gender & theology
Reuther & Daly
male saviour & female God
Rosemary Radford Reuther
Mary Daly
feminist thinker and Catholic theologian. wrote a very influential book in 1983 called Sexism and God-talk
God as the female wisdom principle
challenge to the expectation
male warrior messiah expectation
Reuther's conclusions
`Jesus' maleness
she argues that there are more female interpretations of JC which have been ignored or marginalised by the Church
in book, she challenges the idea that the maleness of JC is basic to how we should understand him. she argues that his meleaness is not the most important factor in how he is viewed
JC's life and preaching focussed on the oppressed and marginalised and he is presented as being on the side of women on multiple occasions eg bleeding women or woman caught in act of adultery. this was not the norm and extremely liberal in such an Orthodox society
when JC was alive, many people were expecting a military style leader that could save them from Roman rule and oppression. JC was certainly not the type of Messiah that was expected
his desire to help the oppressed seems far away from the stereotypical male image of the powerful warrior
JC often with the poor and the downtrodden rather than with the rich and successful
when this happens, the wisdom of God is described and treated as a female - Greek word for wisdom is Sophia, a feminine word
in other words, instead of male language to talk about God, we find female language. God is 'feminised' rather than being seen as a man
God is wise. in the OT, God's wisdom is often personified
esp clear in Poverbs; 'Does not wisdom call put? / Does not understanding raise her voice? / At the highest point along the way, / where the paths meet, she takes her stand; / beside the gate leading into the city, / at the entrance, she cries aloud: / "To you, O people, I call out; / I raise my voice to all mankind."'
God can be seen as female as male
femininity, Reuther argues, has as much right to be seen as an aspect of God's identity as maleness. JC is said to be the incarnation of God and if God can be seen to be female or have female aspects, then surely JC must also
male image of God (as father, as King, as Warrior etc) should not be seen as defining who God is
radical American feminist theologian
can the Christian God be seen in Female Terms?
could a male saviour help women
beliefs about genocide, war and spirituality
beliefs about God and Rape
Daly: male-dominated language
Reuther's view
identify systematic acts of rape
beliefs about God
link: rape and war
the 'unholy trinity'
identified systematic acts of violence towards women: rape genital mutiliation, foot binding, widow burning and hysterectomy
Daly did not view rape only in theoretical terms
Daly believed Christianity had failed and God should be castrated because Christianity has reinforced rather than opposed male superiority, as can be seen in many Bible passages
suggested that the 'unholy trinity' of rape, genocide and war naturally exist in a world in which 'phallocentric power' is celebrated
argued that the idea of a patriacrchal, fatherly God is the foundation of a sexist culture of unfair criticism and violence towards towards women and an unholy trinity of rape, genocide and war
pointed to the link between rape and war in the Bible, where Moses is enraged after a campaign against Midian because the commanders had spared the lives of all women: 'Now kill all the boys. And every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man'
Daly argued there is a connection between the mentality od rape and phenomenon of war
female need for liberation
overturning maleness of God
beliefs about war
return to pagan nature religions
beliefs about genocide
D believes that the current hierarchal structures place men over women in the same way that genocide sets one group over another
genocide is the killing of a large group of people eg during holocaust, millions of Jews were executed. in rwanada, there was a mass genocide in the 90s
the horrors of war are associated with manly and adventurous virtues - men doing courageous and powerful acts of violence to defeat the enemy
lang of violence I hidden by technical language: phrases like 'collateral damage' used to cover up the fact that the lives of innocent people are expendable
D argues that war is an inevitable result of the male-dominated politics of the 19th and 20th centuries
war is defended by what D calls a 'phallic morality' and a 'phallic mentality' she argues that women need to seek liberation from this moral hypocrisy
traditional holy places were built were built and managed by men. for this reason, they should not be used anymore
believes that maleness of God needs to be overturned
these kinds of religions (which Christianity replaced in many cultures) had female deities as their centre
D wants a return to these ancient Goddess/Mother Nature religions since she believes that its not enough for men and women to be equal. m must learn to be silent and listen to w
D recommends a return to ancient pagan nature religions which centred on the female and and Mother Nature as the essence of true spirituality
Daly advocates a women-centred approach to society, but Reuther does not believe that is right to sideline men
Reuther on presentation of JC
Daly vs Ruether on sexism
Daly on male-dominated society
core of sexism
thinks that a male-dominated society promoted what she calls a phallic (penis-centered) morality, where values such as competition, rivalry, aggression, sexual virility, and ruthlessness are celebrated amongst men
D argues that this male-dominated imagery is clear in the OT
think that male-dominated Christian imagery has violent results. she thinks it is responsible for what she calls the 'unholy trinity' of rape, genocide and war
R argues that JC is presented in the Bible as being on the side of the marginalised and oppressed. JC is often with the poor and the downtrodden rather than with the rich and successful
this emphasis on the less fortunate and the oppressed seems far away from the stereotypical male image of the powerful warrior
D argues that much of a Christianity is deeply and inherently sexist. she argues that Christian images and language about God are male-dominated and serve the interests of patriarchy
Reuther argues that there are female directions in the interior
according to R, change must come from within
D accuses Christianity of being fundamentally sexist, meaning it needs to be abandoned
for
against
patriarchal roots
maleness of God
biblical examples
Galations
therefore, women will always be seen as second-class citizens and unable to be saved to the same extent as men
the foundations of Christianity were developed in a patriarchal society (the Roman Empire). so its rooted will forever be male-dominated
R argues that JC/Christianity cannot save women because JC is historically male, as is the Word/Logos of God, and JC is deemed the perfect example of what it means to be human
if JC is the perfect human and is male, then its implied that men are superior and only can be saved
salvation seems available to irrespective of their sex
St P's letter to them expresses importance of all being accepted in Church: 'there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus'
an important event in the Church's calendar is Pentecost. as described in the Bible, both men and women were present when the Holy Spirit visited JC's disciples and gave them the power to speak in tongues and evangelise
numerous biblical examples of JC engaging with women. at the resurrection, arguably the most important event in the Christian story, JC first appeared to 2 women
Daly's view
catholic view
C Church talks about how God is genderless because God is presented in both male and female ways
she refers to Proverbs 8 and the lang that refers to God as wisdom, which is personified as female
R argues that the image of God is far more feminine than many people actually knowledge
when we talk about God, we also use male imagery: He is the King. he is the Lord. he is traditionally seen as 'Our Father in Heaven'
biblical and popular image of God as a great patriarch in heaven has dominated the imagination of millions over thousands of years
we habitually use male pronouns: 'He' 'Him' and 'His'
surely, says Daly, this is the very epitome of sexist ideology. It is not enough then to just reform the Church - women must stand against the Church and form an 'Anti church' which is also 'Anti-christ'
D argues that Christianity is inherently male-dominated for many reasons. some of these are:
the main idea in christianity is of God becoming Man. christianity insists that God was incarnated into a male body
in christianity, women are blamed for the fall
rape = oppression of women, via violence, pornography
genocide = results from rape culture (one group -men- dominate another)
war = symbols of male values, the church advocates for 'Just War' yet won't allows abortion/euthansia