Gender and Theology- Rosemary Redford Ruether
- Created by: Millys200
- Created on: 09-05-21 20:08
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- Gender and Theology- Rosemary Redford Ruether
- Overview
- Is a reform feminist theologian
- Argues the patriarchy has had a profound and damaging effect on Christianity, but believes that the Church needs to reform rather than be totally abandoned
- Ruether describes herself as an eco-feminist. She is in favour of women in the Catholic priesthood and argues that the Catholic Church needs to rethink its teaching on abortion
- Ruether argues that patriarchy in society has distorted the Christian message and has shaped Christian thought about God in a way that needs to be challenged
- Jesus and the Male Warrior expectation
- At the time of Jesus, many Jews expected a messiah who would be military king like King David. He would lead his people to victory and restore power to Israel. This is known as Davidoc Messiah
- The Messiah is chosen by God and is the Son of God, as well as representing people before God. Therefore Ruether argued, the Messiah can only be imagined as male
- However Ruether does not argue that the idea of Jesus as Messiah needs to be discarded. Instead, she points out that Jesus himself rejected the male-warrior stereotype
- She thought the idea of Jesusas as a military Messiah was something invented by the early Church rather than Jesus’ own understanding of himself
- Jesus took on the role of the servant king, serving rather than domination, seeking out the poor and oppressed and arguing against people who claimed positions of religious authority. He called God ‘Abba’ in a familiar way rather than speaking of an authoritarian God
- Ruether argues that in placing himself as the servant Messiah, Jesus connected the role of Messiah with female as well as male characteristics and images
- Feminine language
- The Christian Church traditionally uses male pronouns of God, and male imagery for God such as Father, King and Son
- Ruether challenges the use of exclusively masculine terms for God and refers to God using the Greek term Gaia, which is the Ancient Greek goddess of Earth
- Sher argues that she is recovering an ancient notion of God in the feminine, a notion that has been covered up patriarchy, rather than inventing a new way of talking about God
- She argues that this terminology gives a much better reflection of the relationship of all humanity, whatever gender, in the image of God
- Overview
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