Christianity, gender and sexuality

• 10 marker - The role and status of women in NT


  .-        Jesus regarded women highly and spoke to them the same as men- e.g. when he ate with Mary and Martha an spoke to Samaritan woman at well

  -        key quote- 'there is neither jew nor gentile.. nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus' Galatians 3:28

  -        Paul wrote to Christians in Rome an  d told them to respect Pheobe who was a female deacon

  -        however Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 'women should remain silent in the churches'
• 10 marker - pre-nineteenth century views on women

  .-        Tertullian referred to women as 'the devil's doorway'

  -        Augustine blamed Eve for the fall

  -        in 5th century many church councils banned women from being ordained as deacons

  -        the role of women was restricted to marriage and motherhood- Martin Luther said women should 'remain at home, sit still, keep house, and bear and bring up children'
• 10 marker - post-nineteenth century views on women

  .-        role remained much the same as housewife while men worked- however changing ideas and further female education meant women became gradually accepted into professions like medicine

  -        in ww1 women played key role keeping the country going while men were fighting- forced society to reassess their role

  -        gradually women acquired equal employment rights though women are a minority in senior management positions

  -        politically women hold power- shown by Theresa May
• 10 marker - The development of biblical criticism

  .-        liberal theologians claim Bible should be studied the same as other literature

  -        the language in which it was written

  -        Karl Barth- rejected it- said that Bible passes judgement on human reason not the other way round- bible should be allowed to challenge secular views rather than having its interpretation driven by them

  -        Many fundamentalist Christians anything but a literalist interpretation of bible- bible is infallible word of god- so role of women isn’t up for debate-
• 10 marker - Liberal Christian application of biblical criticism to 1 Timothy 2:8-15


  .-        'a woman should learn in quietness and full submission'

  -        biblical scholars argue there was an issue in the Christian community which 1 Timothy was addressed

  -        Ephesus was the most important center for fertility worship in the region and many converts came from that background- some of the women may have been temple prostitutes in the cult of mother goddess
• 10 marker – what is 1 Corinthians 14:34-35


  .-        'women should remain silent in the churches'- its possible that this scripture is a later addition (a marginal note) to the text based on 1 timothy 2:8-15- as a number of early manuscripts don’t contain these verse
• 10 marker - Protestant views on the role of women in the church


  .-        many believe in the priesthood of all believers- don’t believe in ordination of priesthood since all vocations are of equal value

  -        many have an egalitarian approach- means that women may hold positions of leadership just like men may
• 10 marker - Catholic view on ordination of women


  .-        complementarian approach- men and women are equal in gods eyes but have different roles

  -        apostolic succession can only be passed on from man to man- this position was confirmed in 1976 by a Vatican declaration which states while Jesus' attitude of respect for women must be followed this doesn’t entail leadership
• 10 marker - Debates about female ordination in the church of England (code)


  .-        in 1944 Florence Li Tim-Oi was ordained priest in China because insufficient men that could serve the Anglicans there- as soon as war ended she handed back her license and returned to her role as deaconess

  -        in UK there was decades of debates but in 1994 the first ordination of women as priests took place- the first female cue bishop Libby Lane was consecrated in 2015

  -        Communities can sate that they will have a male priest only
• 15 marker - Arguments for the ordination of women as priests and bishops in Code


  .-        Code was justified in taking action without asking other denominations- Catholics did the same when claiming pope is infallible

  -        Jesus' decision was a pragmatic one- if he chose women for his mission it would never have taken off- if they were chosen they couldn’t leave children behind- the choice was based on the culture of the time

  -        there is metaphors that refer to god as mother- but it would lead to danger of association with fertility religions for jews
• 10 marker - there are 3 strands of feminist theology-


  .-        liberal- sees patriarchal beliefs as problematic

  -        biblical approach- biblical scholars that are feminists point out the feminine qualities described of god in bible

  -        radical approach- the Christian story is a myth which wishes to speak of god in other gender-inclusive terms
• 15 marker - Arguments against the ordination of women as priests and bishops in Code


  .-        it lacks consent of other churches

  -        as god is a 'father'- the bishop represents his fatherhood- females wouldn’t

  -        ordination of women as bishops threaten apostolic succession and therefore the validity of many of the sacrament A comparison of the ideas of Daphne Hampson and Rosemary Radford Ruether
• 10 marker – Info on Daphne Hampson


  .-        she is a post-Christian theologian who rejects Christianity on two counts

  -        Christianity continues sexism- by looking constantly to the past Christianity only continues sexism and ancient sexist beliefs are continued

  -        god is described using male metaphors- this casts humanity into a 'female' position and creates a gender hierarchy- suggesting female inferiority

  -        father-son imagery is dominant- lack of imagery depicting women and men as equal adults
• 10 marker – Info on Rosemary Radford Ruether


  .-        she is above all concerned with the biblical message of liberation not the masculine ideas of power

  -        she points to the gospel references of him siding with the marginalized and the most vulnerable- whom are women

  -        believe heaven is to be built on earth where justice prevails

  -        replaces word god with god/ess- express freedom from gender

  -        Jesus is androgenous as he embodies both masculine and feminine aspect of human nature
• 10 marker - Hampson/Ruether Debate


  .-        Hampson commented one can be religious and feminist- the problem lies with Christianity as its a 'historical' religion

  -        responding- Ruether claimed Christianity is a eschatological faith- focused on future- liberating reign of god- constantly changing

  -        Hampson insisted Christianity is not simply a political message- they believe it as historically true- an idea not now credible

  -        Ruether accuses Hampson of fundamentalism- she said mythological language is symbolic and not to be taken literally
• 10 marker – Info on celibacy


  .-        in biblical times most jews married but celibacy wasn’t unknow

  -        according to Matthew 19:12- celibacy was seen as a choice to focus on kingdom of god- since early days celibacy is seen as a vocation for some Christians

  -        in 1 Corinthians Paul advocated celibacy unless sexual urges were too strong- he believed marriage was distraction from preparing for judgement day

  -        in Catholic- celibacy seen as positive offering oneself to service of god- but because of decrease in ordination there has been pressure to permit marriage for priests
• 10 marker – Info on marriage

  .-        marriage was seen as a sacrament and raising a family a vocation- still view of Catholics- if divorced cant remarry as seen by god as still married- must get an annulment to remarry

  -        protestants see it as an ordinance- so divorce and remarriage are accepted

  -        idea that an important purpose of marriage is procreation- modern day its more about a relationship
• 10 marker – Info on homosexuality -society and the law on homosexuality (gay)

  .-        until second half of 20th century gay was seen as unnatural

  -        the practice of homosexuality was illegal and until early 19th century punishable by death

  -        over past 50 years UK law and social attitudes have changed

  -        1967 gay acts in private was legal
• 10 marker – Info on Christianity and homosexuality


  .-        the position of some churches are unclear as changing societal views challenge traditional Christian views

  -        some Christians may have differing opinions then what the church they go to says- one key figure pressing for decriminalization in mid-20th-century was archbishop of canterbury- Geoffrey Fisher
• 10 marker – Info on biblical teaching on homosexuality-


  .-        in OT gay was seen as an abomination punishable by death

  -        in NT- Paul twice denounced it including a list of other 'anti-social' activities

  -        however they are interpreted differently now- product of cultural attitudes

  -        Sodom and Gomorrah story- assumed gods destruction of those cities was because gay acts were threatened by a group of thugs- however others think its clear that punishment came more from lack of hospitality then for homosexuality
• 10 marker – Info on contemporary Christian views on homosexuality-


  .-        evangelical protestants- bible is infallible- gay is detestable and incompatible with being Christian

  -        Catholic- distinguish between orientation and practice- accepts gays but expects celibacy

  -        Code- official teaching is gay falls short of ideal- heterosexual marriage- but all should be shown respect- clergy in gay relationships should show celibacy- torn between liberal and progressive views
• 10 marker – Info on transgender issues

  .-        2010 Equality Act includes 'gender reassignment' as a 'protected characteristic'

  -        bible says nothing but early church condemned those who underwent surgery to modify sexual identity- ordination of priests not permitted for eunuchs (castrated male)

  -        fundamentalist protestants believe god alone decides gender- any attempt to change is a rebellion against god

  -        liberal protestants accept transgender people and trans rights- many accept trans people as ministers