Growing up attending a Catholic school, I was always told the story of Adam and Eve. At first, I was taught the tale as a literal transgression which happened in human history. Then sixth grade hit and I was shocked by the news that my teacher, Mrs. Barns, bluntly told me that, “Adam an Eve was not real, but just a story told for us humans to understand the world a little better.”
After questioning Mrs. Barns for quite some time, making sure she really knew what she was talking about, I came to the realization that I too believed the story of Adam and Eve was just that—a story.
As years went by, this is how I always thought about life. Living in a very small town in Minnesota, there wasn’t very many outside opinions to counter my thoughts either. Entering Loyola was the first time I realized that people thought differently than I did. (Obviously I knew people though differently on smaller topics, but I am talking about large scale, such as how we view the world.) After sitting in this class and reading the first couple readings that took the story of Adam and Eve very literally, I was shocked that people actually thought this way. That a man should be treated better, and hold more authority than a woman just because of a passage in the Bible, one which I was taught while growing up was open for interpretation.
These passages that we were reading made me quite upset and angry with the Church. How could it treat women as means to an end, when that is clearly not a very “holy” thing to do. To make myself understand this and almost counteract the passages that we read in class, I started to make list as to why God would be a feminist:
- God designed humans, males AND females, in his image. (see Genesis 1:26) Even though the woman is made from the man’s rib, all humans are made to reflect himself. In the argument that the Church gives to protect the sanctity of traditional marriage, they claim that both men and women are needed to fulfil the reflection of “God’s image.” Meaning, that women are just as important in God’s image as men are (source).
- God assigns work to all humans in the bible (see Genesis 1:28). He calls us to “fill the earth and subdue it.” He isn’t just calling men to do this, he is calling all. In December of 2014, Pope Francis released an investigation that would show that nuns and sisters roles in the church are very valuable. “The report showed a pleasing shift from paranoia about nun’s thoughts, to respect for their work.” This shows that the church is, slowly but surely, trying to equalize men and women’s roles within the church, without making women priest. Pope Frances agrees that, “without embracing full lives for women, the church will dwindle” (source).
- God gave women the privilege of bearing children. (I know some people will not think the same as I do on this and it might start some controversy.) If God did not believe women were just as “special” or “important” as men, why would he create the only was humans can reproduce in women? In saying this I do not agree with some of our readings saying that this is the only way women can be saved from being damned to hell, but I do believe childbirth is a beautiful gift and a choice women have the privilege of making.
- All humans are sinful, and as Christians, we are called to fight the injustices. Sin is the main seed which sexism, classism, racism, and any other form of prejudices spring from. Christians should therefor fight against these inequalities (Isaiah 1:17). Therefore, to fight sexism, Christians should be banding together to support feminism.
- Jesus, his own son, was a feminist. Again, and again, Jesus stands up different men in the Bible to protect and defend women. You can see this with his relationship with Mary Magdalene. She was brought to him to be punished on the act of adultery. Instead of prosecuting her, Jesus tells the accusers that whomever is without sin can cast the first stone (see Luke 7:44-57).
Overall, these are the reasons why I believe God, or at least the God that I choose to worship and believe in, is a feminist.
Extra Activities:
If you are unsure if you are a feminist, here is a very simple and easy quiz that could help you! http://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/are-you-a-feminist#.tmrvEX2JG
Here is another really simple and funny video that explains intersectionality in feminist with the best thing ever—PIZZA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgK3NFvGp58
Here is a video that was made by asking a bunch of women of all different ages and backgrounds what they think of the word ‘feminism.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apfuqpFQPmg
Other Sources:
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/worldview/5-ways-bible-supports-feminism
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/11/books/is-god-a-feminist.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.compellingtruth.org/feminism-Christian-feminist.html
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/catholic-church-must-face-up-to-feminism-20141218-12a4i8.html
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/catholic-church-must-face-up-to-feminism-20141218-12a4i8.html
Navigating Mansions 
This was an interesting article to read. I actually read it a couple of times because I did not know how to actually respond to a blog like this one. I know that God wants all of his creations to be under equal rule. I liked the fact that you brought out pieces of scripture to backup what you wanted to say about men and women are to be equal. I do personally believe that all men and women are to be treated as equals and no one should be treated lower then the other. I think the problem that I had with the blog was associating God as a feminist. I think there is a negative stigma against calling people feminist. There are extreme feminist that bring a negative outlook on feminists because their actions are so extreme. I honestly think that is why I was having such a difficult time commenting on this blog post. It was a very interesting post to read though.
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It’s interesting to remember that all of the language I use to understand faith is translated from its origin, or from the Latin Vulgate, into English. The Catholic Church retains the authority to approve these translations or not. For instance, some references to God in Genesis are plural, whereas others are strictly singular and male. Oftentimes our language is separated by so many degrees from the author’s original intent (and context), that we are unable to sift through the countless pervasive agendas to propose a truly independent interpretation of the text. Thus we become increasingly dependent on flawed frameworks that seem to serve only to further marginalize. There are so many layers to the injustices at the heart of the Church’s exclusivity. I think God the feminist is worth celebrating, and I am so glad that you took this opportunity to do so.
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I really enjoyed reading this blog post and the points that you brought up really resonated with me. Specifically the point about how god specifically gave Women the gift of being able to bear children. I feel as though this is one of the basic things that differentiates men from women and the fact that being able to carry and birth a child is seen as inferior to that which men do is bizarre to me. If anything, I feel as though women were given the power to this miracle and it it would only make us “superior” to men, because our bodies can do such a remarkable thing.
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I always really like addressing the issue of Feminism and spirituality. I feel like, here in America at least, radical Feminism is (wrongfully) seen as the norm for the movement. Coinciding with that branch of Feminism is usually a severe rejection of any patriarchal religious structures (so, basically all of them). I really enjoyed reading about how you reconcile these two ideals, and bring them forward without sacrificing the integrity of either one. I think a lot of people want to ignore how progressive people like Jesus were in terms of gender relations. I would, however, be careful not to call Jesus a Feminist, since it’s an anachronistic term for when he was alive.
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I really admire your approach to this topic. I think it is crucial to our understanding of God to view him/her as a feminist. Any negative connotation associated with the label of feminist (one referenced in a few of the comments above) comes from the very patriarchal system feminism is working against. A negative stigma that has been associated with a term does not mean a person should avoid taking ownership of that label. Identifying as a Christian was not always a welcomed identification, but people knew what they believed in a stuck with it. My point being, a negative stigma attached to the term feminist is no reason not to use it to describe God or Jesus. There is no reason to “be careful” using the term feminist. Feminism is a positive, empowering, love driven moment despite occasional radicalism. Plus, Jesus WAS a radical. All of the points you put forward were fantastic. I agree with the above comment about the way you referenced actual text. It is always helpful to “back up” your claim in that way. I’m glad you went beyond what was required and found a way to reconcile with the reading from class. I personally find that there can be a lot of empowerment for women from the story of Adam and Eve when it is interpreted from a feminist perspective.
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I really enjoyed reading this! I can agree that, from today’s feminist’s point of view, God is a feminist. There is a lot of controversy about calling him a feminist because some people give it a negative connotation. To be honest though, God did make men and women to be equal. The real difference in our genders is the fact that we are given different attributes that are meant to compliment one another and people have always seen certain qualities as inferior to the other. I’m just glad that our generation is living in a progressive society where we can acknowledge feminists (although many still don’t) and realize the Adam and Eve story points out that women are NOT inferior to men in any way. The way the story has been interpreted over the centuries overlooked this fact and I’m glad you talked about it in this post.
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I really liked this post because I enjoyed how you equated childbirth to being made in God’s image. I think you’re right: a lot of people see it as a punishment, but I also believe it’s a great privilege and responsibility reserved for women. I think it is definitely a gift and a way of being closer to your child and God.
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Well written post, Anna. The point that stood out to me the most was how you equated being able to give birth to being made in God’s image. Too often I get the feeling as though this is seen as a nuisance or somehow inferior to the bodily functions of a man. If anything I would argue to opposite and say that the bodily functions of a woman are remarkable and superior to that of a man because they have to ability to create the miracle of life.
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