Feminist Liberation Theology
Liberation Theology
Week 7: Feminist Liberation Theology
Creation Stories
Information gathered from Women’s Bible Commentary, Third Edition: Revised and Updated.
Genesis contains two different accounts of the creation story. Genesis 1 is the linear telling of the first through seventh days of creation. Were God spoke into existence, and said it was good. In this story, God created humankind simultaneously. This symbolizes the equality that they shared in God’s eyes. The man was not before or above the woman. They were equally created in God’s image. As an ancient creation story, this is has a lot of similarities to ancient greek and Mesopotamian creation myths, where God created a join androgynous human with two heads and four legs and then ripped the human into a man and woman, neither was inferior or superior. This is where the phrase “other half” comes from.
The second creation story, found in Genesis 2-3, tends to overshadow Genesis 1. This is largely due to the idea of the original sin, which was influenced by Augustine of Hippo. Augustine was an early church theologian in the 3rd and 4th centuries. His theology still greatly influences western Christianity to this day. He pushed the idea of original sin and used Eve as a symbol for lust and temptation. Thus the idea that women were weak, inferior, and untrustworthy has taken root in Christianity. Women have since been blamed for the fall. John Milton, an English poet, further harped on this idea in his famous poem “Paradise Lost.”
If we look at the story and take into account that this is a historical ancient text, Eve is actually the protagonist of this story. In many ancient stories, there are certain commands that are ignored by the protagonists in order to advance the plot, prove a point, and teach a lesson. The command in Genesis 2:17 was meant to be broken. It was not a literal command but merely a teaching tool that the author was using to segway from the perfect Garden of Eden into the reality of the world we find ourselves in. You can note in this creation story that Eve is mentioned by name and Adam is not. We don’t learn his name until later in Genesis. Eve takes action, various times in this story. In fact, Eve takes action five times, and Adam only once. Eve is active, knows God’s law, and seeks knowledge. When confronted, Adam doesn’t even take responsibility, blames eve and God. He is painfully passive in this story. Eve wasn’t merely an easy target for temptation, but instead, a conscious actor choosing to seek knowledge. In discussing Eve’s role in Genesis 2-3, the Women’s Bible Commentary states, “To be the curious one, the seeker of knowledge, the tester of limits is quintessentially human.” Furthermore, when Eve is described as Adam’s “helper”, the actual translation of the original Hebrew translation meant “rescue” or aid”, so it’s more the idea of active rescue than a passive helper.
It is not until they leave the garden that we see any hierarchy and social roles take form. This is when we see any notion of sexual relations, birth, and social roles such as men working the fields. But this is not saying that God declared that be the social standing, but merely a consequence and reality of the structures we exist in. There are many theologians who believe that God intended equality (as we see in the above interpretation of the creation stories), and our work is to bring about a world where people are elevated and celebrated regardless of gender. It is important to note that Genesis 3 does not mention the original sin. This was a later theological interpretation by Augustine, not something that was written by the Author Genesis.
Sophia, Divine Wisdom
Our limiting and complicated understanding of gender and creation, have had damaging effects on the way we view and interact with God. In modern, western Christianity, the language for God is largely male-centered. Christians have not always viewed God this way, there is vast God-language within scripture. In her book She Who Is, Elizabeth A. Johnson writes, “The daily language of preaching, worship, catechesis, and instruction conveys [this] message: God is male, or at least more male than female, or at least more fittingly addressed as male than female.” There is a need for gender-inclusive discussion of God. When we only speak of God as male, this is limiting what we see God as. This is not to say God isn’t or could never be male. Jesus walked the earth as a man for 33 years. But we tend to stick exclisively to male ways of viewing the vastness of God’s character.
We constantly discuss only two parts of the trinity, Father, and Son. We constantly neglect the Holy Spirit, which Jesus himself claimed was more important than him remaining on earth. Throughout scripture, there are references to Sophia or divine wisdom. This typically referred to the Spirit, as well as “the word of God”. Sophia represents the presence of God in action within the world. In She Who Is, Elizabeth Johnson asserts that Jesus is the Sophia Incarnate. Sophia is visible throughout scripture, yet we never use this language to discuss God. Sophia was there in the beginning, it is referred to with feminine pronouns yet we still only see God as male.
Crew Discussion Questions:
What do you think about the fact that God created humankind simultaneously in the first creation story?
If Eve is the protagonist of the second creation story, how does this change our understanding?
We can see in Proverbs 8. In this chapter, Sophia is speaking. What sticks out to you?
In Proverbs 8:22-31, Sophia talks about how she was with God in the beginning. How does this change your view of God?
Bonus Resources: