Historical Theology of Womanhood Midterm - Dr. Shaw - Cedarville University

8 benefits of studying Historical Theology

It distinguishes orthodoxy from heresy.

It provides sound biblical interpretation.

Provides stellar examples of faith, love, courage, hope, obedience, and mercy.

Protects us against individualism.

Enables us to express those beliefs in contemporary form.

Helps us focus on the essentials.

Gives the church hope by providing assurance that Jesus is fulfilling his promise to his people.

Enjoy a sense of belonging to the church of the past.

Allison's definition of Historical Theology

Historical theology is the study of the interpretation of Scripture and the formulation of doctrine by the church in the past.

4 things learned about manhood and womanhood from Genesis 1

Both sexes are created in the image of God.

Male headship is evidenced in the beginning.

There is equality between men and women.

There is distinction between men and women.

The nine indications of gender roles before the fall according to Grudem

Adam was created first, then Eve.

Eve was created as a Helper for Adam.

Adam named Eve.

God named the human race "Man" not "Woman."

The serpent came to Eve first.

God spoke to Adam first after the fall.

Adam, not Eve represented the human race.

The curse brought a distortion of previous roles, not the introduction of new roles.

Redemption in Christ Reaffirms the Creation Order.

What are the main issues in the first wave of feminism?

Racial and social injustice: temperance, voting, coverture, education, employment.

What are the main issues in the second wave of feminism?

Gender equality: reproductive issues, sexual liberation, equality in political and economic areas

What are the main issues in the third wave of feminism?

Radical pursuit of feminine self-realization: embrace more diverse feminism (age, race, sexual orientation), Global agenda, porn-positive

Wollenstonecraft

Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women; Influenced by Enlightenment; Reason is the basis of morality, therefore, in order for women to be moral, they must be educated; Sees Jesus as a moral exemplar.

Anthony

Held that everyone was equal under God and therefore should have equal rights, also led to her being an abolitionist; Did not want to make the movement secular like Stanton; Founded the Women's State Temperance Society with Stanton

Mott

Quaker Minister; Abolitionist and Leader at Seneca Falls; Questioned inerrancy of Scripture

Stanton

Drafted the Declaration of Sentiments; She wrote The Woman's Bible, a feminine recasting of Scripture;

Bushnell

Medical Doctor, worked with antislavery, temperance, and sexual justice issues; Wrote God's Word to Women; paved the way for feminist theology.

McPherson

Pentecostal celebrity evangelist, very popular; Founded the International Church of the Foursquare

What is the significance of The Vindication of Rights?

One of the first philosophical works on feminism; Made a theological arguments that human rights apply equally to men and women because women were also equally made in the image of a rational God. Women (as well as men) had the potential for reason.

What progress was made in Wave 1 of feminism?

Opportunities for women to be educated increased, Divorce laws were made more favorable to women, Married women's rights increased, Women could vote, Many barriers had been removed and women entered the workforce.

Within 2nd Wave feminism describe the three phases

Phase 1- Women want to be the same as men, they see their differences as weakness- total equality with no differences

Phase 2-Women want to celebrate their differences with men, but still remain equal to them

Phase 3-Women want to celebrate their differences with men, but now think of themselves as more than equal

De Beauvoir

French philosopher Wrote The Second Sex; She proposed a model for male-female interaction based on existential philosophy.

Friedan

Founded National Organization for Women (NOW) and a pro-abortion group- NARAL, and the National Women's Political Caucus; wrote The Feminine Mystique.

Millet

Used the term patriarchy to describe the problem without a name.

Davis

Wrote The First Sex; First feminist work that presents an argument for a pre-history- a golden era matriarchy.

Bliss

Conducted a survey for the World Council of Churches in 1952 and wrote The Service and Status of Women in the Church.

Mead

She concluded that there was no fixed pattern of male-female interaction, any difference was culturally conditioned, not set by nature; Her research provided the foundation for the Christian philosophy of egalitarianism.

Goldstein

Wrote "The Human-Situation—A Feminine Viewpoint"; Proposed that a theologian's gender influences their interpretation.

Daly

Wrote The Church and the Second Sex; officially charged the church with the oppression of women , but believed it was redeemable.

Russell

Began to develop a theology specific to women based on liberation theology; wrote The Liberating Word.

Reuther

Began to develop a theology specific to women based on liberation theology.

What was De Beauvoir's primary thesis and solution?

Women were assigned to second-class status in the world / men were robbing women of the right to autonomy, women were being denied the right to transcend and develop.

Collective Assertion/Socialism

What was Friedan's primary thesis and solution?

A problem without a name - Education and Serious Professional Commitment.

Describe the feminine mystique.

Happy housewife

What are the two primary concerns for biblical feminists?

They hold that equal yet different is a contradiction of terms.

They hold that there should be no role distinctions for men and women in any sphere.

5 categories of sexual ethics by Denny Burke.

Consummation of Marriage.

Sex is for Procreation.

Sex in an expression of love.

Sex is for pleasure.

Human sexuality is connected to the glory of God.

4 ways the Gospel provides true justice for Me Too victims.

The Gospel punishes sin.

The Gospel provides a means of forgiveness.

The Gospel gives future hope.

The Gospel gifts us with our identity.

Secular Feminists

Does not use Christianityas a paradigm for understanding reality.

Radical Feminists

Have created a new tradition. Reject the Bible and Christianity because of their patriarchal bias.

Reformist Feminists

Will stay in the Christian Tradition. Uses the Bible as a means to construct a "positive theology" for women.

Evangelical Feminists

The Bible, rightly interpreted, teaches complete gender equality.

Fundementalists

Narrow minded approach to Scripture (Different than conservative evangelicals)

Egalitarian understanding of gender

Hold that gender roles are the result of sin and the curses introduced in Genesis; roles did not exist pre-fall; through redemption in Christ, role distinctions will be erased.

Complimentarian understanding of gender

The view that men and women are complementary, possessing equal dignity and worth as the image of God, and called to different roles that each glorify him.

Luther's three goods of marriage

Permanence, fidelity, and openness to offspring

5 Solas of the Reformation

Scripture Alone, Christ alone, Grace alone, faith alone, Glory to God alone.

5 things the Puritans did to value marriage.

Devalued celibacy, glorified companionate marriage,

affirmed married sex as both necessary and pure, established the ideal of wedded romantic love, and exalted the role of the wife.

Patristic view of divorce

Holds that Matt 5:32 & 19:9 give legitimate grounds for divorce, but no grounds for remarriage (supports the concept of separation, but not divorce)

Majority view of divorce

Holds that Matthew 5:32 & 19:9 give legitimate grounds for divorce and remarriage, with porneia usually understood to be adultery.

Describe the truths that Piper says shine more brightly in singleness from This Momentary Marriage

The family of God grows not by propagation through sexual intercourse, but by regeneration through faith in Christ; Relationships in Christ are more permanent and more precious than relationships in families; Marriage is temporary and finally gives way to the relationship to which it was pointing all along; Faithfulness to Christ defines the value of life; all other relationships get their final significance from this; No family relationship is ultimate, but relationship to Christ is.

Main verses discussed in class regarding a complementarian view of women in the home and church.

Galatians 3:28, 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, 1 Corinthians 14:33b-40, 1Timothy 2:8-15, Ephesians 5:21-33, 1 Peter 3:1-7, Colossians 3:18, 19, 1 Corinthians 7:1-40, Titus 2:3-5, Proverbs 31

Hutchinson

Early religious feminist; Excommunicated from the Puritan Church and the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Claimed to hear direct revelations from God.

The three ways to overcome patriarchy.

Naming self, naming God, naming the world.