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Theology and violence against women Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2002 www.jamaicaobserver.com THE World Council of Churches has launched a "Decade to Overcome Violence" (2001-2010) DOV, but, that decade has to liberate religion from the theology of patriarchal authoritarianism, which seeks to use scripture to engenderise male dominance and perpetuate female inferiority. The main contributor to the idea of female inferiority is the fall/redemption theological focus which we inherited from Augustine of Hippo, Thomas a Kempis, Bossuet; Cotton Mather, Tanquerry and others mainly from Europe. Fall/redemption theological premise includes the following: Very male-oriented, ascetic, mortification of the body, passion is a curse, God as Father but not seen as mother, child as well as Father, suffering is the wages of sin, emphasises original sin and guilt; very pessimistic; talks about the spirituality of the powerful and not necessarily of the powerless; apolitical, that is, supportive of the status quo and maintains the view that humanity is sinful. This theological orientation is suspicious of the body and violent in its body/soul imagery. "The soul is at war with the body" (Augustine of Hippo). MORE |
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