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Summary To what extent is Ruether’s view of Feminist Theology more convincing than Daly’s
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Gender and Theology essay comparing Ruether and Daly
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To what extent is Ruether’s view of Feminist Theology more convincing thanDaly’s?
Rosemary Radford Ruether (RRR) is a liberal feminist theologian who argues
that Christianity exists within a patriarchy and in order to be reformed it must be
reinterpreted through a feminist outlook. Whilst the bible can be seen to support
women occasionally, Post- Christian Feminist Theologian Mary Daly would argue
that the Church is a source of women’s abuse and as long as we live in a
patriarchal society, the church will continue to use the bible against women. The
strongest line of argument is that RRR’s optimistic view that the bible can be
interpreted is unrealistic and lacks much substantial evidence, and that Dalys
theology proves more convincing as it outlines the idea that Christianity was
built around patriarchal laws and therefore is beyond saving.
A convincing support to my argument is Dalys view that Christianity is sexist due
to biblical teachings about women. Even from the very beginning of the bible in
Genesis women are the seed of sin and seem to take a larger responsibility for
the fall deeming them the more corrupt sex. Genesis also implies that women are
a product of men, having been made from the rib of Adam, they are reliant on
him for life, their only purpose is to serve Man as is implied in the word “helper”
used to describe Eve in the bible. Futhurmore these sexist connotations can also
be seen in Ephesians 5:22-33 where it declares that “the husband is the head of
the wife”, implying he is superior to her and has control. Dalys theology suggests
that women are seen as the ‘weaker sex’ due to biblical accounts of the bible.
However RRR argues that perhaps these passages can be interpreted through a
feminist lens. For example the story of Genesis can be seen as supporting
feminism as Women and men are made of the same substance and therefore
must be equal, supported by the idea that all humans are made “imago dei”.
Moreover the word “helper” used in the bible, as mentioned earlier in my
argument, is a poor translation from the word “Ezer”, which has zero inferior
connotations as God in fact used this word to describe himself. Although this is a
positive argument, I find Dalys theology to be entirely more convincing, as
supported by Daphne Hampson, no amount of reinterpretation could lead to a
positive view of women regarding the fall. The majority of Christians are not
educated theologians and take the bible at face value, not analyzing its origins,
but believing it to be the exact word of God. Therefore it is logical to support
Daly’s theology that Christianity is too intrinsically patriarchal to be saved.
A potential challenge to my argument is RRR’s argument that Jesus was a
feminist and showed feminine qualities. Firstly Jesus was not the traditional
Davidic Messiah, which had masculine qualities and was a fierce warrior, as she
says Jesus is a ‘self sacrificing, redeeming, servant Messiah who is connected to
the female notion of wisdom’. This leads me into my second point of Jesus
possessing the female wisdom principle, Sophia. In the bible wisdom is
presented as feminine therefore RRR argued that the trinity is gender inclusive
as the holy spirit represents wisdom. Furthurmore Jesus healed a bleeding
woman, which was not seen as socially acceptable at the time, showing his
feminist side despite being in a patriarchal society. However I am unpersuaded
by this argument and agree with Daly that the maleness of God is problematic.
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