05.17.05
Posted in faith at 12:02 pm by
I read The DaVinci Code this weekend. Invariably, I’m afraid this post will come off ‘Dan Brownish’ but, truth be told, I’ve been pondering it for some time now. The book was really just impetus to write the post.
In the book, if you haven’t read it, there is a lot of discussion of the masculinization of Christianity. The book was fiction, indeed; however, there was much factual about the book itself. Primarily, I found fascinating the portrayal of the Catholic Church’s suppression of women.
I feel that in many protestant churches, including mainstream ‘Rick Warren, Max Lucado, etc-esque’ protestant Christianity, there is a long history of making women into second class citizens. I hold that there are numerous artefacts that we see of this masculinization of Christianity evident in the Church today.
One artifact tha I’ve been writing about lately is the popular ‘Christian’ understanding of justice. It seems that Christians have latched on to a more stereotypically masculine understanding of justice than the justice found in the gospel. That discussion focused on the elevation of the masculine characteristics of justice to the detriment of feminine characteristics.
Probably more troubling is the way that women have been uniquely persecuted by the church. One example would be the of the Malleus Malificarum and the large scale murder of thousands, many women, because they were presumed to be involved in witchcraft. Of course, few folks have heard this story because men (often white Christian men) have been the ones to write history books.
Christian fundamentalism does similar things to women. Women are meant to be caretakers of the home. To quitely and humbly submit to their husbands authority. I find this troubling for obvious reasons. Should a woman come to the realization that her life sucks under the authority of her husband–that she’s not making the most of her life–she’s got two choices. One choice would be to suck it up and just live the rest of her life being unfullfilled. The other choice would be to walk away from her faith entirely (the way that faith has come to be presented, at least.)
Neither option sounds that good to me.
I’m sure some of you readers will disagree, will argue that women have been fairly treated in the history of Christendom. Others of you will have other examples that can deepen and illucidate my argument. Admittedly, I’m but a fledgling mind when it comes to issues of the history of religion and the place of women. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
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Posted in faith at 12:02 pm by
I read The DaVinci Code this weekend. Invariably, I’m afraid this post will come off ‘Dan Brownish’ but, truth be told, I’ve been pondering it for some time now. The book was really just impetus to write the post.
In the book, if you haven’t read it, there is a lot of discussion of the masculinization of Christianity. The book was fiction, indeed; however, there was much factual about the book itself. Primarily, I found fascinating the portrayal of the Catholic Church’s suppression of women.
I feel that in many protestant churches, including mainstream ‘Rick Warren, Max Lucado, etc-esque’ protestant Christianity, there is a long history of making women into second class citizens. I hold that there are numerous artefacts that we see of this masculinization of Christianity evident in the Church today.
One artifact tha I’ve been writing about lately is the popular ‘Christian’ understanding of justice. It seems that Christians have latched on to a more stereotypically masculine understanding of justice than the justice found in the gospel. That discussion focused on the elevation of the masculine characteristics of justice to the detriment of feminine characteristics.
Probably more troubling is the way that women have been uniquely persecuted by the church. One example would be the of the Malleus Malificarum and the large scale murder of thousands, many women, because they were presumed to be involved in witchcraft. Of course, few folks have heard this story because men (often white Christian men) have been the ones to write history books.
Christian fundamentalism does similar things to women. Women are meant to be caretakers of the home. To quitely and humbly submit to their husbands authority. I find this troubling for obvious reasons. Should a woman come to the realization that her life sucks under the authority of her husband–that she’s not making the most of her life–she’s got two choices. One choice would be to suck it up and just live the rest of her life being unfullfilled. The other choice would be to walk away from her faith entirely (the way that faith has come to be presented, at least.)
Neither option sounds that good to me.
I’m sure some of you readers will disagree, will argue that women have been fairly treated in the history of Christendom. Others of you will have other examples that can deepen and illucidate my argument. Admittedly, I’m but a fledgling mind when it comes to issues of the history of religion and the place of women. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
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Audrey said,
May 17, 2005 at 4:19 pm
Yeah, buddy.
A woman might as well be a Mormon, and hope to Christ her husband remembers her secret name when he attains Godhood…
Seriously. I didn’t work my backside off in school so I could be a domestic engineer. Nor did I attend college and graduate school in search of an MRS degree. I suppose those things are part of the reason that I’ve been repelled every time I’ve visited an evangelical fundamentalist church.
What however, is justice, and how does feminine justice differ from masculine justice? Or is this tied up with Judith Tanner’s theories of gender differences in discourse?
I know (from being married to a lawyer) that the legal system is not so much about justice as it is about rules. I also know that this tends to be more correct about the civil system than the criminal system, but is true to a large extent about both systems.
Perhaps that’s what you mean by masculine justice? Is it a preoccupation with the rules, including the rules of retribution?
Audrey
Audrey said,
May 17, 2005 at 4:21 pm
Hey — My sarcasm mode delimiters got wiped out. That whole paragraph re: evangelical and Mormon views of women is intended to be sarcastic. Or, if you agree with the assessment, feel free to assess it as irony or satire.
Brandon said,
May 17, 2005 at 4:27 pm
I actually think you’ve got my meaning re: retribution vs. restoration. I’m not sure it’s fair to tie a gender label to justice…but restoration and retribution as stereotypical labels, that might be more accurate.
Jim said,
May 17, 2005 at 9:33 pm
Susan Ashton wrote a song with the following lyric “we must move beyond justice to mercy.” I tend these days to think about justice as the demand for granting or honoring of rights and to see mercy as something higher; the relief of shame. I’m trying to practice mercy rather than demand justice.
Greek Shadow said,
May 18, 2005 at 12:38 pm
I enjoyed the DaVinci Code, another book that looks at how masculine Christianity is, is The Mists of Avalon. It was a little too whiny for me, but they made the point that Catholicism’s veneration of Mary was to address this point.
Summer said,
May 20, 2005 at 5:35 am
Speaking of the sins of women being persecuated more…
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=BRF%20Pregnant%20Student%20Graduation
A pregnant girl was not allowed to participate in her graduation ceremony, but the father of her child, also a senior, was welcome to do so? Grr.
I believe the story might have more to it (what were the “safety concerns” that prevented herfrom attending school and why were her relatives escorted out by the police?) but it’s still outrageous
Summer said,
May 20, 2005 at 5:36 am
Let’s try this again… http://tinyurl.com/9cblj
Kirala said,
May 22, 2005 at 12:13 am
I’d say the situation of women in the church is a little similar to that of slaves, and the persecuted, and various other groups in the New Testament: as Christians, we are asked to submit, even when it is unjust.
On the other hand, I’m an independent-minded girl, and I’m not going to sit by quietly while men do things I feel are stupid/harmful/dangerous, and any idiot recommending that I stay in a situation as extreme as an abusive marriage is gonna get smacked.
What do we do? This “wives, submit to your husbands” (who in turn are called to “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her”) is impossibly hard and unfair, but so is “love your enemies; pray for those who persecute you, do good to those who hurt you.” Christ Himself submitted to ultimate injustice. Can we do any less? What would the Lord have of us in this situation?
I’ll worry about that when/if it proves that I’ve erred in my choice of husband, that my husband is not the sort interested in partnership, friendship, and love. Meanwhile, I see nothing that says “single women, submit to all men.” Nor do I see any command to marry and put myself under a man’s authority. In fact, I think Paul urges rather the opposite.
sam said,
May 23, 2005 at 11:23 am
Try search about this topic there Google.com