Gender and Theology Flashcards
(25 cards)
eWhat does Ruether argue about Christianity?
Christianity has distorted by patriarchal tradition and is in need of reformation
What does Ruether believe about the Catholic Church’s teachings?
That their views (on abortion, women’s ordination) are distorted by patriarchy
What does Ruether believe about the beginning of patriarchy and Christianity?
Christianity has not created or influenced patriarchy, patriarchy has infiltrated itself into Christianity, using the teachings as a cover for their patriarchal drive
What is the Male Warrior Messiah Expectation?
The Jews awaited a messiah who would use violence to solve issues and liberate people from their enemies
Did Jesus live up to the Male Warrior Messiah Expectation?
Jesus was not an example of military victory, he served his people rather than ruling and warned others of lording over others (e.g. washing feet)
What does Ruether say about God as Female?
Although Christianity has a male symbol of a messiah, the real messiah is linked to the female notion of wisdom
We should not combine the maleness of the historical Jesus with the concept of messiah, as it displaces the female aspects of God
what does ruther sa about the feminine aspect of god
In scripture, divine wisdom was referred to in female terms
God is associated with wisdom
But, Christianity has merged the notion of divine wisdom with the messianic king
Thus, the femininity of God has become obscured
What does Ruether suggest about Jesus as God’s incarnate?
The messiah is not simply an incarnate of God, but also the incarnation of Sophia
What is Simon Chan’s criticism of ruether?
That we cannot rewrite Christianity to give more prominence to women as it reshapes Christianity
- e.g. ‘almighty Father’ promimnent in the Catholic Church Eucharist prayer
downplays the ‘maleness’ of god
god should never be called mother
Religions that have women at the forefront, like Hinduism, are still heavily patriarchal, Christianity is not the problem
What is the overall Daly quote?
If God is male, then male is God. The divine patriarch castrates women as long as he is allowed to live on in the human imagination
What is a criticism of Daly?
Is it Christianity’s fault or the MEN who have used it as a tool?
What early Church leaders does daly criticise
Tertullian - saw women as the ‘devils gateway’, blaming women for the sin of humanity (original sin)
Augustine, Aquinas, Luther
W
We need to remove androcentric language + the maleness of God
what modern ish leaders does daly criticise
Bonhoeffer, Barth, Pope Pius XII, Fletcher,
What is the unholy trinity?
Rape, genocide, and war
How does the Oxford Online Dictionary define rape?
‘typically committed by a man’- is this inequality or just accuracy?
What does Daly call the (male) leaders of society?
soverigns of sado-society
What are ‘arm chair rapists’?
Metaphorical rape- i.e. pornography
she argues it enforces a sexual caste system
Rape in the bible?
‘you can use them and do to them whatever you wish’ (Judges)
Ziplah’s rape - Genesis
What does Daly say about women in relation to genocide
‘Patriarchally possessed women … lulled into the sleeping death’
the killing of womens’ identities and reduction to ‘rape victims’ can be seen as genocide (the mass killing of a group of people)
What does Daly say in relation to war?
War is defended by ‘phallic morality’
Killing in war is seen as ‘just’ (just war theory), but an abortion is seen as ‘unjust’ (pro-choice)
What does Daly conclude?
That Jesus is the ‘symbolic legitimation of the rape of all women and all matter’
What are Simon Chan’s criticisms of Daly?
By implying that God has no feminine qualities implies the idea of a distant and impersonal diety
What does Fiorenza challenge daly?
argues the that the bible supports womens struggles - daly is mistakenly narrow
