Lesson 5

Question 1

1920

Answer 1

1920 Lambeth Conference: First attempt to discuss female ordination (FO) – was ruled out

Question 2

1944

Answer 2

1944 Florence Li Tim-Oi temporarily ordained in China because of a shortage of men during WW2

Question 3

1971

Answer 3

1971 Florence Li Tim-Oi officially recognised again as priest when 2 other women ordained by Synod of Hong Kong and Macao

Question 4

1975

Answer 4

1975 The Church of England determined that there were no ‘fundamental objections’ to FO

Question 5

1978

Answer 5

1978
-The General Synod (governing body of the CofE comprising of 3 houses: the House of Bishops, Laity and Clergy) discussed barriers to FO being removed in Church law; motion blocked by House of Clergy - believed the CofE did not have the authority to overturn the tradition of male-only ordination in the Apostolic Succession.

-Some believed it would damage the relationship between the CofE and the RC Church (because RC oppose FO). Others took a conservative view of Bible readings, e.g. ‘Women should remain silent in the churches’

Question 6

1981

Answer 6

1981 The General Synod agreed to female deacons. This was passed in 1985 and the first female deacons ordained in 1987, but they could not progress to the priesthood like men

Question 7

1988

Answer 7

1988 Within the Anglican Communion, Barbara Harris elected suffragan (assistant) bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, USA. Consecrated in 1989

Question 8

1992

Answer 8

1992 Female ordination to the priesthood finally agreed by all 3 houses of the Synod

Question 9

Key dates

Answer 9

-On the 12th March 1994, the first 32 women were ordained as priests in the Church of England.

-In the Church of England controversy continued as its first female bishop, Libby Lane was consecrated in 2015.

Question 10

Church of England

Answer 10

-The Church of England as a whole may have accepted the ordination of women as priests and the consecration of women as bishops, but many individual Christians and congregations, including some priests and bishops, continue to oppose the ordination of women.

-The Church of England makes allowances for people who feel this way by providing ‘alternative episcopal oversight’.

-This means that parishes which reject the ordination of women are put under the authority of a Bishop who shares their view, in addition to the Bishop of their own diocese.

Question 11

Case study 1

Answer 11

-However, as the number of women priests in the Church of England has risen, the position of Bishops who oppose the ordination of women has become the subject of criticism.

-In 2017, it was announced that the suffragan Bishop of Burnley, Philip North, was to be the next Bishop of the diocese of Sheffield.

-As a diocesan bishop, he would have been responsible for all the parishes and clergy in the Sheffield diocese, including many female priests and parishes which welcome the ministry of women.

-Following criticism from within and outside the diocese, North withdrew his acceptance of the post.

Question 12

Case study 2

Answer 12

-At the same time, those who take a conservative view and reject the ordination of women have sometimes found themselves unable to continue to accept the authority of the Church, and a number of churches have refused to accept any oversight at all from a diocesan bishop who ordains women.

-At its most extreme, this has led to parishes separating themselves from the Church of England by asking conservative bishops from other countries to provide oversight.

-In 2017, the parish of Jesmond invited a bishop from a conservative Church in South Africa to consecrate their curate, Jonathan Pryke, as a bishop, totally rejecting the authority of their diocesan Bishop of Durham.

Question 13

Feminist Theology

Answer 13

-Began in the late 19th century, but really 1950s-onward - against the background of the women’s movement.

-Although its arguments reach back into the history of the Church and the place of women in religion generally, feminist theology can also be seen as part of a wider cultural phenomenon, in which women affirm both their distinctiveness and their rights within society.

-Feminist theologians argue that Christian theology is patriarchal and oppresses women. Christian feminist theologians therefore seek to counter patriarchal structures within the Church, and to emphasise the place and value of women.

Question 14

There are 3 different strands of feminist theology with regard to Christianity

Answer 14

-A liberal strand

-A biblical strand

-A radical strand

Question 15

Liberal Strand

Answer 15

presents the patriarchal system as illogical, denying women the fundamental right to equality with men.

Question 16

Biblical strand

Answer 16

looks at the idea of God as loving and caring – qualities associated with women. It also points to the importance of women within the life /teaching of Jesus.

Question 17

Radical strand

Answer 17

that has moved beyond Christianity, which seeks to find ways to speak of God, which will be gender inclusive

Question 18

DAPHNE HAMPSON (1944- )

Answer 18

-Hampson is not a Christian and rejects Christianity (although she identifies as a spiritual person, not an atheist)

-she takes the position of a post-Christian theologian, as in after/post-Christian, yet acknowledging the Christian tradition from which Theology stems

-Taught at St Andrews University; is an associate of the Faculty of Theology & Religion, Oxford University

Question 19

Daphne Hampson - beliefs about Christianity

Answer 19

-Daphne Hampson rejects Christianity.

-Since the 18th century Enlightenment, belief in Jesus being resurrected or having a unique relationship with God doesn’t make sense and isn’t possible.

-The Christian myth can no longer be accepted, People should take on responsibility for themselves rather than looking to a historical revelation or transcendent God

Question 20

Daphne Hampson - main beliefs

Answer 20

-Christianity is a historical religion – it looks to a past revelation to a particular people at a particular time in history, to the male dominated society of 1st century Palestine.

-God preferred to choose the male form in which to do this (Jesus). As it is still authoritative in the here and now, the ‘patriarchal baggage’ of that time is brought into the present and still affects people now at a subconscious level

-This gives patriarchal society a divine seal of approval, appearing to suggest that God supports patriarchy. The Bible is also androcentric, male centred

-Christianity is, by its very nature, patriarchal and therefore harmful to human equality, immoral. Christianity is irredeemably sexist, positing the male as the norm/preferred and the woman as secondary, different and ‘other’. In this regard, Christianity is fascist

-Therefore, feminism and Christianity are not compatible, but are a contradiction. Christianity to a feminist is uncomfortable like a fishbone caught in the throat

Question 21

ROSEMARY RADFORD RUETHER

Answer 21

-Feminist, liberation theologian, Roman Catholic.

-Focuses on message of Christianity as one of liberation (from social concerns, oppression etc.).

-Takes the position that Christianity can be re-stated in feminist terms (a theology written by women for women). Worked in various American universities and theological schools

Question 22

Rosemary - beliefs about Christianity

Answer 22

-Believes that past events, present experiences and future hopes all contribute to an understanding of Christianity

-Jesus was a proclaimer of liberation in his own time; there is a parallel between Jesus’ teaching and feminist critiques of society today.

-Jesus sided with the oppressed/outcasts of society, e.g. women. He was critical of oppressive authority, struggling to help others

-Jesus’ ability to speak as a liberator doesn’t reside in his maleness, but in renouncing a system of domination. The maleness of Jesus isn’t important, but his liberative praxis and redemptive message are

Question 23

Rosemary - main beliefs

Answer 23

-Gospels are ‘remarkably compatible with feminism’ – Jesus’ interactions with women reveal God as counter/anti-sexism

-Ruether sees Jesus as exemplifying both female traits (caring, healing, forgiving) and male (power, authority).

-In this sense, Jesus embodies both male and female aspects of human nature – is ‘androgynous’

-In some ways, the female nature is more Christlike – it is his qualities of caring, healing, forgiving (etc) that make Jesus different from other leaders in history

-Argues that Christianity today is in a process of recognising the female qualities of God as well as the male; through the work of the Holy Spirit, Christianity can become a religion of emancipation from patriarchy.

-Doesn’t claim that this was its original context, but argues that when Gospels are interpreted today in the context of women’s experience, they can be helpful in developing a feminist culture of emancipation

Question 24

Problem faced by homosexuals

Answer 24

-Much of the problem faced by homosexuals within the Christian Churches stems from biblical texts that appear to condemn homosexual activity.

-The big question to struggle with here is whether to start with key ideas about Jesus’ attitude towards others, and then evaluate other biblical texts on that basis, or whether to try and understand the biblical in its original context without interpretation

Question 25

Problem of interpretation

Answer 25

The problem of all such interpretation, however, is that as soon as people try to interpret the text, they bring to it their own assumptions an pe the way they experience themselves as physical beings with sexual natures and a capacity for intimate relationships.

Question 26

Legalisation of homosexuality

Answer 26

-The legalisation of homosexuality was soon followed by the formation of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement in the UK in 1961.

-Within the Churches, the key theme has been whether or not, and how, to recognise and celebrate diversity and difference.

-This task may be hampered by the different ways of interpreting biblical texts.

-Some texts have been interpreted by the LGBT community to illustrate positive aspects of their experience, for example the relationship of David and Jonathan, or Ruth and Naomi, or the Song of Songs in the Old Testament.

-Others create real problems if taken at face value.

Question 27

Old tests,ent passages

Answer 27

-The idea of God as Creator is a recurrent one in the Bible (and the Genesis creation stories in particular).

-Some have seen it as an affirmation that God has made homosexual men and women, bisexual and transgender people just as they are.

-This means they should be fully accepted by those who have been made differently.

Question 28

OT texts opposing homosexuality

Answer 28

Leviticus 18:22 - ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable’

Leviticus 20:13 - ‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

Question 29

New Testament texts

Answer 29

Corinthians 6:9-10:

-‘Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy will inherit the kingdom of God.’

-point made by some Bible interpreters is that almost everyone will find themselves on such a list to some degree - all are equally in need of forgiveness.

-There is some dispute between Bible scholars about the exact meaning of some of the Greek terms in this list, and it isn’t clear whether it refers to different kinds of male prostitute, or to homosexual men in general.

Question 30

New Testament - Romans

Answer 30

-Romans 1:26-28: Having pointed out that people have rejected the truth of God as visible in nature, and have practised idolatry,

-Paul says: ‘Because of this. God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.’

Question 31

Transgender Issues - Bible

Answer 31

-The Bible has nothing to say specifically about transgender people.

-The possibility of sex-change surgery was not available, and in first-century Palestine, with its small traditional communities, it would have been impossible for a man to live as a woman, or vice versa.

-So although there is nothing in the Bible that condemns transgender living, there is nothing specific that supports it either.

Question 32

Arguments against changes of gender

Answer 32

-If all people are created by God, it could be argued that God, who does not make mistakes, gave transgender people their body, and so they should be content with the gender God gave them.

-Early Church was strongly opposed to surgery which tampered with sex identity. Eunuchs (men who had been castrated) were not permitted to be ordained as priests. Church historian Eusebius reports that the theologian Origen castrated himself following a rather too literal reading of Matthew 19:12, and as a result Origen’s ordination was declared invalid.

-Those who believe it is wrong to change gender argue that all the passages which relate to homosexuality also apply to those who change their gender, since a surgical gender transition cannot change the sexual nature that a person is born with.

-If a transgender female sleeps with a man, it is the same as if two men engage in a homosexual act, and is therefore condemned.

Question 33

Arguments for changes of gender

Answer 33

-first creation story says that when God created humankind ‘in the image of God he created them; male and female, he created them’

-This passage can be interpreted to mean that God’s nature, and by extension the nature of all humankind created in God’s image, contains both male and female. If this is the case, changing gender is merely a case of emphasising one aspect of God’s image over another.

-Paul says ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28).

-Paul seems to be saying that for Christians, gender identity has no importance, and if that is the case, changing one’s gender is of no significance in terms of salvation.

Alternatively, a transgender person could claim that God created them as a whole, with the nature of one gender and the body of another, giving them the responsibility of choice about how to live their life.

Question 34

Apocryphal gospel of Thomas - for transgender

Answer 34

-one passage in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas which appears to encourage a change of gender:

-Simon Peter said to them: ‘Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life.
Jesus said: ‘Look, I will draw her in so as to make her male, so that she too may become a living male spirit, similar to you. (But I say to you): Every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven’.

-However, this passage is a problem in terms of gender equality, since it seems to suggest that only men can enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Question 35

Key questions for interpreting these biblical texts:

Answer 35

1 Do the views expressed reflect the moral and social situation of a particular time and place, or do they apply to everyone and for all time?
2 If they reflect the moral and social situation of a particular time and place, who determines what interpretation is appropriate today?
3 If they apply to everyone for all time, how should the Church treat LGBT people?

Question 36

Pragmatic approach - Christian

Answer 36

For many years, it was acknowledged that many of those ordained to the Church of England priesthood were homosexual

-but it was judged that, provided their homosexual activity was contained within stable relationships and did not interfere with their pastoral ministry, the qualities displayed by the male homosexuals, in terms of sensitivity and acceptance of people in need, made them particularly good pastors.

-This was a pragmatic approach. It became more problematic with the ordination of those who were openly gay or lesbian.

-At that point a decision had to be taken about what was expected of such ordinands. The general view was that gay or lesbian candidates could be ordained, but would be required to remain celibate. Homosexual Christians argue that this goes against their personal integrity.

Question 37

Anglican community - homosexual priests

Answer 37

-Within the Anglican Communion, the first openly gay priest to be consecrated bishop was Gene Robinson, who became bishop of New Hampshire, in the USA, in 2004.

-The first lesbian woman to be consecrated bishop was Mary Glasspool, who became a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles in the USA in 2010.

-However, some Churches in the Anglican Communion, including the Anglican Church of Australia and most African and Eastern Anglican Churches, continue to forbid the ordination of homosexuals to the priesthood.

-The issue is so heated that it threatens to split the Anglican Communion.

Question 38

Church of England

Answer 38

-The general principle in the Church of England is that openly homosexual people may be ordained, provided that they are and intend to remain within a stable relationship and engage though acknowledging homosexual feelings - they do not actually engage in homosexual sexual acts.

-In 2005, after a long period of discussion and consultation, the General Synod of the Church of England agreed that people in same-sex civil partnerships could be ordained to the priesthood provided that they remain celibate.

-This was extended to bishops in 2013

Question 39

From the time of early church- two options

Answer 39

-From the time of the Early Church, there were only two acceptable life options: celibacy or marriage.

-At first, it was thought that the Kingdom of God would arrive in the near future, and therefore there was no need for families or care for the next generation.

-St Paul suggests that marriage is something of a concession to those who cannot remain celibate (1 Corinthians 7:9).

-However, by the time of the letter to Timothy, it is clear that being married and taking care of a family shows that person to be suitable to lead the local Christian congregation.

Question 40

Marriage as a sacrament

Answer 40

-Within the Church, marriage became a sacrament, a special means of receiving God’s grace.

-Promoting family life showed links with the Jewish communities from which many early Christians came, and was a contrast to more liberal views of sexuality and relationships in Graeco-Roman society at the time.

Question 41

Marriage as inferior

Answer 41

-Within the Catholic tradition, marriage remained a sacrament, and raising a Christian family a vocation, but it was also seen as inferior to the vocation to a celibate life.

-In the West, from the fourth century, priests, monks and nuns were required to be celibate, but the Eastern Churches expected most parish priests to marry, and only those who hoped to become bishops remained celibate

Question 42

What happened within the reformation

Answer 42

-With the Reformation, the balance shifted against celibacy, and in favour of marriage.

-A family was seen as God’s blessing upon the union of husband and wife.

-For the Protestant reformers, marriage was not a sacrament, but a ‘worldly thing that belongs to the realm of government’ (Luther).

Question 43

Roman Catholic beliefs about marriage

Answer 43

-Roman Catholic teaching focuses on the sacramental nature of marriage:

-it is a physical act which causes a profound change to the souls of the people involved.

-Since the two individuals become ‘one flesh’ in marriage, divorce is not possible.

-If a couple are unhappy, they may live apart, but neither partner is allowed to re-marry because their marriage cannot be dissolved in the eyes of God and the Church.

-Divorcees cannot re-marry in church, and if they re-marry, they are excluded from Holy Communion because they are considered to be living a life of sin.

-In certain circumstances, a marriage may be annulled if the church authorities have evidence that the marriage was not properly sacramental from the start, for example if one of the partners never intended to have children.

-People whose marriage has been annulled may re-marry because the Church considers that their first marriage was not a real one.

Question 44

Protestant Church- marriage

Answer 44

-Protestant Churches in general do not see marriage as a sacrament.

-This means that a marriage can be dissolved, although most Protestants would agree that the end of a marriage shows that the couple have failed to live up to God’s high standards for personal life.

-Jesus appears to allow divorce only as a result of marital unfaithfulness (Matthew 5:32).

-Many protestant Churches allow the re-marriage of divorcees in church if there is evidence that they have admitted their failure and intend to live out a marriage as God would wish.

Question 45

Problems with Christianity trying to put historical views into context of modern western societies

Answer 45

-Today, marriage is often seen primarily as a relationship offering satisfaction to the partners who enter into it, rather than as a sacrament whose purpose is to establish a family.

-Since legal registration of marriages does not now require a religious ceremony, the Christian element in marriage can be seen by some as an ‘optional extra’ over and above the legal and financial commitment of a couple. But this raises the question of whether or not a secular marriage in a Registry Office is a full marriage in the Christian sense.

-The Christian marriage ceremony states that it is a commitment for life. The problem then becomes what to do with those who divorce.

-what about those within the Christian community who have entered into single-sex marriages? If they adopt children, or bring children from an earlier relationship into the home, does that have the same standing as a conventional marriage and family setup?

Question 46

What is the dilemma in problems with trying to apply historical Christianity standards

Answer 46

-dilemma is whether to emphasise the caring and loving example of Jesus, and therefore to accept into the Church those who enter into second or same-sex marriages as being equally loved by God

-or whether to stick to traditional views.

-The official position of most Churches is that although same-sex marriage is now permitted by law in some countries, including Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, ceremonies cannot be conducted in churches or places of worship, mainly because of the many different and disputed views on same-sex relationships.

-At the time of writing, the only mainstream exceptions to this are Quakers, Lutherans and the Scottish Episcopal Church.