In-depth and critical A01 + A02 A* notes and model paragraph structures for the Gender and Theology topic, for the Developments in Christian Thought unit for OCR Religious Studies.
GENDER AND THEOLOGY
PATRIARCHY AND CHRISTIANITY
Bible is male-centric and regards women as the weaker sex and
causer of problems (Bathsheba and David)
God enforces a master-slave dynamic on humanity, further
subjugating women below men
Daphne Hampson: “As women come into their own, theology will
take a different shape”
Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” depicting the extremes of
religiously defined hierarchy
The Rape of Tamar: It suggests a misdeed against a woman should
be dealt with by men, for the men. The woman remains passive in
her own violation.
MARY DALY (Radical post-Christian theologian)
Radical lesbian feminist, and later secular feminist commentary on
the Church
“Woman asking for equality in the Church would be comparable to a
black person demanding equality in the KKK”
“If God is male, then the male is God”
Reclaim archaic language, like Hag and Spinster
Referencing Nietzschean thought, Daly believes to transvalue God
one must “castrate” him and access a more fundamental
understanding of him- Be-ing (God the verb, rather than the
authoritative noun) (God must die for Be-Ing to come through)
Final goal is an Amazonian age future where women recognise their
superiority, away from the institution of Church
Daly’s works and the progression of her radicalism
Church and Second Sex (1968): Reformist outlook on the Church’s
approach to women
Beyond God the Father (1973): Find the true equality in theology
and share it with men, away from the Church. Makes the Fall
“positive and healing”. Women should seek to establish an anti-
church and look back into Old Religion. Reclaim old phrases like
“hag” and “spinster” that patriarchal Apollonian norms have forced
upon her.
Gyn/Ecology (1978): Subvert Christianity with modern Wicca beliefs.
Ruined female traditions of the past. Women should seek self-
actualisation
, Criticisms of Daly’s work
Disregarding history and “herstory” to attack patriarchal aspects
and then deliberately engaging with the parts that are useful to your
narrow theory is hypocrisy
The crimes listed that are perpetuated by the “Male Association” are
neither Christian nor from distinctly patriarchal cultures
Rape as an example only perpetuates that a woman needs
to make herself less weak, rather than highlighting she was
never weak in the first place
Daly’s Unholy Trinity
Christianity exists to destroy women and encourage men
Virgin Mary encourages the perception of women’s passivity,
referring to her as the Total Rape Victim
Rape: Assumed as normal in the Bible. (Genesis 19) Women are
raped both literally and metaphorically.
Genocide: Underpinned by masculine urge to rape. Church supports
war and crusades.
Numbers 31:17->Virgin women are the only ones not worth killing in a
War
War: Male violent act with phallic mentality. Male decision-making.
Only by destroying the patriarchy and discovering the Be-ing can
the woman liberate herself
Positive depiction of women in the Bible (challenging Daly’s view)
Deborah (Book of Judges): “Deborah was just a woman, but when
war came, she took up the reins of leadership” This was recognised
moreover as her work as a judge or advisor to the people.
Mary Magdalene (Synoptic Gospels): Witness to the crucifixion of
Jesus
Lydia (Acts): Wealthy woman who followed Paul’s teachings
Scholarly challenge to Daly
God is not simply male; he embodies three aspects of the Trinity
and that cannot be assumed to be all bad. For example, fatherly
compassion is not intrinsically wrong (Chan)
Jesus himself challenges sexist norms (Fiorenza)
ROSEMARY RUETHER (Roman Catholic liberation theologian)
Christianity and the RC Church especially has been distorted by
Patriarchal values and must be reformed (suggests the two are
independent of each other)
Male theologians have contributed to these Patriarchal values in the
modern church
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