gender theology

Question 1

Misogyny in St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Answer 1

“Wives, submit to your husbands.”

Question 2

Misogyny in St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

Answer 2

“I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man.”

Question 3

2 Samuel 13:1-22

Answer 3

Ammnon rapes his sister Tamar before sending her away from the house in shame.

Question 4

R. R. Ruether’s religious position.

Answer 4

Roman Catholic feminist liberation theologian.

Question 5

Feminisation of God in Isaiah 42:14.

Answer 5

“Now i will cry out like a woman in labour, i will gasp and pant.”

Question 6

Traditional Jewish definition of wisdom.

Answer 6

Source of life and knowledge.

Question 7

Wisdom in Hebrew and Greek.

Answer 7

‘Hokhamh’ and ‘Sophia’.

Question 8

King Solomon’s wisdom as his bride quotations.

Answer 8

• “a breath of the power of God.”
• “reflection of His eternal light.”
• “a spotless mirror of the working God.”

Question 9

Male version of ‘sophia’ used in reference to Jesus by John.

Answer 9

‘Logos’.

Question 10

R. R. Ruether’s idea of Jesus and God’s relationship and teachings for human relationships.

Answer 10

Jesus refers to God as ‘Abba’ and has a relationship built from trust and respect, teaching that relationships between humans should all be like this rather than with the master-slave complex historically common.

Question 11

Jesus’ quote about his relationship to the people in John 15.

Answer 11

“I do not call you servants any longer […]; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my father.”

Question 12

R. R. Ruether’s main book.

Answer 12

Sexism and God-Talk.

Question 13

Arguments for why a male saviour cannot save a woman.

Answer 13

• Christ, in his maleness, represents the perfect human; thus women can not be perfect humans without negelecting their true identity and becoming masulinized.
• The Davidic King perception of Jesus with emphasis on his masculinity results in oppression of women within the Church.

Question 14

Aquinas’ teaching on women and Jesus.

Answer 14

“Misbegotten” forms of men, thus Jesus could not have been incarnated as a “defective” woman.

Question 15

Arguments for why a male saviour can save a woman.

Answer 15

• Jesus was a Messiah figure, with feminine attributes, rather than the violent Davidic Warrior expected.
• The Holy Spirit is important in healing relationships and institutions without gender-specifications.
• Jesus called for the inclusivity of all people, showing compassion and love to everyone no matter who they are.

Question 15

Claim of the Declaration Inter Insigniores (1976).

Answer 15

A “natural resemblance” between Christ and his ministers is necessary.

Question 16

R. R. Ruether quote on Jesus and liberator.

Answer 16

“Jesus as liberator calls for a renunciation, a dissolution, of the web of status relationships by which societies have defined privilege and deprivation”

Question 17

R. R. Ruether quote on Jesus’ maleness.

Answer 17

“Theologically speaking, then, we might say that the maleness of Jesus has no ultimate significance.”

Question 18

M. Daly’s 1971 sermon specifics.

Answer 18

In the Harvard Memorial Chapel, she called for all men and women to leave the church.

Question 19

Nietzsche’s influences.

Answer 19

• Rediscovering ‘archaic’ meanings of languages.
• Transvaluation.
• The Apollonian and Dionysian.
• The lack of a God means there is no end point to being human, but it is an ongoing creative process.

Question 20

The Apollonian self.

Answer 20

The passive aspects of human nature.

Question 21

The Dionysian self.

Answer 21

The energetic and creative aspects of human nature.

Question 22

The Apollonian veil.

Answer 22

False expectations humans follow which alienate them from their Dionysian self.

Question 23

Be-ing.

Answer 23

Spiritual process in discovering nature and the true self, in replacement of the idea of a God.

Question 24

M. Daly’s criticisms of Neitzsche.

Answer 24

The male Ubermensch and label of Apollonian features as feminine shows the perpetuation of misogyny.

Question 25

M. Daly quote on Nietzsche.

Answer 25

“Nietzsche, the prophet whose prophecy was short circuted by his own misogynism.”

Question 26

M. Daly’s quote on the mission for women.

Answer 26

“Women will have to assume the burden of castrating the phallic ethic.”

Question 27

M. Daly’s feminist dictionary.

Answer 27

Websters’ First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language (1987)

Question 28

M. Daly’s idea of the new phase of history.

Answer 28

the ‘Amazon’ age in which women had revolted against oppression and lived alongside nature in same-sex relations.

Question 29

Wittgenstein quote on language.

Answer 29

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”

Question 30

Foreground.

Answer 30

World dominated by Apollonian values, with the male leader ‘snools’ sucking the life forced out of women and nature.

Question 31

Background.

Answer 31

Overshadowed by men; women living in true ‘be-ing’.

Question 32

M. Daly’s criticism of Christianity.

Answer 32

Encouraged masculine dominance over women through the encouraged worship of men and the rape of the Virgin Mary; claims the cruxifiction demonstrates male enjoyment of pain, torture and sexual dominance.

Question 33

The Most Unholy trinity.

Answer 33

The rape, genocide and war enabelled by the phallocentric power of the Church.

Question 34

Rape culture.

Answer 34

The modern culture in which the communities in power alienate, exploit and destroy the individuality of other communities.

Question 35

Similarities between R. R. Ruether and M. Daly.

Answer 35

• Calling God by female terms is not sufficient in altering the fundementally male perception of God.
• Only feminism can heal the relationship between nature and humanity.
• Feminist theology intends to transform society.
• Women play a special role in the revolting against patriachy.

Question 36

Difference between R. R. Ruether and M. Daly.

Answer 36

• Daly rejects God.
• Ruether belives Christianity can be transformed and evolved.
• Ruether doesnt involve sexuality in her belief.
• Ruether defends the idea that there is feminitity intertwined in ancient Christianity.

Question 37

Critique of Ruether.

Answer 37

• She creates a version of Jesus too political and revolutionary.
• She cherry-picks excerpts from the Bible to suit her theory.
• Using ‘Goddess’ language compromises the sovereignty of God.
• Disregards the ‘natural order’ of male and female roles in society and in family taught in Christianity.

Question 38

Critique of M. Daly.

Answer 38

• Her ideas and aims around language is unrealistic and too-specific.
• Christianity is unlikely to ever be completely rejected.
• Too exclusive, alienating women who are not white, lesbian, academic and western, as well as men as a whole.
• Dismisses those of other religions or spiritual beliefs as ‘snools’ and calls them “totally demonic”.
• Not all women find religion or relations with men to be oppressive and restrictive.
  Her ideology is too radical and irrational to be related to by the vast majority of feminists.

Question 39

Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza’s contribution.

Answer 39

Points out the female leaders of the early church, e.g. Pricilla (Acts), Apphia (Philemon) and Pheobe (Romans).

Question 40

Catharina Halkes’ contribution.

Answer 40

Jesus’ described Kingdom of Heaven requires social and spiritual transformation, so women must expand their skill of compassion into the public sphere and men must learn from this through releasing their sense of entitlement.