Women and Christianity
| My
dissertation was influenced by many
works by Victorian and contemporary Christian feminist writers. Below
are just a few of the many fascinating titles that have helped shape my
thoughts on this subject and continue to challenge me as a thinker, as a
woman, and as a Christian.
Antoinette Brown Blackwell: A Biography Woman at the Altar: The
Ordination of Women in the Roman Catholic Church (1998) The title of this text tells the tale most directly. Byrne is a long-time member of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her work is one of many Christian feminist books which openly discuss women's ordination, but one of a smaller group of books which focus specifically on Roman Catholicism. Published in England in 1994, the history of the book's delayed publication in the United States (because certain Catholic presses were "unable" to publish it and maintain the approval of Rome) demonstrates how hot the topic is. Woman at the Altar is interesting and easy to read, while offering theological, historical, and logical arguments in support of women's ordination. Antoinette Brown
Blackwell: A Biography Blackwell is known as the first woman to be ordained as a Christian minister in the United States, an event which occurred in 1853. Cazden uses primary sources to give us a fuller understanding of a little-known woman whose long life intersected with the major figures in religion and the women's movement at the time. Cazden does a wonderful job of giving us both a portrait of an individual woman and placing that woman in her larger historical context. Perhaps in part because of my dissertation, the book was fascinating to read; however, I think anyone interested in nineteenth-century American biographies or in religion and women would enjoy the book. Born of a Woman An Episcopalian Bishop, now retired, Spong has written a number of books re-thinking aspects of Christianity. His book Why Christianity Must Change or Die is rather well known. At times, I find Spong to be too strident, too quick to dismantle and too slow to rebuild faith structures in his writing. However, he is always intriguing, always controversial, and always well-grounded in Scripture. Raised as a fundamentalist Christian, he knows his Bible well and uses that knowledge to raise serious and significant questions about Christian beliefs. Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Virgin Birth and the Treatment of Women by a Male-Dominated Church appealed to me because of my dissertation work, because of his brief references to the biblical Ruth (which is relevant to an essay I was working on as I read it), and because of my own difficulties with this aspect of Christian doctrine. Spong's arguments regarding the biblical stories of Jesus' birth spark interesting dialogues both in one's own mind and with others. While there are other theologians whose work with women and Christianity I enjoy more (Joan Chittister, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Elizabeth Johnson), Spong is a well-known voice. For those well-versed in nineteenth-century theologians, the effect of his work reminds me of Ludwig Feuerbach. In Search of Belief I put this under the category of women and Christianity, but even if you are just looking for a book on spirituality and reflections on faith/belief, this is a wonderful book. I thoroughly enjoyed Chittister's ability to weave personal stories from her childhood with lessons she has been forced to learn during adulthood with scriptural commentary and reflections on the modern day Roman Catholic Church. The pretext for the book is a reexamination of the Creed and as in other works I've read by her, Chittister again offers wonderful insights and many ideas upon which to productively reflect. Whenever it is relevant, she also addresses gender issues in the Church and in the Creed and does so in a way that reaffirms the equal dignity of both men and women and the need for the institutional Church to more fully recognize and appreciate that truth. |