Feminist Theology

Feminist Theology

Feminist theology is based on the idea of “not lord but brother”. Jesus Christ himself stepped outside of societies norms by befriending the outcasts of society, which included women. Women are often portrayed as the cause of or focus of evil and misdeeds in the bible. The focus of feminist theology is the perspective of theology from those who were outcast and therefore considered themselves as equals and friends to Jesus Christ. “If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.” (1 Cor.14:33-35) Feminist theologians are logical and educated with their approach to the view of the Lord as an equal who is to be believed in and epitomized rather than worshipped based on gender. The Bible is very male organized and driven but there are many feminist perspectives on the bible. The feminist perspective is very relevant to the true Christian experience. This perspective is imperative to understanding the relation of the scriptures to everyday life and tolerance. The idea of feminist theology is different from traditional theology because of this “radical” idea that women are intrinsic to the story of Jesus and the crucifixion. The divine act of creating woman is portrayed as the fall of paradise but what if woman is the creation story? What if women are what God meant for man to be? What if gender is irrelevant in the view of love in God’s eyes?

There are different types of feminist theology; Revolutionary Feminist Theology is affected by women-centered culture. Reformist Christian Feminist Theology involves modest changes within the church rather than the worship of Goddesses.

Reconstructionist Christian Feminist Theology involves reforming church structure and civil society. Liberation theology is related directly to the theory of “She wisdom cries out in the street…” In Isaiah42:14 “God is depicted as a woman in the pangs of childbirth” There are several passages in the bible and opinions by theologians that make no discernable difference about whether God is a man or a woman. Most female personifications that relate to wisdom are feminine gender nouns in Hebrew and Greek. God is typically thought of as a patriarch, but can be referenced in several places as a matriarch. A lot of cultures thought of the male as the head of the household with him, when it turns out that one person who truly loved humanity died on a cross. Although the official concept of God is that of a universal, male God, there are remains of a female relation to that God. The idea of the male elite is one that fostered the foundation for feminist theology. Sin is not gender specific therefore worship and judgment should not be dominated by males.

There are many misconceptions in the bible about the differences between the genders. According to some theologians, it is a misconception that man was created first. In other words woman was not something that was created just for man but rather the conclusion of all of God’s creations and efforts on that last day. “In fact, most conclusions about women being made from a bent rib or are otherwise inferior are not grounded in biblical text.” The problem with many of the church fathers ideas about gender did evolve from Jesus being a man but that not enough men followed in Jesus’ footsteps. Many theologians just made assumptions about men being better than women, rather than using the gentle, obedient, subordinate, and submissive nature of Jesus to allow their followers to come to him rather than force them into salvation. “Jesus affirmed women as fully valuable and fully human.” It seems that women have been stigmatized throughout Christian history by everyone but Jesus. Feminism is not necessarily a bad word when it comes to Christianity but women are not servants or evil or a symbol of carnality. Even the reference to Mary Magdalene may be incorrect, although it is commonly held that she was a prostitute. She may simply have been lost and found her faith through Jesus’ love rather than the derision that was common to that time period.

The Holy Spirit itself seems to have a feminine quality to its nature. The mystery of the Trinity is by no means that simple. But the fact that it is a mystery would indicate that it is presumptive to assume that any part of the Trinity other than Jesus is either male or female. The significance of Jesus is not his maleness but his humanness. In the movie, The DaVinci Code, (although many liberties are taken with the biblical basis and texts), there is a very real focus on the feminine idea behind Christianity. What if women were supposed to carry on the Christian tradition and the church? This idea shakes the very foundation of early and modern Christianity to the