RE: Gender and Theology

Question 1

what does the Mulieris Diginitatem say about gender?

Answer 1

written by John Paul II

• jesus carried by a woman - mary
• genesis 1, man and woman made at the same time.
• mary, in giving birth to Jesus, has a special relationship with the divine.

Question 2

what does theokotos mean?

Answer 2

mary had the privilege of nurturing Christ in the womb. theokotos means God-bearer.

Question 3

what do catholic feminist theologians say about the MD?

Answer 3

• the church’s teaching on motherhood is over-romanticised.

- MD can guilt women into thinking that they’re ‘bad’ for not having a family and working full time.

Question 4

what does the MD say about virginity?

Answer 4

• a woman has the option to stay a virgin, committing your life to chastity is a gift of the self to God.
• the woman saying no to children may also be her saying a profound yes to god.

Question 5

what do catholic feminist theologians say about the church?

Answer 5

• they believe that the church isn’t essentially flawed but many traditions and teachings are institutionally patriarchal.
• Elizabeth schussler-fiorenza states that the church has consciously written about the role of women in the early church.
• Catharina Halkes argues that Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God requires social and spiritual transformation.

Question 6

why does the catholic church not allow women to be priests?

Answer 6

• traditional approach to the role of women in the church, valued for their pastoral care within the church.
• jesus was a man and the priest represents jesus on earth.
• jesus chose only male disciples.
• the pope as the leader of the church is in succession of the first pope, the disciple peter

Question 7

why does the church of England allow the ordination of women?

Answer 7

• jesus demonstrated a modern attitude towards women.
• jesus healed and supported women in his society and treated them as equals.
• times and cultures have changed
• there are many examples of women leading services and organising the early church.

Question 8

what are the roles of men in marriage according to Ephesians?

Answer 8

• love and nourish your wife as he does his own body.

- woman and man are one flesh - submit to eachother (5:21)

Question 9

what are the roles of women in marriage according to Ephesians?

Answer 9

• obey your husband
• be submissive to your husband
• head of woman is the man, like how jesus is the head of the church.

Question 10

What did Simone de Beauvoir say about women in society?

Answer 10

known for her book ‘the second sex’

• argues that the mindset of women needs to change.
• even the most independent women suffer from false consciousness (falsely objective view of themselves, lacks freedom and self-worth).
• women have allowed themselves to become inferior to men and act according to their needs.
• they’ve unconsciously let this happen, encouraged themselves to believe in the ‘eternal feminine’.

Question 11

What did Michel Foucalt say about gender in society?

Answer 11

• human sexuality cannot be defined as just male/female but covers a spectrum of sexual practices.
• controlling sexual practices is a useful means of maintaining power, ‘scientia sexualis’.
• ‘scientia sexualis’ can be seen in the Church’s place in western society has been used to control and regulate sexual practices and gender roles.
• the Church’s influence has weakened, so doctors and sociologists have imposed their idea of correct sexual behavior.

Question 12

how can motherhood be seen as restricting?

Answer 12

• Simone de Beauvoir’s book ‘the second sex’ argues that women have accepted that they are subordinate to men. they’ve allowed themselves to become passive bystanders in society.
• Mary Daly: the idea of giving up the self as a mother is a disguised attempt at making women give up positions of power in society. it’s the male way of keeping women at home so they have no influence on the church/society.
• Mary Daly: societies are often patriarchal - men hold positions of power. the church continues to treat women as second-class citizens by seeing them as being destined for motherhood and domestic roles as opposed to being in positions of power like the priesthood.
• Elizabeth Badinter: motherhood can feel like a prison and church teachings exacerbate this problem. it can also send out a restrictive message if women can’t have children in that they’ve failed their mission to God.

Question 13

how can motherhood be seen as liberating?

Answer 13

• the muileris diginitatem says that motherhood is a wonderful gift given to women. mary’s model of motherhood is seen as a model for motherhood.
• the muileris diginitatem says that mary has the special title of theokotos (god-bearer). the had the unique privilege of nurturing christ in the womb.
• Pope John Paul II said that being female allows you to give yourself in a way that any man can’t. women can partake in the act of motherhood.
• The catholic church would reject the view of Beauvoir and Daly, motherhood should be seen as a special gift.

Question 14

what are christian views towards cohabitation?

Answer 14

• Pope Francis said that for many people the family can be a ‘breeding ground of resentment and hatred’ so cohabitation can be suitable in these cases.
• however, cohabitation can be a sign of people not being willing to commit.

Question 15

what are the christian views on divorce?

Answer 15

• the Pope wants the church to have a new set of values so people don’t feel like they’ve failed by getting a divorce.
• marriage is ideal, though.
• a divorce can be a sign of consumerist attitude in society, easy to break up with someone if they fail to meet expectations

Question 16

What are the christian views on gender?

Answer 16

• the two sexes are god-given realities so we shouldn’t try to change that. in doing this, we’re taking on the role of the creator.
• people should be taught to value their bodies instead of trying to alter it.
• the church believes in bodily resurrection, the body is good.

Question 17

how is the idea of the family culturally determined?

Answer 17

• Michel Foucalt said that the church’s influence has weakened, its role has been replaces by politicians, doctors etc. so the family is culturally determined.
• liberal protestants are inspired by the teaching of jesus and the kingdom of God. the church needs to be more flexible in its understanding of the family. Jessie Bernard argued that for as long as children are loved, feel secure etc. then the structure of the family doesn’t matter.
• Liberal protestants argue that the bible itself illustrates that there’s never been one type of family.
• feminist catholic theologians seek to broaden the church’s narrow view of the family. the family must be determined by society and culture.

Question 18

how is the idea of the family not culturally determined?

Answer 18

• conservative protestants are generally suspicious of any family which isn’t heterosexual or married. same-sex parents are not families in a christian sense.
• roman catholics argue that ‘intact families’ are psychologically stronger than others. same-sex couples or cohabiting couples are not families in the christian sense.

Question 19

how was christ marginalised by the church according to Rosemary Radford Reuther?

Answer 19

• the normal hebrew idea of the messiah was a warrior king who would liberate the jews from oppression.
• Jesus was not the expected type of messiah, he valued non-violence instead of war etc.
• therefore, god can be seen as female as well as male, Jesus’ maleness is not a central part of his personality.
• though Jesus was biologically a male, he was the incarnation of the female wisdom principle of God (Sophia)
• ruether calls the process of seeing Jesus as necessarily male ‘the patriarchalisation of christology’
• women should be allowed to be priests because Jesus didn’t have to be male.

Question 20

what did Mary Daly mean by ‘if God is male then male is God’.

Answer 20

• the use of masculine language to describe Jesus and God leads society to assume that men and superior to women.
• this results in violence and oppression against women.
• if God is a father ruling ‘his’ people, the universe must be male-dominated by divine plan.

Question 21

what was Daly’s ‘unholy trinity’? describe each.

Answer 21

male dominated christian imagery results in 3 things because it promotes a ‘phallic morality’.

• rape is often used as a weapon against women.
• war
• genocide happens as a result of war because things such as rivalry/aggression are celebrated in society.

Question 22

what did Daly say about nature religions?

Answer 22

• only a very radical revolution against christianity can end violence against women.
• christianity is too male-dominated because women were blamed for the fall and the main idea of christianity is God becoming man.
• women must form an ‘antichurch’.
• she recommends a return to ancient pagan nature religions centered on mother nature.

Question 23

How is Christianity sexist?

Answer 23

• Mary Daly said in her book ‘beyond god the father’, christian images and language about god are male-dominated and serve the interests of the patriarchy.
• the continual celebration of God being the father and jesus as his son influences society to assume that men are superior to women, this results in violence and oppression against women. (unholy trinity)
• inherently make dominated for 2 reasons: women are blamed for the fall and God becomes man.
• she sums up the argument with ‘if god is male then male is god’. if God is male, then men are vastly superiot to women. the incarnation of God (Jesus) only makes the sexism even worse.

Question 24

how is christianity not sexist?

Answer 24

• Ruether said that there are some female directions in the interpretation of christ that have been ignored/margianlised by the church.
• the normal hebrew view of the expected messiah would be a warrior king who would deliver the Jews from slavery and oppression. instead, jesus was a pacifist and challenged the warrior-messiah expectation. jesus’ maleness is not necessary
• jesus is often with the poor and downtrodden rather than the rich and successful. jesus shows compassion for women as well, which is a far cry from the stereotypical male image of a warrior king.
• in 1992, the general synod of the church of england passed a vote to ordain women as priests.

Question 25

how can the christian God be presented in female terms?

Answer 25

• Ruether said that there are feminine directions in the interpretation of christ that have been ignored/margianilised by the church.
• Jesus defied the expectations of a masculine warrior king when he opposed violence and sided with the poor.
• Jesus is the incarnation of what was the female wisdom principle of God (sophia).

Question 26

how can the christian God not be presented in female terms?

Answer 26

• Daly argues that christianity is inherently sexist as male language has been used to reference God and Jesus throughout the bible. this leads society to believe that men are superior to women.
• christianity is male-dominated for these reasons: women are blamed for the fall and God became man.
• the catholic church still doesn’t ordain women because the priest acts in the place of christ during mass.
• supporters of the Via Negativa would argue that using feminine language to address God is as sexist and alienating as male language.