Rosemary Radford Ruether

• What does Ruether believe?

  That Christianity needs to be reformed, it needs to look to the future rather than being tied to the patriarchal past
• how does Ruether believe Christianity should be reformed?

  by focusing on the message of liberation
• what does Ruether consider that past events, present experience and future hopes all do?

  contribute to a better understanding of christianity
• finish what she says ‘Christianity can sustain a feminist…

  reinterpretation and become a religion of emancipation from patriarchy’
• christianity is an eschatological religion focused on what?

  the future, liberating reign of God
• it must therefore…?

  continually reinterpret itself, and so it is open to feminist restatement
• social injustice and religious hierarchies at the time of jesus were the result of what?

  male domination
• Jesus is described as…?

  siding with the oppressed and outcasts of society, including women, and was critical of oppressive authority
• Jesus is often presented as understanding both the needs/strengths of women, what does Ruether see this as?

  Jesus exemplifying female traits of healing and caring, as well as male traits of power and authority
• Ruether argues that Jesus was…?

  androgynous, he embodied both masculine and feminine aspects of human nature, his maleness is not significant
• she implies that the female nature is…?

  more Christ-like than male nature
• what does Ruether focus on instead?

  Gospel accounts of Jesus siding with the marginalised in society, the most vulnerable of whom were women
• Jesus’ ability to speak out isn’t masculine but…?

  simply resides in renouncing a system of domination
• the maleness of Jesus isn’t important, what is?

  his liberating messages
• what are Ruether’s overall views?

  There is a measure of female thinking within the New Testament and elements of Christian theology, so it’s possible to remain Christian and yet also experience/express the aspirations of women