Evaluating Gender, Theology and Society
Evaluating Gender and Theology:
Agree Disagree
● Misogynistic Teachings (Daly) - ● Liberal Feminist Theology - the
There are countless misogynistic Bible was written by men, and so
teachings within the Bible: 1 their contemporary biases have
Corinthians 14:34 (women should crept in. Christianity is redeemable if
keep silent), 1 Timothy 2:12 (women we can adapt it for modern times.
cannot take authority over men),
Ephesians 5:22-23 (women should ● Patriarchalisation (Ruether) - The
submit, husband is head of the Church and the Bible is currently
wife), and the idea that Eve is the sexist because it has undergone
source of sin (something cited in 1 Patriarchalisation. Men and Women
Timothy. are both made in the image of god,
which should be the basis of
● Unholy Trinity (Daly) - Christianity equality. Yahweh, meaning ‘no
has justified male supremacy and name’, is beyond gender,
patriarchy, which has lead to the suggesting that it is a christian
unholy trinity of rape, genocide, and invention.
war. In Numbers 31, Moses tells his
commanders to kill all the children ● Golden Thread (Ruether) - There
except virgin girls so they can be are two threads within the Bible - a
made into wives. Deuteronomy 21 sexist one and a liberatory one -
also tells a story of women POWs which are inconsistent and cannot
being taken as wives. both be authentic revelation. These
two threads are separable and can
● Rape Victim (Daly) - Mary is be seen in a number of parts of the
portrayed as a ‘void waiting to be bible. Identifying the Golden Thread
made by the male’. Mary is a ‘rape gives a standard by which to judge
victim’ because ‘physical rape is not other parts of the Bible. Patriarchy is
necessary when the mind/will/spirit idolising the male as divine, which
has already been invaded’. Mary is should be rejected as idolatry.
put on a pedestal to encourage Biblical examples of the Golden
women to become submissive and Thread include healing the Bleeding
obedient so that women would all Woman (Mark 5), forgiving the
the better become the sexual Adulterous Woman (John 8), and
property of men Galatians 3:28
● Post-Christian Feminism (Daly + ● Female Wisdom (Ruether + Trible)
Hampson) - The patriarchy in the - God’s Wisdom is referred to in
Bible is evidence that the Christian female terms as ‘sophia’ is the
God doesn’t exist because it’s Greek word for wisdom. This can be
man-made. God did not make man, seen in Isaiah 42 and Proverbs 8. In
men made God. Christianity should the Gospel of John, the Second
be rejected entirely because its Person of the Trinity is referred to as
intrinsic misogyny is irreconcilable ‘logos’ which is associated with
with feminism. ‘sophia’. Trible argued that we can
, ‘depatriarchalise’ readings of the
Subconscious Sexism (Hampson) Bible, since God is not necessarily
- Despite approaching the Bible male.
with gender equality in mind, Liberal
Christians still treat the Bible as Counter : Prevalent Theme, Ruether
though it has divine authority so the picks out niche sections of the Bible
sexist paradigms of the Bible will still to support her case, when the vast
affect them subconsciously. majority of the Bible uses
exclusively male language, and
● Natural Resemblance (Aquinas) - maleness is still associated with
The Catholic Church rejects power and authority by the likes of
admission of women to priesthood St. Paul
on the grounds that Jesus was
male, and that the ministers of ● Non-Warrior Messiah (Ruether) -
Christ should have a ‘natural In the Old Testament, the Messiah is
resemblance’ to Christ. This is in described as being a conquering
line with Aquinas’ beliefs that warrior that would defeat the
women are ‘naturally inferior’ to men enemies of Israel (the Romans)
(and Aristotle’s that women are through battle and rule as King of
simply defective men) and so have the Jews. Jesus, however, served
no right to rule over men. Women’s his people rather than ruling over
salvation comes through following them. He washed their feet, spent
the dictates of men. time with the poor, and criticised
authority. Jesus should be
● Apophatic Language - Speaking of understood as a self-sacrificing
God using any gendered language non-warrior Messiah, invoking
is incoherent, since God is female wisdom.
transcendent and beyond gender
entirely. ● Christ the Liberator (Ruether) -
The maleness of Christ is ultimately
Counter : Analogical Language irrelevant since he challenged the
(Aquinas + Ruether), really, when social, religious, and spiritual
we speak of God we speak in assumptions of his day of both men
analogies of attribution and and women. It is Jesus’ divinity that
proportion. Ruether argues that God makes him a saviour, not his
is as male as he is not female, and maleness.
vice-versa.
● False Consciousness (Beauvoir) -
● Maleness of God (Daly) - God is Women can never be truly free until
described exclusively in male terms, they dispel the false belief that
linking divinity and masculinity. If ‘woman’ is an essential category. As
God is male, then the male is God. they exist, both women and men are
The idea of God needs to be born without gender roles, and
castrated by referring to God as society is what imposes gender
‘she’, but this is more of a protest of upon us. Women have been
language, rather than saying that encouraged to accept the idea of
God can actually be described in ‘the eternal feminine’ as a tool of
female terms. oppression, but it is not true.
God the Father (Chan) - Christians
should resist abandoning male
language for God. The phrase ‘God
the Father’ does not mean that ‘God
is Male’ but is instead describing the
Evaluating Gender and Theology:
Agree Disagree
● Misogynistic Teachings (Daly) - ● Liberal Feminist Theology - the
There are countless misogynistic Bible was written by men, and so
teachings within the Bible: 1 their contemporary biases have
Corinthians 14:34 (women should crept in. Christianity is redeemable if
keep silent), 1 Timothy 2:12 (women we can adapt it for modern times.
cannot take authority over men),
Ephesians 5:22-23 (women should ● Patriarchalisation (Ruether) - The
submit, husband is head of the Church and the Bible is currently
wife), and the idea that Eve is the sexist because it has undergone
source of sin (something cited in 1 Patriarchalisation. Men and Women
Timothy. are both made in the image of god,
which should be the basis of
● Unholy Trinity (Daly) - Christianity equality. Yahweh, meaning ‘no
has justified male supremacy and name’, is beyond gender,
patriarchy, which has lead to the suggesting that it is a christian
unholy trinity of rape, genocide, and invention.
war. In Numbers 31, Moses tells his
commanders to kill all the children ● Golden Thread (Ruether) - There
except virgin girls so they can be are two threads within the Bible - a
made into wives. Deuteronomy 21 sexist one and a liberatory one -
also tells a story of women POWs which are inconsistent and cannot
being taken as wives. both be authentic revelation. These
two threads are separable and can
● Rape Victim (Daly) - Mary is be seen in a number of parts of the
portrayed as a ‘void waiting to be bible. Identifying the Golden Thread
made by the male’. Mary is a ‘rape gives a standard by which to judge
victim’ because ‘physical rape is not other parts of the Bible. Patriarchy is
necessary when the mind/will/spirit idolising the male as divine, which
has already been invaded’. Mary is should be rejected as idolatry.
put on a pedestal to encourage Biblical examples of the Golden
women to become submissive and Thread include healing the Bleeding
obedient so that women would all Woman (Mark 5), forgiving the
the better become the sexual Adulterous Woman (John 8), and
property of men Galatians 3:28
● Post-Christian Feminism (Daly + ● Female Wisdom (Ruether + Trible)
Hampson) - The patriarchy in the - God’s Wisdom is referred to in
Bible is evidence that the Christian female terms as ‘sophia’ is the
God doesn’t exist because it’s Greek word for wisdom. This can be
man-made. God did not make man, seen in Isaiah 42 and Proverbs 8. In
men made God. Christianity should the Gospel of John, the Second
be rejected entirely because its Person of the Trinity is referred to as
intrinsic misogyny is irreconcilable ‘logos’ which is associated with
with feminism. ‘sophia’. Trible argued that we can
, ‘depatriarchalise’ readings of the
Subconscious Sexism (Hampson) Bible, since God is not necessarily
- Despite approaching the Bible male.
with gender equality in mind, Liberal
Christians still treat the Bible as Counter : Prevalent Theme, Ruether
though it has divine authority so the picks out niche sections of the Bible
sexist paradigms of the Bible will still to support her case, when the vast
affect them subconsciously. majority of the Bible uses
exclusively male language, and
● Natural Resemblance (Aquinas) - maleness is still associated with
The Catholic Church rejects power and authority by the likes of
admission of women to priesthood St. Paul
on the grounds that Jesus was
male, and that the ministers of ● Non-Warrior Messiah (Ruether) -
Christ should have a ‘natural In the Old Testament, the Messiah is
resemblance’ to Christ. This is in described as being a conquering
line with Aquinas’ beliefs that warrior that would defeat the
women are ‘naturally inferior’ to men enemies of Israel (the Romans)
(and Aristotle’s that women are through battle and rule as King of
simply defective men) and so have the Jews. Jesus, however, served
no right to rule over men. Women’s his people rather than ruling over
salvation comes through following them. He washed their feet, spent
the dictates of men. time with the poor, and criticised
authority. Jesus should be
● Apophatic Language - Speaking of understood as a self-sacrificing
God using any gendered language non-warrior Messiah, invoking
is incoherent, since God is female wisdom.
transcendent and beyond gender
entirely. ● Christ the Liberator (Ruether) -
The maleness of Christ is ultimately
Counter : Analogical Language irrelevant since he challenged the
(Aquinas + Ruether), really, when social, religious, and spiritual
we speak of God we speak in assumptions of his day of both men
analogies of attribution and and women. It is Jesus’ divinity that
proportion. Ruether argues that God makes him a saviour, not his
is as male as he is not female, and maleness.
vice-versa.
● False Consciousness (Beauvoir) -
● Maleness of God (Daly) - God is Women can never be truly free until
described exclusively in male terms, they dispel the false belief that
linking divinity and masculinity. If ‘woman’ is an essential category. As
God is male, then the male is God. they exist, both women and men are
The idea of God needs to be born without gender roles, and
castrated by referring to God as society is what imposes gender
‘she’, but this is more of a protest of upon us. Women have been
language, rather than saying that encouraged to accept the idea of
God can actually be described in ‘the eternal feminine’ as a tool of
female terms. oppression, but it is not true.
God the Father (Chan) - Christians
should resist abandoning male
language for God. The phrase ‘God
the Father’ does not mean that ‘God
is Male’ but is instead describing the
