Rosemary Radford Ruether

Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 3.10.1

Rosemary Radford Ruether is a feminist thinker and Catholic theologian. She wrote a very influential book in 1983 called Sexism and God-Talk.

In Sexism and God-Talk, Ruether challenges the idea that the maleness of Jesus is basic to how we should understand him. She argues that Jesus’ maleness is not the most important factor in how he is viewed.
She argues that there are more female interpretations of Jesus Christ which have been ignored or marginalised by the Church.

When Jesus was alive, many people were expecting a military-style leader that could save them from Roman rule and oppression. Jesus was certainly not the type of Messiah that was expected.
Jesus’ life and preaching focused on the oppressed and marginalised and he is presented as being on the side of women on a number of occasions. This was not the norm and extremely liberal in such an Orthodox society.
E.g. when a woman is caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11).

Jesus is often with the poor and the downtrodden rather than with the rich and successful.
His desire to help the oppressed seems far away from the stereotypical male image of the powerful warrior.

God is wise. In the Old Testament, God’s wisdom is often personified.
When this happens, the wisdom of God is described and treated as a female.
The Greek word for wisdom is sophia - a feminine word.
In other words, instead of male language to talk about God, we find female language. God is ‘feminised’ rather than being seen as a man.

The female language for God is especially clear in Proverbs 8:
'Does not wisdom call out? / Does not understanding raise her voice? / At the highest point along the way, / where the paths meet, she takes her stand; / beside the gate leading into the city, / at the entrance, she cries aloud: / “To you, O people, I call out; / I raise my voice to all mankind.'

Ruether concludes from this that the male image of God (as father, as King, as Warrior…etc) should not be seen as defining who God is.
God can be seen as female as well as male.
Femininity, Ruether argues, has as much right to be seen as an aspect of God’s identity as maleness. Jesus is said to be the incarnation of God and if God can be seen to be female or have female aspects, then surely Jesus must also.

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