Gender and Theology A02 Flashcards
1
Q
Christianity IS essentially sexist
A
- unlike other religions of the time depicting God as male/female - Christians of the early Church referred to God in mainly male terms
- Letter from Paul in Corinthians - “woman made from man and created for man”
- Hampson - Christianity and feminism incompatible
- God can’t be revealed to people in the particular male form of Jesus God must reach out to all people at all times
- better to discard morally sexist myths than reinterpret them in light of feminism
- better to interpret the love of God in ways that do not carry the sexism found in the Christian story with its male Messiah, apostles and male dominated Church
- Christianity fails to deliver an equality between the sexist
2
Q
Christianity IS NOT essentially sexist
A
- some argue your perspective depends on how you interpret the Bible
- Paul also wrote there is neither “male and female, for you are all one in Christ”
- Fiorenza thinks Christians read the Bible through different lenses
- Fiorenza notes Daly/Hampson have developed a criticism of both the male dominated interpretation of the Bible and the Bible itself
- but women need to understand how the Bible supports women’s struggle against patriarchal and biblical sexism
- sexist attitude shapes interpretation of the Bible
- the Bible can inspire anti-sexist attitudes
- Jesus breaks sexist customs e.g. like touching women
- a feminist theologian need not reject the tradition but work to better understand the Christian message free from sexism
3
Q
what are the different lenses Fiorenza argues Christians read the Bible through in her argument that Christianity is not essentially sexist just has different interpretations
A
- Bible is divine revelation of timeless truth - if scripture is read in this way then it does seem to be sexist
- historical framework to understand the actual facts - read the sexism in its historical context
- Bible as divine revelation and historical framework - reflects aspect of the sexist culture of the time, but also contains moral messages that challenge the sexism of the time
- give the process of interpreting the Bible from those in power to the traditionally silenced to liberate it allowing different people with different voices to make sense of the Bible not just male members of clergy or male theologians
4
Q
A male saviour CAN save women
A
- Christ’s crucifixion/descent to hell was to ensure ALL could be saved
- Church fathers concluded Jesus was really human not partly and so in theological terms female salvation is assured
- more important God became human than whether he was male or female
- Fiorenza - women in patriarchal societies can take strength from depictions of Jesus engaging with women
- Jesus offers a vision of salvation for women today enslaved by patriarchy
- his voice against the patriarchy more powerful because he is a man
- figure of prophecy promoting to make the world more just
5
Q
A male saviour CANNOT save women
A
- some early Church fathers debated whether the ‘all’ included women in salvation as women as descendants of Eve believed to be guilty of her sin and thus could not be saved
- to get around the problem that the sin of Eve was responsible for the Messiah coming suggests that at the resurrection the women would be half male half angel
- jesus was male not female
- Daly - Jesus is not a figure of salvation for women but a figure of male domination and enslavement - idea of a male saviour is one more legitimisation of male superiority
6
Q
The Christian God CAN be presented in female terms
A
- Catholics in 20th century emphasise traditional doctrine God is neither male nor female
- “God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes” (Catechism)
- Bible passages support such conclusions like Psalm 131:2-3 or Isiah 66:13
- people too literal when they make sense of biblical language
- God the father is not a male father in the sense that a human father is a male parent
- Trible - we can depatriarchalize readings of the Bible
- Christian tradition uses the feminine to describe God in the OT more than is thought
- Numbers 11:12 e.g. God depicted as a mother and nurse
- Bible has been misinterpreted in a patriarchal way
- female qualities referred to as well as male
7
Q
The Christian God CANNOT be presented in female terms
A
- the vast majority of depictions are male
- Ruether - “male monotheism has been so taken for granted in Christian culture that the peculiarity of imagining God solely through one gender has not been recognised”
- depictions of crucified Jesus as a women cause controversy
8
Q
what three figures is the place of women in Christianity arguably defined by
A
- the seducing temptress, Eve
- the penitent prostitute, Mary Magdalene
- the virgin mother, Mary
9
Q
what does Eve often represent about women in Christianity
A
- artists often given the face of Eve to the serpent responsible for the sinful temptation of Adam
- suggesting perhaps that not only was the serpent female but that women are responsible for tempting men away from their true path
- inference that female sexuality is part of the source of the sin that came into the world at the Fall
10
Q
how are women depicted in the NT
A
- as needing to turn away from their sexual desires and become penitent prostitutes
- the Virgin Mother is upheld as an impossible inspiration for earthly women
11
Q
discuss how patriarchy is present in the Church
A
- in some Churches women are prohibited from entering the area around the alter - stems from ancient belief that women are unclean when on their period
- some Churches insist on exclusively male priesthood
- men seem closer to God than women because the male authority figures have encouraged the domination of the concepts of a male God and male Messiah
- perhaps therefore Daly’s account that Christianity is irretrievably patriarchal and must be abandoned is correct
12
Q
what does Ruther argue in comparison to Daly
A
- that Christianity is not intrinsically patriarchal an that it can/should be changed
- identified alternatives to the androcentric view of Christianity in its origins where divine wisdom is female and in the practices of some mystical traditions that have maintained conceptions of God that include the female
- Jesus did not embody the patriarchal culture of the time in which he lived
- first people to see him rise where women
13
Q
what is the patriarchization of Christology that there has been for Ruether
A
- due in part to the establishment of Christian Church as the imperial religion of the Roman Empire but can be undone
- some Churches are working to breakaway from the dominant patriarchal ideology
- CofE ordains female priests now e.g.
- change is possible
- we need theologies that link Christ and the spirit (Spirit Christology’s) which see the prophetic spirit of Jesus as continually present in the community/revealed through the prophetic words of men and women of every age
14
Q
what are Daly and other post-Christian theologians like
A
- free from the authorities of Christianity
- they create new symbols/traditions based on their perceptions of ultimate reality
- it remains to be seen whether what they offer will develop into long-lasting spiritual/religious traditions that are both sustainable and free from patriarchy
15
Q
what can you CA the CofE’s ordaining of female priests with
A
- Catholicism and conservative evangelical forms of Christianity continue to hold steadfast to the centrality of male ministries and can show reluctance to using female language for God
