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gender and theology Flashcards

1
Q

what are Phyllis Trible’s 3 examples of approaches to the study of women in scripture

A
  1. textual evidence for the abuse of women
  2. re emphasis on significant women
  3. re telling the biblical stories and finding relevance for today
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2
Q

example of the first approach to study women in scripture

A

‘Amnon raped his half sister Tamar’ (2 Samuel 18)

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3
Q

3 laws in the Old Testament to suggest the bible is sexist

A
  1. men could marry more than 1 wife
  2. the women couldn’t divorce their husband
  3. if a women is found to have not been a virgin when she married then she could be put to death
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4
Q

explain the role of Eve in women in the Bible

A
  • eve is portrayed as weak and she gives in to temptation

- this has been used as evidence to show women’s vulnerability and has been used to justify patriarchy

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5
Q

4 points to suggest that Jesus wasn’t sexist

A
  • Jesus healed women as well as men
  • he forgave the women who committed adultery even though she should have been stoned to death. John 8:1-11
  • Jesus had a strong friendship with Mary and Martha (Lazarus’ sisters). Mary chose to listen to his teachings instead of doing domestic tasks. Jesus supported women who went against the expectations of women’s roles during that time
  • women followed Jesus. Suggestion that some of his disciples were female
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6
Q

quote from the bible to suggest equality between the sexes

A

‘nor is their make or female’ Galatians.

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7
Q

2 ideas from Corinthians to suggest sexism

A
  • in 1 Corinthians 11 Paul told women to cover their heads when worshipping God as an example of their subordinate status
  • In Corinthians 14 Paul says women should remain silent in church
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8
Q

what do many traditionalists believe ?

A

that God created men and women equal but different

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9
Q

what would liberals argue

A

that the bible reflects patriarchal teachings and should be rejected

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10
Q

5 arguments for why Christianity is sexist

A
  1. in the Catholic Church women are excluded from roles within the church. e.g. women cannot become the pope
  2. laws that apply to women but not to men. e.g. women cannot divorce their husband is said in the bible
  3. God is often referred to as ‘father’ which suggests male
  4. Eve was made as Adams helper. Women are the lesser sex
  5. the gender roles expected from Christian beliefs are sexist. E.g. women should stay at home and have children as this is what God wanted
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11
Q

4 arguments for why Christianity isn’t sexist

A
  1. Jesus wasn’t sexist. Helped women. Forgave the women who committed adultery. Had female followers. Close friendship with Mary and Martha
  2. sting females in the Bible. E.g. Mary mother of Christ and Esther who was willing to risk her life to save her people
  3. the women described in the bible are not always homemakers and mothers. Deborah was both judge and leader of Israel
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12
Q

What is the quote from catechism of the Catholic Church 370

A

‘In no way is God in mans image. He is neither man nor women. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes’

Suggests that god is genderless

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13
Q

What does Luke 24:9-12 suggests

A
  • ’ it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles’
  • ‘but peter got up and ran to the tomb’
  • shows that women witnessed the resurrection first but didn’t believe it. Peter takes the lead and the women would have probably believed him. Sexist
  • or peter is obeying the women as he gets up and sees what the women have said
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14
Q

What does Acts 16:13-15 suggest

A
  • ‘the women who had gathered there’
  • ‘a certain women named lydia’
  • ‘the lord opened her heart to listen eagerly’
  • ‘if you have judged me to be faithful to the lord, come and stay at my home’
  • suggest women followers
  • god relates to women
  • Lydia had proved herself to be worthy
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15
Q

What is Hildegard’s interpretation of the second genesis creation account

A
  • ’ woman is this the work of man’
  • ’ God therefore gave him such a helper in the form of his mirror image ‘
  • ‘the man and the woman were thus complementary ‘
  • equality between the sexes.
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16
Q

the Hewbrew scripture views the Messiah as what?

A
  • Gods chosen one
  • the Messiah is a warrior who liberates people from their enemies
  • Represents Gods people
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17
Q

what does Ruether ague about the male warrior expectation

A
  • that Jesus wasn’t the traditional warrior Messiah that was expected
  • Jesus helped his people instead of ruling over them
  • She argues that the idea of a Messiah should represent a self sacrificing servant who has wisdom.
  • Christianity shouldn’t mix the maleness of Jesus with the military messiah into the Christian concept of messiah as this displaced the female concept of God
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18
Q

explain ‘Sophia’ and Reuthers interpretation of it

A
  • ‘Sophia’ is Greek for ‘Wisom’ and it was also associated with the female form of goodness.
  • Reuther argues the early Christians refer to ‘sophia’ as divine wisdom and in scripture it was referred to in female terms
  • however, Christianity has merged the notion of divine wisdom into the idea of a messiah King. In doing so, the idea of remake wisdoms has become replaced with the patriarchal view of Jesus
  • Reuther is trying to recover the concept of God
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19
Q

explain ‘logos’

A
  • used to define the presence of God which has become incarnate in Jesus
  • the image of God in humanity and the logos of God were interrelated in androcentric definition.
  • these definitions re enforced the assumption that God was male and that Christ must therefore be male in order to reveal the male God
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20
Q

what is a justification for re interpreting and re imaging God

A

-the biblical images of God are culturally dependent

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21
Q

explain the hermeneutic of suspicion

A
  • used to challenge previous interpretations of a text by considering who interpreted it and why they might of interpreted it that way
  • this enabled feminist theologians to reject traditional patriarchal understandings of the text without rejecting the Bible itself
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22
Q

explain Mary Daly idea on re imaging language about God

A
  • if we think of God in male terms then that affects how we view the relationship between man and women
  • we think of men as more God like, as being normative for what it means to be human. Women then become other and different
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23
Q

For Ruether, Jesus’s maleness was…

A

accidental

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24
Q

give an example of female imagery used to describe God

A

-gods love has been compared to that of a mother

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25
Q

two reasons why Daly would say that Christianity is sexist ?

A
  • in Christian spiritual moments men are always involved. e.g. a make priest at a female baptism
  • Christianity was anti-women due to its misogynistic teachings
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26
Q

three ways to argue why Daly thinks Christianity should be abandoned

A
  • we should abandon the maleness of God and replace it with quintessence
  • she thinks Christianity is one of the ways men use to control women
  • Daly believes that Christian theology and ethics are enriched with patriarchy so it should be rejected or completely transformed
  • it patriarchy is part of the unholy trinity
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27
Q

2 reasons why Daly would argue that a male savour cannot save women

A
  • she believed that the virgin birth and incarnate Jesus represses and attacks women
  • she thinks that maleness of Christ is a problem
28
Q

7 background points on Mary Daly teachings

A
  • criticised the Roman Catholic Church at is oppressed women
  • she used misogynistic teachings from the bible to show that Christianity was anti women
  • she’s finds Jesus’ maleness problematic
  • she feels that women have been wiped out of history
  • believed that the Virginia birth and the incarnate Jesus represses and attacks women
  • she suggested that Mary the mother of Christ was exploited and she was merely the means by which a male achieved his goal
  • she thought that charts unjustly was one of the ways men use to control women
29
Q

strength of Daly’s ideas

A
  • she outline the patriarchal oppression of women in various cultures around the world to demonstrate that this is a universal problem
  • evidence
30
Q

4 points of why Reuther would say Christianity is sexist

A
  • today it is sexist as in the Roman Catholic Church women can’t be priests
  • Christianity has replaced the word ‘sophia’ with ‘logos’
  • the Christian concept of messiah is sexist as it displaces the female form of the concept of god
  • Christianity in itself isn’t sexist but it’s traditions and teachings are. Culturally determined
31
Q

3 ways that Reuther would argue Christianity isn’t sexist

A
  • the early Jesus movement was a community of equals
  • Christianity never use to be sexist, Jesus wasn’t sexist
  • divine wisdoms is linked to Christ and it is refers to in female terms
32
Q

3 arguments from Reuther to suggest that Christianity should be changed

A
  • it should go back to the early Jesus movement which wasn’t sexist. Christianity has changed
  • Reuther would argue that it should be changed and incorporate more female associations with christs. E.g. Using ‘Sophia’ and ‘logos’
  • however, feminists shouldn’t abandon Christianity but you should look at it in a different light
  • christianity should repent and return to the full idea of God the creator
33
Q

Quote from Rosemary Radford Reuther

A

‘Feminism, cannot reject all of dominant Christianity as unstable for women’ but ‘can rediscover its meaning in a radically new way’

34
Q

strength of Reuther

A

her theology is inclusive (of gender, religion) which is most clearly expressed in Christ, the spirit underlines all expressions of nature and society

35
Q

many criticise Reuther:

A
  • for making Jesus appear to be revolutionary
  • be being selective about which biblical texts and movements outside mainstream Christianity she uses
  • the unit of the monotheistic God could be undermined by her use of goddess language and other religions
  • many Catholics argue that ruether disregards the natural order of creation and that women and men are created equal but different
36
Q

define daly’s word ‘be-ing’

A

replaces ‘God’. it is a spiritual process that unites women with God

37
Q

What is the Hebrew scripture view of ‘messiah’

A
  • as gods chosen one
  • a warrior who liberates people from their enemies
  • patriarchal
38
Q

What is Ruether’s view of ‘messiah’

A
  • Jesus wasn’t the traditional warrior messiah that was expected
  • Jesus helped his people instead of ruling over them
  • the idea is messiah should represent a self sacrificing servant who has wisdom
  • Christianity shouldn’t mix the maleness of Jesus with the military messiah into the Christian concept of messiah as this displaces the female concept of god
39
Q

What does ‘Sophia’ mean

A
  • it is Greek for ‘wisdom’
  • associated with the female form of goddess
  • Reuther argues that the early Christians refer to ‘Sophia’ as divine wisdom and it scripture it was referred to in female terms
40
Q

What does logos mean ?

A
  • used to define the presence of god which has become incarnate in Jesus
  • the image of God in humanity and the logos of god were interrelated into androcentric definitions which reflexes the assumption that god was male so Christ should be male
  • logos was replaced with Sophia. Reuther didn’t think this should have happened
41
Q

4 points on Jesus and women in the New Testament

A
  • Jesus broke many socials conventions. In John 4 (talking to the Samaritan women at the well) and Mary sat at jesus’s feet like a disciple instead of doing chores
  • women were the lowest of the oppressed. Link to the sorry of the women bleeding
  • jesus’ treatment of women was counter cultural
  • Reuther argues that Jesus primates an egalitarian community and since then something has gone wrong
42
Q

what does Daly’s word ‘phallic mentality’ mean?

A

the promotion of male values, which use violence to gain power

43
Q

define Daly’s term ‘thealogy’

A

reflection on the divine as feminine and using feminine terminology; usually associated with the goddess

44
Q

4 points from Daly on spirituality experienced through nature

A
  • traditional holy places are not suitable for places of spirituality as they are run by men
  • ‘Quintessence’ is used to describe the being we live, love and create. It is the highest essence but can be damaged by poverty, violence and porn but it can be rediscovered in nature. Spirituality is found in nature
  • we should abandon the maleness of Christ and the male run holy places and instead turn to quintessence
  • in Christina spiritual moments, males are always involved. E.g. a male priest during a female baptism
45
Q

5 points from Daly on if God is male than male is God

A
  • if God is male than the male race will see themselves as the better sex
  • society sees man as the norm
  • Aquinas suggested women were ‘misbegotten males’
  • Martin Luther suggested that God created Adam Lord of all, but Eve spoiled this
  • Bonhoeffer through that women should be subject to their husband
  • Christianity is the oppression and abuse of women
46
Q

what is Daly’s ‘unholy trinity’ made up of

A

rape, genocide and war

47
Q

4 points on rape from Daly

A
  • ‘rape’ is the culture of rape which symbolises violent oppression. Society is built on rape
  • the leaders of society use culture, religion, politics, the professions and the media to erase female power
  • there is a connection between the mentality of rape and the phenomenon of war
  • rape isn’t just men who literally commit the act but she also describe it as ‘arm chair rapists’ - those who enjoy stories of rape through prom, who metaphorically rape women by looking at porn, using it to enchanted their sense of power over women.
48
Q

4 points from Daly on genocide

A
  • genocide is the extension of rape to the level of society e.g. in war
  • male sexual violence forms the basis of military interests
  • Daly accuses the Catholic Church of genocide as abortion is not allowed for raped women
  • genomic de isn’t just about killing people but also how you are treating people as an ‘other’ to be in control of them
49
Q

3 points from Daly on war

A
  • war was an inevitable result of the male dominated politics.
  • the language of violence is hidden by technical language e.g. ‘collateral damage’
  • men justify war as it is ‘just’ but they think that killing a baby in an abortion is ‘unjust’
50
Q

Daly’s conclusion

A

the entire system of Christian ethics and theology are so enriched in patriarchy that it must be rejected of come,eyed transformed

51
Q

Daly’s argument for can only women develop a genuine spirituality

A
  • the maleness of Christianity makes spirituality impossible for women. E.g. Christian spiritual moments are always run by men holy places and run by men
  • men face issues of contraption and power and so can never attain true spirituality. Women should invent a new spirituality based on nature
52
Q

Dalys argument for can a male saviour save women

A
  • the incarnate Jesus represses and attacks women so no
  • the crucifixion of Jesus is males enjoying pain and torture
  • the maleness of Christ is a problem
53
Q

Ruethers arguments for can a male saviour save women

A
  • yes, Jesus saved women

- however traditional view of Jesus as messiah cannot save women

54
Q

Reuther’s argument for can only women develop a genuine spirituality

A

The changes needed for spirituality should be led by women but men can work alongside to bring it about

55
Q

Reuther’s argument for should Christians use female words for gods

A
  • gender language should be a symbol
  • just adding a female image on top of a male one is not enough
  • both female and male teens are useful to give a full understanding of God
  • we should focus on changing and making. Christians should be working towards new possibilities. Praxis
56
Q

Daly’s argument for should Christians use female words for god

A

There should be no gender terms used- God cannot be understood using gender language

57
Q

What is the problem with using traditional masculine words for god such as ‘he’ and ‘father’

A

It suggests that males are closer to God

To overcome this some theologians use male pronouns for gods transcendence and female ones for gods immanence

58
Q

What does chan argue against daily

A
  • he suggests that using male language for god doesn’t create masculine qualities
  • e.g. In Isaiah 54:5-7 it refers to god in masculine terms but with the characteristics of ‘deep compassion’ which isn’t typically a masculine characteristic.
  • shows that using male language doesn’t necessarily mean male characteristics
59
Q

Three problems of daly

A
  • she is criticising Christianity for being androcentric and sexist towards women but her views are sexist towards men. No place for men in her theology. E.g. She states that war is a result of male dominated politics
  • she didn’t acknowledge the context and culture of the time when the biblical passages were written. The androcentric teachings may not apply to today’s culture
  • selective with her texts
60
Q

Two strengths of daly

A
  • she gives a radical insight into the flaws of human relationships and society
  • helpful in re envisioning the Christian view of humanity’s relationship with god and nature
61
Q

How does Fiorenza criticise daly

A

-she argues that biblical texts challenge social patriarchal norms. Jesus breaks sexist social custom. E.g the women and the well story

62
Q

4 similarities between Reuther and daly

A
  • both disagree with patriarchy teachings of Christianity
  • should be more feminine characteristics in Jesus. D thinks that jesus’ nakedness is a problem. R disagrees with messiah idea
  • calling god ‘goddess’ isn’t enough. Adding a feminine pronoun doesn’t alter the patriarchal concept of the divine
  • ecology - patriarchy brings with it hierarchy over nature, which they challenge. We use nature
63
Q

3 differences between Ruether and Daly

A
  • Daly thinks that Christianity should be abandoned whereas Ruether thinks it should just be altered
  • Daly is far more radical in her beliefs but Ruether is more liberal and inclusive of all genders
  • Daly thinks we shouldn’t use gender names for God
64
Q

Explain Reuther and Daly’s opposing views on the church

A

R= the church has misrepresented god through patriarchy

D= the church should be rejected as it’s patriarchy is part of the unholy trinity

65
Q

Explain Reuther and Daly’s opposing views on who is god ?

A

R= god is a being that can be called spirit or wisdom. Both female and male terms are useful to give a full understanding of god

D= pre-god there was nature. There should be no gender terms used. Replace with ‘be-big’

66
Q

Explain Reuther and Daly’s opposing views on God/Goddess

A

R = Goddess is an ancient idea that was originally in Christianity

D = women should invent a new kind of spirituality based on nature (‘goddess’ becomes a living, dynamic verb instead of a nun)

67
Q

Explain Reuther and Daly’s opposing views of separatism

A

R = the changes needed for spirituality should be lead by women but men can work alongside to bring it about.

D = men face issues of corruption and power and so can never attain true spirituality. Only women can transform the world

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