Feminist Theology in Christian Worship

In the case study under discussion, the principal issue revolves around the accommodation of feminist theology in Christian practice and worship or, at the very least, whether or not it is possible to incorporate feminine references to God and the Savior in the corporate worship experience. The study will examine this issue with particular regard for the language of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.

The topic has broad significance for the modern church, which is increasingly coming under pressure for its long-standing history of alienating women from key roles as worship leaders, pastors and priests, and spokespersons. A balanced view of spirituality, the person of God (and the personalities of the Trinity), and the role and significance of women in the church may, as Miller-McLemore observes, "offer a common language or at least a starting point for dialogue across differences of sex, age, class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and worldview" (1992, p. 231).

Contemporary male writers occasionally adopt conciliatory positions, but most are vehemently opposed to the very idea of incorporating feminine (or gender-neutral) nouns and pronouns as descriptors of the Godhead. Female writers generally seek the middle ground, or are the polar opposites of their male counterparts. As O'Connor (1989) demonstrates, two distinct patterns of questioning seem to prevail. The first cluster "focuses on women as subject matter," while the second

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ncipal (that) figures cannot be abandoned, symbols cannot be substituted, images cannot be altered without changing the meanings" that have been traditionally understood (p. 48). As Frye observes, scripture is replete with both metaphor and simile which liken God to objects or concepts more easily comprehended by our finite mind. And although there are a few instances in which God is identified with feminine objects or concepts, the scriptures "again and again use metaphor and naming to call God 'Father'" (p. 51). In a more balanced view, Clapsis understands scripture to utilize apophatic language to primarily state "not what God is, but what He is not as compared with created realities" (p. 103). Citing Gregory of Nyssa, Clapsis indicates that it is a feature of God's being that our complete knowledge of Him is logically impossible: "apophatic language denies the possibility of religious language and knowledge" (p. 103). B. Tradition Tradition, perhaps more than any other facet of religious expression, is responsible for the present conflict between the orthodox (or, fundamental) concept of the Godhead and that of the new feminist theology. The three great Mediterranean religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) all

Category: Philosophy - F