The original idea of feminism was to eliminate inequality of women and obtain all the basic rights God gave to every human being. The theory has influenced our society, politics, and social behavior by integrating sexism, gender equality, and equal opportunities. Influenced by feminism, the feminist theology is also based on the notion of gender equality and sexism. At the same time, feminist theology created division within Christianity as a whole by declaring gender equality and avoiding the Biblical canons.
First of all, feminist theologians state that the Bible is full of masculine connotations and patriarchy disregarding the fact the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek languages. For instance, they require disregarding masculine connotation of God and consider the Lord as feminine, too. Furthermore, the most radical followers reject Jesus Christ and the Bible, since they are male-centric and created to suppress women. At this point, the clash between orthodox Christianity and feminist theology occurs, since God created this world, named himself, and called each creature he created.
Secondly, feminist theologians strive to avoid the Biblical canons and believe that “true religion is based on revelation” (James, n.d.). The followers of this theory believe that everything written in the Bible could be interpreted from the female perspective and experience. Sometimes, the thoughts could come from other religions, philosophies, etc. James (n.d.) states that each person is able to make up own theology and theology “becomes totally arbitrary.”
Thirdly, feminist theology protests against different aspects mentioned in the Bible. For example, Biblical interpretation of sin is “transgression of the law of God”. Here, feminist theology defines sin as “anything that detracts from my autonomy and self-realization”. Moreover, original sin is rejected by feminist theology. Therefore, feminist theology goes far away from the Christian traditions, since it demonstrates egocentric perspective on sin and salvation.
Overall, feministic theology was developed to improve the equality of woman. However, the Bible and Christian norms clearly state that men and women are equal, created in God’s image, and the Lord loves and values all of us disregarding our gender. That is why I would focus on providing the interpretation of the Bible. Most of the times, it is possible to be “fully committed to the dignity and equality of women and not be a feminist”.