argument. Ruether acknowledges that the Bible is full of sexist passages (remember that this was part of Daly’s argument for it being hopelessly sexist).
- Ruether’s solution was first to point out that there are positive pro-feminist parts of the Bible. Ruether thinks Jesus was pro-feminist in his actions and teachings. He saved a women from being stoned for adultery. Jesus healed the woman who had been menstrually bleeding for 12 years – this went against the patriarchal view of the time – that women should not be touched of even enter a place of worship – they were unclean etc. Jesus told a woman called Martha to get out of the kitchen. (deviates away from Gender Traditionalism)
- the wisdom of God is described and treated as a female.
- The Greek word for wisdom is sophia - a feminine word.= Thealogy: Studying God around the goddess.
- In other words, instead of male language to talk about God, we find female language. God is ‘feminised’ rather than being seen as a man.
13
Q
Evaluation of ruetheur
A
- Reuther goes too far, making Jesus too political
- Comprises God by including ‘goddess’
- Chan : argue that we cannot rewrite christianity to give more prominence to women because it is the story itself that shapes christianity identitity =- e.g. ‘almighty father’ is engrained within catholic church prayer - we cannot downplay the maleness of God
- Christianity and feminism are incompatible
14
Q
Muelieris dignitatum (on the dignity of women) argument 2:
A
- JP2 arguing that Christianity is not sexist, there’s no issue with a male saviour saving women, Daly is wrong that it’s irredeemable, Ruether is wrong that it needs reforming.
- JP2 says the Church can’t be sexist because there are many women that it likes, respects and even canonises – like Jesus’ mother Mary (and Joan of Arc).
15
Q
Mary Critique on MUELIERIS DIGNITATUM
A
- Jesus mother mary was a rape victim – God forced her to be pregnant. Daly is saying that putting Mary on a pedestal is pushing the idea that what makes a woman good is their submissive acceptance of being the sexual property of men
- Daly accepts that Mary wasn’t raped in a physical sense – but nonetheless thinks it still pushes the idea that woman are saintly if they accept being the sexual property of men.
