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Start Over Creator Ruether, Rosemary Radford Subject Patriarchy--Religious aspects--Christianity

1. SEBTS Page Lecture - Rosemary Ruether October 2, 1985

Description:
Rosemary Reuther was a professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She was also a leading ecofeminist scholar and Roman Catholic theologian. The service begins with the introduction of Rosemary Ruether (00:00-00:37). The title of Ruether’s lecture is “The Maleness of Christ: Can Christology Be Liberated from Patriarchy.” She begins with the question of how Christology has been used to exclude women, and she examines how the terms “image of God,” “Son of God,” came to be defined in a patriarchal culture where women are only saved and made in the image of God under the headship of men (00:38-15:33). Ruether moves to explore the alternative ways of interpreting and constructing Christology, first by revealing the feminine and gender neutral language in Hebrew Scriptures of describing the character of God, second by showing how the gospel elevates the status of the last in society embodied in the women disciples, and third by pointing to how the early church viewed an alternative life where the genders are equal (15:34-31:18). Ruether states that two interpretations of Paul emerged in the second century, one using the Pastoral Epistles to promote a patriarchal community and another using a Pauline extra-biblical text to promote an “eschatological community” of celibacy, and she argues that these two communities converged during the late Patristic era to form the clerical norms of the Eastern and Western traditions (31:19-35:48). Ruether views the Reformation as a revolt against this synthesis, and she concludes that two lines of Christology emerged that are now present in the modern day: a patriarchal Christianity and a mystical transcendent Christianity (35:49-40:35). She recognizes in the early modern era an emerging of a new movement seeking for original equality which has spawned various movements including liberalism, socialism, and feminism (40:36-45:41). Ruether concludes the lecture by stating the new Christology by surpassing Jesus’ historical maleness and cultural characteristics for him to be a representative to all mankind, and she desires to shift Christ’s focus to being a liberator of the poor (45:42-53:56). The service ends with a word of prayer (53:57-54:23).
Subject:
Patriarchy--Religious aspects--Christianity, Jesus Christ--Person and offices, Image of God--History of doctrines, and Bible. Epistles of Paul--Theology
Creator:
Ruether, Rosemary Radford and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Owner:
archives@sebts.edu
Location:
Wake Forest (N.C.)
Language:
English
Date Uploaded:
02/12/2026
Date Modified:
02/13/2026
Date Created:
1985-10-02
Resource Type:
Audio
Identifier:
SEBTS_Page_Lecture_Rosemary_Reuther_1985-10-02