Gender and theology Flashcards
What was the aim of Ruether’s feminism?
She wanted feminism to move the patriarchy away from Christianity.
The focus for Christian should be God not male leaders.
What were Ruether’s beliefs about God?
God is genderless and therefore cannot be established as a man. To turn God into a man is a form of adultery that serves the interests of men.
In the Old Testament, ‘Yahweh’ is the name for God and it means ‘no name’.
Ruether emphasised immanence - God as being with all things.
What does ‘Yahweh mean in the Old Testament?
‘No name’ - this is used to refer to God, showing he should be genderless.
What did the Hebrew scriptures view the Messiah as ?
Future king in a new kingdom
Son of David
Conqueror warrior
Liberator of people from their enemies
The messiah is both chosen by God (Son of God) and is representative of his people before God (Son of Man)
What does Ruether state about the messiah in ‘Sexism and God talk’?
‘The messiah can only be imagined as a male’
As a result of the Davidic messiah
What does Ruether opposingly think about the messiah?
Jesus the servant king is not the traditional warrior messiah.
‘He is expected to win, not suffer and die’
What does Ruether believe that Jesus was?
A servant king - served not ruled
Attended to the poor rather than those who are highest in the social order.
Warned his disciples of lording over others
People are freed not through military bravery but by following the servant king.
What does Ruether believe about the messiah and wisdom?
She believed that the messiah was a self-sacrificing, redeeming servant that likened to the female notion of wisdom.
What should Christianity not do to the Christian concept of the messiah?
Christianity should not bundle the maleness of the historical Jesus and the maleness of the Davidic messiah into the Christian concept of the messiah.
What happens if Christians bundle the maleness of the historical Jesus and the maleness of the Davidic messiah into the Christian concept of the messiah?
The female is displaced from the concept of God.
What is Sophia?
Wisdom that is personified in the female form.
In scripture, divine wisdom is referred to in female terms.
God is associated with wisdom.
What has Christianity merged the notion of divine wisdom with?
The notion of the messianic king.
In the process, the idea of female wisdom has become obscured behind a patriarchal veil of the male messiah.
For Ruether, what is divine wisdom closely linked to?
Jesus
This means that the messiah is not simply a male version of God but also the incarnation of wisdom.
What does Ruether refer to God as?
‘Gaia’ - ancient Greek for goddess of the earth.
What does Ruether seek to recount and what does she believe this will produce?
A full account of human nature and a fuller picture of the divine by balancing male and female.
This will produce a truer reflection of imago dei.
