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The
Wisdom of Daughters: Two Decades of the Voice of Christian Feminism
Christian feminism? More than twenty years ago it was considered outrageous! The term "Christian feminism" was seen as an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. How could one be a follower of Christ AND a feminist whose stereotype was that of a strident, bra-burning, man-hating, uppity woman? That was the right question but asked for all the wrong reasons. Indeed, three years into the new millennium and deep in the midst of a war with terrorists who fight, in part, for reinstatement of the model of male domination of the world as being "the law of God," the question continues to be asked by Christian women and men everywhere — with similar urgency and passion. The Wisdom of Daughters is a collection of some of the best writing that originally appeared in the monthly magazine, "Daughters of Sarah." With roots deep in the Evangelical Women’s Caucus, what became a highly polished monthly magazine began to bloom and grow in the place where most social revolutions begin: in the company of women. Lucile Sider Groh, the first editor of "Daughters of Sarah," remembers that in the early seventies most feminists had declared the church a key oppressor of women. She became otherwise convinced by the early writings of Virginia Mollenkott, Letha Scanzoni, and Nancy Hardesty, and was particularly inspired by Lenoard Swindler’s monograph, Jesus Was a Feminist to gather some of her friends to meet regularly and study together what the Bible really says to and about women.
After a year of study and exhilarated by what they were learning, they caught the early evangelical flame which found its first spark in the woman at the Tomb of Jesus who ran to tell the world the Good News. In September 1974, they collected thirty dollars to pay postage and copying, and two months later they sent two hundred copies of their first issue to friends and acquaintances. The response was overwhelming. As Groh reports, "Personally, we experienced a new sense of power. We as women could… bring about change. We could produce and manage our own [magazine]."
A key component of the magazine’s wide appeal was the firm resolve of the editors to declare no topic off limits if it related to Christian feminism. Neither did the gender or denominational affiliation of the author exclude a journalistic entry. What mattered was how the subject was dealt with and handled. And, the subject matter was always relevant and compelling — and sometimes controversial. Issues ranged not only from the expected ‘women in ministry’ or ‘democracy within the family,’ but the editors also dared to offend some readers by engaging controversial topics such as the emergence of goddess worship, homosexuality, sexism in the Old Testament, date rape, child abuse or global prostitution. The chapters are arranged by feminist theological issues: "God as She" contains an article by Episcopalian actress and author Roberta Nobleman. "Women, Theology & Religion" contains an essay from the Spring 1994 issue on Interreligious Dialogue by Virginia Mollenkott which is especially compelling in the midst of today’s multicultural and pluralistic realities.
Personally, the most compelling insight I received in reading this collection of essays was to observe the direct link between pastoral concerns regarding social issues and how these concerns raise uncomfortable questions about what were previously unquestionable theological foundations. In the summer of 1992, Joanne Carlson Brown wrote an article entitled Divine Child Abuse in which she questioned the long-held societal view that, "In our society, women have been acculturated to accept abuse, believing it is our place to suffer." Her study of scripture led her to question Christian theology about suffering, saying, "Thus many in the Christian tradition feel that sacrifice and obedience are an integral part of what it means to be Christian." From there, it was just a short step to questioning — indeed, challenging! — that which Brown says is the "central metaphor… of Christianity: the idea of atonement." The responses to that article were as varied as the positions on the continuum of Christian feminism and challenged the notion that all Christian feminists think alike. The editors of "Daughters of Sarah" were compelled to stop publication of their magazine in 1996, and the loss of it is made even more acute with this reminder of just how brilliant the magazine once was in its innovation and relevance. "Daughters" was a respected and important vehicle for women who took their faith in Christ seriously enough to challenge the institutional church. Like the woman in Matthew’s Gospel (15:21-28) who tried to get through the apostles to find in Jesus healing for her daughter, the voices of the women (and men) in these articles cry out to discover the presence of Jesus in the midst of the concerns of women today. In many circles, the term "Christian feminism" continues to be viewed as either passé or a dirty word. The Wisdom of Daughters calls us to reconsider the question that sparked this remarkable collection of essays: How can one be a follower of Christ and a feminist? The scholarship, passion and witness of the various authors provide fresh new insights to help us delve more deeply into that central question of faith. In so doing, we — men and women alike — might recapture the evangelical spark first given to a woman at that ancient empty tomb. What an outrageous, revolutionary idea! The Rev. Canon Elizabeth Kaeton is a regular contributor to A Globe of Witnesses. Her monthly column is Another Word for Justice. Elizabeth can be reached by email at EMKaeton@aol.com
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