Theme 3: Significant social and historical developments

What is the message of Mark 10:25 (the Kingdom of God)?

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Material possessions mean nothing in the afterlife - wealth is an obstacle to heaven.

What is the message of Matthew 6:33 (do not worry)?

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Prioritise trusting in God over material concerns like food or clothes and God will provide these things.

What is the message of Luke 12:33-34 (treasure)?

“A treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.”

Material wealth is fickle, spiritual wealth is assured and real - this will get you to heaven.

What is the message of 1 Timothy 6:10 (root of evil)?

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”

Money is a distraction from seeking God and creates greed.

What is stewardship in the context of wealth?

Accumulate wealth with the goal of using it to help the needy.

What is tithe?

Giving 10% of your income, a form of stewardship.

What was the stewardship message of Methodist preacher John Wesley?

“Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”

Where does the word asceticism come from?

The Greek “askeo” which means exercise or training.

What is the ascetic attitude to wealth?

To deny material possessions, any earthly distractions that takes away from your relationship with God. Also may include abstaining from sexual relationships.

What quote of Jesus’ is linked to asceticism?

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” - Mark 8:34

Give two examples of asceticism in the Bible

• John the Baptist - lived in the wilderness, self-denying lifestyle.

• Jesus’ 40 days spent living in the desert without food and water (although Jesus was not an ascetic all the time)

Give two historical examples of asceticism

• The Desert Fathers - renounced the increasingly worldly Church on the first centuries after Jesus and lived a life of prayer in remote areas.

• St Teresa of Avila

What are more violent forms of asceticism?

Self-flagellation - wearing hair shirts and chains to focus on the suffering of Christ.

Give three arguments that asceticism is compatible with Christian teachings

• Examples in the Bible such as John the Baptist

• Many passages in the New Testament warn about the dangers of wealth

• Sexual abstinence seems to have been followed by Jesus, and many priests do this too

Give three arguments that asceticism is not compatible with Christian teachings

• Jesus himself wasn’t an ascetic, and ate and drank with wealthy people

• Stewardship - asceticism deviates from our duty to help the poor, stewardship is more effective

• Jesus’ prescription to the rich man to give up his wealth could have been individual, not a universal law

What is the prosperity Gospel?

A Christian doctrine that teaches believers have a right to expect wealth and good health as a part of God’s blessings.

How can wealth be attained according to the prosperity Gospel?

Faith, positive confession, tithes and other offerings to churches/causes

How did the prosperity Church gain popularity?

In the late 20th century through televangelists.

Why is the prosperity Gospel popular in economically deprived areas of the world?

It gives people hope that they can become wealthy if they are blessed by God.

Why is the prosperity Gospel popular in rich areas?

It is easier for a rich person to accept that they are blessed by God than to have the responsibility to give wealth away.

What is positive confession?

Proclaiming aloud the things you desire as if they have already arrived, e.g. “I am a giver, and so others give to me.”

What is the belief in positive confession based on?

Biblical passages that emphasise the power of faith, such as James 4:3 “You do not have because you do not ask.”

What biblical evidence does the prosperity Gospel have that wealth is a sign of divine favour?

• Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were all blessed with enormous wealth

• In the OT God promises the Israelites a land “flowing with milk and honey.”

Who is the main critic of the prosperity Gospel?

Craig L. Blomberg

Give three criticisms of the prosperity Gospel

• The promise of prosperity to Israel was meant for the whole nation, not for the individual.

• Nowhere in the NT does God promise wealth for obedience to the Church, rather virtues like hope and love.

• Traditional Christian teachings often emphasise the corrupting power of wealth.

What is feminist theology?

Examination of theology in the context of religion’s role in the oppression of women

Which two scholars look at feminist theology?

Mary Daly and Rosemary Ruether

What is the goal of human life according to Daly?

All people to be free to engage in a journey of growth and becoming fulfilled individuals

What is the sexual caste system?

A rigid hierarchy that has placed women beneath men and trapped them into oppressive roles

What role does the Church have in the sexual caste system?

Helped culture maintain this caste system and forced women into ‘non-being’

What does it mean to view God as a noun?

As a person, making his nature static and changeless. Conceptualised as a white bearded man in the sky who judges us.

What hierarchy emerges from viewing God as a noun?

Men above women - women should follow Jesus but can never be like him because they are the ‘wrong gender’

What does it mean to view God as a verb?

Viewing God as a transformative power challenges the rigidity with which we view God, his nature is developing

Give some examples of patriarchy within the Bible

• 1 Corinthians 14:34 “The women should keep silent in the churches.”

• 1 Timothy 2:12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man… for Adam was formed first, then Eve.”

• Ephesians 5:22-23 “Wives, submit to your husbands as you do the Lord.”

What is the unholy trinity?

Rape, genocide, war

Where does the unholy trinity stem from?

A patriarchal world as enforced by Christianity and the objectification of the enemy

What is Daly’s solution?

Abandon the Church and form a Sisterhood of Feminism - would fulfil same spiritual functions of religions without oppression

Give a quote from Daly about her attitude towards men in the Sisterhood

“It is evident that the covenant is discoverable not only by women but also by men.”

What is a criticism of Daly?

Some argue she is advocating female supremacy, which is just as sexist as male supremacy

Rosemary Ruether argues the Church has undergone partriachalisation - what is this?

The process of becoming male- dominated and misogynistic

Give an argument suggesting the origins of Christianity promote gender equality

• Men and women are both created imagio dei, a basis for equality

• In the Hebrew Bible God is not gendered

How do some explain the scripture saying women should be silent in church?

It is speculated that female prophets in Corinth who claimed direct experience with God is what caused Paul to write that

What is Christology?

The study of Jesus

What is Reuther’s Christology?

Jesus didn’t align with assumptions of what a messiah would be like, instead he was peaceful and served his people, invoking female wisdom

How does Ruether’s Christology link to Crossan?

Both saw Jesus as a ‘Mediterranean Jewish peasant’ and a social revolutionary

What is the Golden Thread?

Ruether’s argument that there is a theme of liberation, including supporting gender equality, in the Bible.

How does Ruether suggest we use the Golden Thread?

Disentangle the sexist parts in the Bible from the parts that emphasise liberation in order to reform Christianity

What is Ruether’s solution?

Reform Christianity, don’t abandon it

What is the prophetic liberating tradition?

Examples like God freeing the Israelites, Jesus’ treatment of the marginalised, Jesus’ moral teachings

What is this process of reforming Christianity called?

Depatriarchalisation