Feminist Theology

In an example in the article written by Nealreal, he depicts if a woman preaches over men, she commits the sin of disorder, consequently allowing Satan to eventually gain power over the family. While the Bible does say women should learn quietly and subject to men, women can still speak their mind; they just have to respect the authority of men. At Rejoice! Church, men and women staffers work together in all echelons of the church to successfully lead others in their spiritual walk. By standing strong with the Bible and Jesus, and working as equals, men and women can effectively lead others as pastors and

Feminism is a huge problem in the world that still is existent to this day. Whether it’s from insulting someone and calling them a girl or comparing one’s skills at something to a girl’s skill at that thing. Many people have taken a stand against this problem. Because of those people it isn’t as bad as it was back in the 18 – 1900s.

The Christian Century articles “Feminist Hermeneutics and Biblical Studies” by Phyllis Trible examines arguments made by feminist scholars about text in the bible that suggest mistreatment of women. Trible beings the article talking about the feminist movement and how they interpret and critique the bible. She states that the feminist’s argument focuses on how females were viewed unfairly and less desirable in the bible. Tribles then beings to focus on three perspectives of women in Scripture by mainly focusing on Hebrew Scriptures. She emphases a culture of patriarchy in Israel citing (Judg. 11:29-40), (II Sam. 13) and others to make the argument that there is evident of inferiority, subordination and abuse of women in Scripture. Trible also makes the argument that in some stances women are perceived as strong and resilient. Trible shows examples of this in (Jer. 31:15-22.) and [Exod. 2:2-4] and knowledges that it can’t be discounted in examining the bible as a whole.

In the early 1800’s, Women were denied some of the essential rights that men had. For instance, women could not own land or have the right to vote. In fact, women could even be fired from the job they currently had if they were pregnant. But just imagine this, if a woman wanted to establish a credit card, she needs her husband to authenticate that for her. And to top it off, women were even denied to go to college because of their gender, even if they have spectacular grades (Katie). Sadly, this is what made up women’s lives for a long period of time. Over the next seventy years, women had signed petitions, made speeches, and even marched in parades to earn the rights they have today. (http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/women-who-fought-for-the-vote)

The old feminism is crumbling because it simply does not answer the needs and questions of the 21st-century women. “Women are the equals of men. Men and women are not separate political classes” (Socialist Alternative, 2). Anyone who shares the desire to reduce inequality and promote opportunity must embrace feminism. “If the future is men and women dwelling as images of each other in a world unchanged, it is a nightmare” (Greer, 2). All of us benefit from the same political circumstances… like freedom of speech, conscience, private property, and the right of self-defense. Any particular man is no more my enemy, no more a threat to me, than any particular woman is. We are all individuals to be evaluated

Many societies are progressing forward to the new era of gender role equality. The long-overlooked notions of women belonging in the kitchen and being unqualified for masculine jobs, are now brought to light for discussion. The words, “feminist” and “feminism”, rose to attention during the discussions of gender equality. It was first officially listed in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1852. Feminism refers to someone who is supportive of equality between the sexes. Although there might have been minor feminist activities throughout history; it was not recognized fully until the early 20th century, which marked the first wave of feminism throughout the world (DeFonza). Gender roles are embedded in many cultures, and to this day some

The question of a woman’s role in society is one that has grown increasingly prominent in the modern world. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when this question began to arise – one could say during the second Great Awakening, when women became increasingly more involved in religion, or at the women’s rights convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York (Bailey, 208). For several centuries as a result of ignorance and misunderstanding, women were seen as inferior to men. They were expected to marry, obey their husbands without hesitation, and to live a quiet life in the confines of their home, rearing children and supporting their husbands. However, during the nineteenth century, the movement for women’s rights began to spread across

The changes in gender roles weren’t making everyone happy for examples in the story of The Kingdom of Matthias, Robert Matthews started a religious cult in New York during the 1830’s he came to believe that he was indeed not Robert Matthews, but instead he was Matthias, Prophet of the God of the Jews. Matthias was not happy with any of the changes that was happening in the roles of women, and he was not going to support any of it. His wife Margaret was suffering from the person he had become, he was extremely controlling and once told her that, “She had no God, that the husband was the savior of the wife, that as man was not whole without woman” (Johnson and Wilentz 80). Matthias was bitter because the women of this time had changed into

America gained its independence in 1776 with the expectation that every American should have liberty and equality. However, American women did not have the right to vote until 1920, which was almost more than 140 years after the United States was established. Women could do little to protect themselves and promote their careers due to being treated unequally and inferior to men. During the 19th and the early 20th century, women were working hard and fighting for gender equality, so that more and more women could live a better life with basic civil rights in their hometowns. In reality, women’s equality was challenged by traditional conventions in the fields of biological difference in sexes, religion and gender roles, and different perspectives towards these conventions of different people made women’s civil rights controversial.

On March 9th, I went to the convocation event titled “Representations of Women and Children in the Bible and the Ancient Near East,” lead by Kristine Garroway. This lecture provided an insight on the women and children in the Bible. Garroway started off by saying that this type of emphasis is a new and growing field that is just beginning to be explored. She labeled it two ways: Child-Centered Interpretation and Childist theory. This theory’s intent is to find the silent voice by reinterpreting previous findings of Israel.

Professor Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza’s presentation on the Rhetoric of Subordination gave an in-depth perspective on how religious scriptures have had an influence on society’s views on family structures. Throughout her presentation she also brings to light how Christian scripture helped to establish the foundation for how men are perceived as superior by society compared to women. Professor Fiorenza’s findings are focused on a theory that society is “double blind” when it comes to a woman’s role in various communities, and made an interesting point on how the word ‘women’ and ‘she’ includes the words ‘men’ and ‘he’. Listening to her presentation reminded me of some similarities in Lynn

God in the Old Testament is perceived in many ways, from violent to loving, to unjust and fair-minded. David Lamb and Richard Dawkins both explain contradicting perceptions of God. Dawkins’ quote from, “The God Delusion” gives off a negative tone of God’s image. Dawkins uses words such as: misogynistic, megalomaniacal, and a capriciously malevolent bully.” While Lamb applauds Dawkins’ attempt to bring the issues up to the surface, Lamb believes that Dawkins exaggerates the negative side of God. However, Lamb does acknowledge the different sides of God and the way he chooses to handle a situation. Lamb responds to Dawkins’ claims by providing full examples of God behaving badly and he shows his positive aspects as well(17). Lamb reveals that

“Rather, we seek only to articulate what we believe is the case for the inclusion of women in all aspects of church life, including pastoral ministry and church leadership, and hence the case for the ordination of women.” It is through the positing of this specific statement that Grenz and Kjesbo begin to position and develop their thesis on the fact that; not only should women hold a significant role in the life of the church, including ordination, but that men and women should work in tandem in ministry. They draw our attention to the support of their argument by bringing to light certain biblical, historical, practical concerns and considerations, through the seven chapters of their book: 1) Women in the Churches, 2) Women in Church History,

The use of women, by Biblical authors, offers a fascinating insight into the ideas and ideals of the Jewish people within the author 's own historical context, not necessarily the canonical texts supposed period. The ideas and ideals of the Jewish people that are most embedded within the characters of women are ancestry, honor, and holiness. Women, for these authors, become plot devices to establish authority, honor, and sacrality on behalf of men, as their daughters, sisters, or wives, but these women are not afforded the ability to carry their own plotlines as characters worthy of their own honor and authority regardless of their relations to men. Through Biblical women, men’s stories of honor, triumph, desperation, sinfulness are further

Thus, feminism sought to liberate women from androcentrism, which was prevalent in multiple aspects of life, including religion. Women’s views were not expressed in religion and theology, therefore, feminist theologians attempted to reinterpret religion based on the female experience. Feminist theologies can be divided into three categories, revolutionary, reformist and reconstructionist. The first, revolutionary feminist theology, views the bible and Christianity as patriarchal and antiwoman. Thus, women abandoned Christianity and looked to worshipping ancient female deities. The second, reformist Feminist Theology, does not seek to see a holistic change within the Christian doctrine, but a change within existing church structure. The last, but major type of Feminist Theology is reconstructionist Feminist Theology, which is seen as the liberation Feminist Theology. It seeks to reconstruct society and Christianity as a whole, by reinterpreting traditional symbols and ideas of Christianity, while still acknowledging God and Jesus