cristianity and gender Flashcards
Christianity and gender
Reconsiders the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from feminist perspective
Goals of Christianity and feminist perspective
: increase role of women, reinterpret male imagery and language about God, determine women’s place in relation to career and motherhood, study images of women
Counter perceptions of women as morally or spiritually inferior to men
as source of sexual temptation; as dedicated to childbearing, their homes, and husbands; as having lesser role in religious ritual or leadership because of such inferiority or dedication.
How do we do theology?
Basic question of how theologians create systems of thought is being reinterpreted by feminist theologians.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE can be an important component of insight into the divine, along with the more traditional sources of holy books or received tradition.
Who is God?
Feminist theologians have supported the use of non- or MULTI GENDERED LANGUAGE FOR GOD arguing that language powerfully impacts belief about the behavior and essence of God.
Where are women in religious history? Roles of women in periods throughout history that have impacted religion:
the Biblical period, the early Christian era, medieval Europe, and any period of import to a particular religion. Individual women who influenced their religion or whose religious faith led them to impact their culture.
Christian feminism
An aspect of feminist theology that seeks to advance and understand the equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually and in leadership from a Christian perspective.
Christian feminism argues and believes that
Argue that contributions by women are necessary for a complete understanding of Christianity. Christian feminists believe that God does not discriminate on the basis of biologically-determined characteristics such as sex and race.
Major issues of Christian feminism are
the ordination of women, male-female roles in Christian marriage, recognition of equal spiritual and moral abilities, and the search for a feminine or gender-transcendent divine.
Christian feminism often draw on
the teachings of other religions and ideologies in addition to biblical evidence.
Some believe that the principle of egalitarianism was present in
in the teachings of Jesus and the early Christian movements, but this is a highly contested view.
These interpretations of Christian origins have been criticized for “anachronistically projecting contemporary ideals back into the first century.”
In Middle who explored the idea of a divine power with both masculine and feminine aspects.
Julian of Norwich and Hildegard of Bingen
Feminist works from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries addressed
objections to women learning, teaching and preaching in a religious context.
One such proto-feminist was Anne Hutchinson, who was cast out of the Puritan colony of Massachusetts for teaching on the dignity and rights of women.
women are ordained and not as clergy in
In both mainline and liberal branches of Protestant Christianity the Roman Catholic church, the Southern Baptist Convention, which is the largest Protestant denomination, and most churches in the American “non-denominational” movement prohibit women from entering clerical positions.
The creation of Adam and Eve is narrated from somewhat different perspectives in
Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 2:24.
Genesis 1 declares the purpose of God and has been called the “non-subordinating” view of woman. God gave the human pair joint responsibility and “rulership” over his creation.
Genesis 1 declares
the purpose of God and has been called the “non-subordinating” view of woman. God gave the human pair joint responsibility and “rulership” over his creation
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2 narrative has been called
the “subordinating view” of woman for two reasons: man is created first, and woman is created out of man.
But for Adam (or the man) no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
Fall of humanity
Eve’s weakness has sometimes been blamed for causing Adam’s fall and thus for humanity’s fall into original sin.
There is no mention of subordination in scripture until the end of Genesis 3:16. There, God explains what will become the natural consequences of the woman’s disobedience, now that they both are in a fallen (sinful) state: “He [your husband] will rule over you.” For eons this has been colloquially called “The Curse.”
Jesus’ Interactions with Women
Synoptic Gospels of the canonical New Testament contain a relatively high number of references to women.
Women Disciples
Gospels often mention Jesus speaking to women publicly and openly against the social norms of the time.
From the beginning, Jewish women disciples, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna, had accompanied Jesus during his ministry and supported him out of their private means (Luke).
Mary Magdalene
is among the women depicted in the New Testament who accompanied Jesus and his twelve apostles, and who also helped to support the men financially.
According to Mark, Matthew, John and Luke mary Magdalene was
one of the women who remained at Jesus’ crucifixion. Mark reports that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared first to her.
Mary Magdalene was incorrectly identified in western Christianity as
an adulteress and repentant prostitute, although nowhere does the New Testament identify her as such.
Discoveries of new texts and critical insight have now proven that portrait of Mary is entirely inaccurate. According to Harvard theologian Dr. Karen King, Mary Magdalene was a prominent disciple and leader of one wing of the early Christian movement that promoted women’s leadership.
King cites references in the Gospel of John that the risen Jesus gives Mary special
special teaching and commissions her as an “apostle to the apostles.” She is the first to announce the resurrection and to play the role of an apostle, although the term is not specifically used of.
