Women and Redemption: A Theological History

354 Pages·2011·9.607 MB·English

by  by Rosemary Radford Ruether

A rich and sweeping view of global feminist theologies—
From her opening question—“Are women redeemed by Christ?”—Rosemary Radford
Ruether brings into critical focus the history of conflict over the meaning of the Gospels for
gender relations. In her authoritative, award-winning critique, now updated and expanded
for a new generation, Ruether highlights women theologians’ work from early Christianity to
the modern day, challenging the patriarchal paradigm of historical theology. She incorporates
a plurality of women’s voices from multicultural and multireligious contexts to articulate R
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feminist liberation theology today.
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New to this edition: t
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· Selections from primary source documents
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· Chapter timelines identifying key persons and events r
· Suggested readings—both primary and secondary sources—for further research
Praise for Women and Redemption, Second Edition “Rosemary Radford Ruether offers a wealth of infor-
mation and models feminist pedagogy by providing
“Encountering this new edition, the reader again questions and bibliographies for further research, W
both confronts the injustice that denied full hu- inviting students and scholars to participate in ongo-
manity to women and witnesses the sheer drama ing theological and historical reconstruction. Addi- o
of the spirited struggles of many women to be tions to the Second Edition emphasize the central m
heard in church and society. Rosemary Radford importance of “the plurality of cultural and social
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Ruether’s ability to move discerningly through contexts” for women’s theological reflection and
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new cultural, political, and theological currents chart the emergence of feminist theology in Western
moves us to the post-colonial, marginalized Fourth Europe, North America, and the Third and Fourth S
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World, bringing new voices into the conversation. Worlds. Women and Redemption is a tour de force, c
on
Ruether challenges rigid boundaries and assump- an essential text for understanding women’s theo-
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tions in her critique, and she awakens us to those logical reflection throughout the centuries of Chris- d
multidimensional oppressions that must be faced.” tianity and around the world.”
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—Mary Grey —Margaret R. Miles d
Professor of Philosophy and History Professor of Historical Theology Emerita ie
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Saint Mary’s University College, London, England Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California id
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Rosemary Radford Ruether is Visiting Professor
of Feminist Theology at the Claremont Graduate p
University and School of Theology. She is the author t
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of numerous influential works in feminist theology
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and the history of theology, and her recent works
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include Feminist Theologies: Legacy and Prospect
(2007) and Many Forms of Madness: A Family’s
Struggle with Mental Illness and the Mental Health
System (2010).
Christianity / Theology / Feminist Theology
fortresspress.com/ ruether
Women and Redemption

Women and Redemption
A Theological History
Second Edition
Rosemary Radford Ruether
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
WOMEN AND REDEMPTION
A Theological History
Second Edition
Copyright © 2012 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or
reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the
publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg
Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible are copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of
America and are used by permission.
Cover image: Anam Cara #3 © Daniel Nevins (danielnevins.com)
Cover design: Laurie Ingram
Book design: Timothy W. Larson
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ruether, Rosemary Radford.
Women and redemption : a theological history / Rosemary Radford Ruether. — 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–8006–9816–4 (alk. paper)
1. Women—Religious aspects—Christianity—History of doctrines. 2. Redemption—Christianity—
History of doctrines. 3. Feminist theology. I. Title.
BT704.R835 2012
230.082—dc22 2011009188
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
This book is dedicated to my sister,
Rebecca Radford Fleming,
friend and teacher of Scripture

ContentS
illustrations xi
acknowledgments xiii
preface: Second edition xv
introduction 1
1. in Christ no more male and Female?
the Question of Gender and Redemption
in the new testament 11
Gender Equality in the First Jesus Movement 12
From Reassembled Jesus Movement to Early Hellenistic Mission 17
Jewish and Early Christian Readings of Genesis 19
Redemption and Gender in Conflict in Pauline Churches 24
Gender and Redemption in Two Forms of Pauline Churches 31
2. Gender and Redemption in the patristic era:
Conflicting Perspectives 37
Trajectories of Early Christianity 37
Gender and Redemption in Some Second-Century Christianities 42
Two Late Patristic Syntheses: Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine 50
vii
viii ContentS
3. male Scholastics and Women mystics
in medieval theology 65
Hildegard of Bingen 67
Thomas Aquinas 76
Mechthild of Magdeburg 79
Julian of Norwich 84
4. male Reformers, Feminist humanists,
and Quakers in the Reformation 93
Gender in the Theological Anthropology of Luther and Calvin 96
Renaissance Feminism and the Debate about Women 103
Women in Radical Protestantism: Civil War Prophets and Quakers 111
5. Shakers and Feminist abolitionists
in nineteenth-Century north america 121
The Shaker Tradition: From England to North America 122
Abolitionist Feminists 131
6. Feminist theologies in twentieth-Century
Western europe 149
Feminist Theology and German Protestantism 149
Feminist Theology and Catholicism 158
Kari Elisabeth Børresen 158
Catharina Halkes 161
Mary Grey 164
European Feminist Theology in the 1990s 168
7. Feminist, Womanist, and mujerista theologies
in twentieth-Century north america 175
Letty Russell 177
Mary Daly 180
Rosemary Ruether 186
Carter Heyward 188
Delores Williams 192
Ada María Isasi-Díaz 195
ContentS ix
8. Feminist theologies in latin america, africa, and asia 203
Feminist Theology in Latin America 206
African Feminist Theology 213
Asian Feminist Theologies 220
9. emerging Feminist theologies: post-Coloniality
and the Voices of the Fourth World 231
Postcolonialism and Theology 232
Fourth World Feminist Theologies 239
Conclusions 251
notes 259
index 325