Ten feminist theologians link traditional/ fundamentalist Christian theology with domestic violence. They also suggest alternate christologies to provide a foundation for a more holistic, human-friendly Christian theology.

For God So Loved the World?
by Joanne Carlson Brown and Rebecca Parker

      The foundation of traditional Christian theology is the story of the Fall in Genesis. Since man was perfect before the fall and it was only by man's disobedience to God that man became imperfect, it is possible to return man to a state of perfection. A savior, Jesus of Nazareth, was sent by God to redeem man from the Fall and return man to this state of perfection. Christianity required the story of the Fall, for without it there is no need for a savior. Women were labeled the sinful ones, the first to sin in the garden of Eden, the temptress who was seduced by the serpent, and who in turn seduced Adam into disobeying God. Hence the burden has been on women to redeem the tragic death of "our redeemer", the suffering savior. The ideals of Christianity, sacrificial love, passive acceptance of suffering, humility, meekness, etc. not only emulate the qualities of "our redeemer, who died for our sins," but also reinforce the scapegoat syndrome for women.

      "The burden is on the believer to redeem Jesus' death from tragedy, but the believer cannot be redeemed without the example of the tragedy. This is the kind of double bind in which women find themselves in Christian culture." page 13

      Atonement is only one possible interpretation of the passion story (the death and resurrection of Jesus). Other common interpretations of the passion story are equally problematic. Brown and Parker discuss the pitfalls of the various traditional interpretations of the passion of Christ including:

• Christus victor tradition (suffering is a prelude to triumph and is therefore an illusion),
• Moral influence tradition (God wanted to prove to us that we can be saved so he sent his son to die for all mankind),
• Satisfaction theory (God desired that the world be redeemed through the death of Jesus so Jesus was killed),
• Suffering God theory (the God who suffers with us),
• Necessity of suffering (pain builds character), and finally,
• Negativity of suffering theory (pain is required by God to atone for sin).

      Each of these interpretations is rejected and a Christology based on the work attributed to Carter Heyward was offered in their place. They assert:

1. Jesus is important only if he is only and fully human.
2. Since there is no original sin in the classical sense, humanity does not need to be redeemed.
3. Jesus' death was an evil, unnecessary, violent, unjust act done by humans which should not be glorified and cannot be justified.

      Given these assertions, not only can we not justify the suffering done to Jesus, but also cannot justify a theology that encourages people to allow themselves to suffer needlessly. "This notion of welcoming, or submitting oneself gladly to, injustice flies in the face of Jesus' own refusal to make concession to unjust relation." pages 25-26 quote taken from Heyward's The Redemption of God
      Given that Christianity glorifies suffering, "[i]s it any wonder that there is so much abuse in modern society when the predominant image or theology of the culture is of "divine child abuse" - God the Father demanding and carrying out the suffering and death of his own son?" page 26

      "We do not need to be saved by Jesus' death from original sin. We need to be liberated from the oppression of racism, classism, and sexism, that is, from patriarchy." page 27

      A new Christianity would empower us to reject the abuse upon which self-sacrifice rests, would acknowledge that suffering is never redemptive and cannot be redeemed. A new Christianity would be grounded in justice, radical love, and liberation.

The Western Religious Tradition and Violence Against Women in the Home
by Rosemary Radford Reuther

      "Domestic violence against women - wife battering or beating - is rooted in and is the logical conclusion of basic patriarchal assumptions about women's subordinate status." page 31

Reuther explains that:

1. Christianity borrowed Aristotle's biology to legitimate their contention that women were "misbegotten males."
2. Infanticide was routinely practiced against girl children in all ages, including the Middle Ages. Although the church opposed all infanticide, it justified the killing of daughters suspected of sexual improprieties. It seems as if the church (the powerful church) was impotent to act against the killing of girl children.
3. During the Middle Ages, women's religious orders were at times the only prospects for education and autonomous leadership roles for women in society. If a woman chose a religious vocation, the church would defend her against all the demands of her family that she marry. Hence, the church offered some protection for women from the power of the patriarchal family.
4. During the Age of Faith and the Renaissance, most customary and town laws gave husbands the right to beat their wives, although it was usually said that they should do so "reasonably" or "moderately."
5. Many of the methods of investigating witchcraft put women in a no-win situation. . . .
         Women were subjected to torture. If they held out and refused to confess, it was assumed that they must be witches, since a woman's inferior physical nature would not allow her to withstand torture unless she was receiving help from the devil. Women were tied and thrown in ponds. If they floated, they were convicted of witchcraft, but if they sank, they were exonerated, since it was believed that water would expel a witch. Either way, they were unlikely to survive the test.
   
6. From these examples we note "that historical Christianity defined women as inferior, subordinate, and prone to the demonic. These images justified almost limitless violence against them whenever they crossed the male will at home or in society." page 37

      "The assumption of patriarchal society is that when women are victims of either verbal abuse or physical violence, ranging from beating to rape, they themselves are responsible for it. They have "asked for it" and therefore can receive no sympathy, compensation, or restraint of their violators, but only insult added to injury." page 38

      The church also tried to control women's reproductive power. Although effective, safe herbal contraceptive and abortificients were available, patriarchal ideology decreed that women should not use them and should accept their pregnancies as "God's" will.

      The church even tried to control women's sexuality. Canon law and moral theology defined her sexuality as the "debt of her body" which she owes her husband in the marriage contract. She is bound to serve him sexually, on demand, no matter what her own physical disposition might be.

      Since many reactionaries have resurrected the myth of women's inferiority based on their interpretation of the Bible, we must have an alternate way of interpreting scripture in a feminist fashion. Then when they begin to speak their message, we have a rebuttal at hand.

And a Little Child Will Lead Us: Christology and Child Abuse
by Rita Nakashima Brock

Brock points out that:

1. Neither the dominant or the submissive person in an abusive relationship is capable of forming a truly intimate relationship.
2. Some victims of child abuse become unable to emphasis with other people. When these children becomes an adults, they perpetrate the cycle by abusing those in relationships with them.
3. ". . . [even] well-meaning parents use control to train their children. They employ techniques such as deprivation of food or solitary confinement, entrapment, manipulation, emotional isolation, humiliation, embarrassment, cruelty, and physical pain. These techniques are supposed to teach a child love, respect for others, honesty, kindness, a love of truth, and the value of nonviolence. With such contradictory messages, the only clear lesson is the value of power and authority." page 49
4. "....[some] doctrines of salvation reflect and support images of benign paternalism, the neglect of children, or, at their worst, child abuse, making such behaviors acceptable as divine behavior - cosmic paternalism, neglect, and child abuse as it were. The father allows, or even inflicts, the death of his only son. The goodness and power of the father and the unworthiness and powerlessness of his children make the father's punishment just and the blame the children's. The loving father's neglect is justified as protecting the freedom of humanity. Theology has tended to protect the authority, omnipotence, and omniscience of the father by justifying suffering as deserved or allowed." page 52

      An alternate theology would envision God not as God, the Father, but as God, our Guide and our Nurturer.

      We can explain the crucifixion and resurrection as follows: Jesus did not wait for God to act. Rather, Jesus took action to right the wrongs of his society. God doesn't want us to wait for her to act. She wants us to act, to empower ourselves. The forces opposed to the freedom of all people are strong and will not give us our freedom as a gift. Freedom will not come by waiting for it to appear as a gift from God. We will be free only when we take our freedom from those who would keep us enslaved. We must be willing to fight to get and keep our freedom.

Sexual Violence: Patriarchy's Offense and Defense
by Karen L. Bloomquist

      Bloomquist defines patriarchy as "the complex of ideologies and structures that sustains and perpetuates male control over females." page 62

Bloomquist contends:

1. "Sexual violence is both socially constructed and individually willed. Individuals choose to exercise violence, but that choice is influenced deeply by how one experiences one's place in the overall social order." page 63
   
2. "However, as the presuppositions and operating tactics of patriarchy are questioned, challenged, and begin to lose their credibility, the violence does not necessarily go away but appears in new, often more subtle expressions as defensive tactics of patriarchy." page 64
3. "That control over must be maintained at any cost because it is the core moral value that generates males' sense of identity and worth in this society." page 65
4. "The liberation of women is affirmed in the abstract, but many of the old assumptions continue to operate, often unconsciously, in men's interpersonal relationships with women. A professional woman may experience polite respect in public settings from the same man who in private lapses into sexually harassing behavior to remind her that she's still a woman. Many liberal men speak out against patriarchy in the public order, but in their more private relations with their spouses, female friends, or colleagues, they continue to exert subtle and not so subtle control over women. " page 65
5. "A crucial theological agenda in the conversion from patriarchy is the transformation of God-language and imagery. Exclusively male imagery and language for God continues to legitimize patriarchy and the paradigm of male "control over" that undergirds the violence-laden situation we find ourselves in today." page 67

Christian "Virtues" and Recovery from Child Sexual Abuse
by Sheila A. Redmond

I shall let Redmond's words speak for her:

      "The value placed on suffering in the Christian context has at least three important aspects. First, since the Christian god is just and merciful, if one has suffered, one has sinned. Suffering is part of the punishment meted out to those who disobey. Second, suffering and repentance teach humility and are the way back to forgiveness from this Christian god. Third, martyrdom, which is an extreme form of suffering, holds a special place of honor within the Christian tradition." page 74

      "The Christian child sees god as the heavenly father who can do no wrong. And this father god willingly sent his own child to be killed." page 78

      "Many of the virtues of Christianity make it difficult, if not impossible, for the child who has suffered from the effects of sexual abuse to overcome the effects of this abuse successfully and lead a rewarding existence as an adult - particularly in the area of interpersonal relationships. Whether or not there is something systemic in the Christian "symbolic world" that facilitates this kind of sexual abuse of children is a question that needs further consideration and delineation." page 80

Theological Pornography: From Corporate to Communal Ethics
by Mary E. Hunt

Hunt asserts

1. Pornography objectifies persons.
2. Pornography trivializes sexuality.
3. Pornography leads to violence.

      "We are beginning to see high percentages of homosexuals in the allegedly celibate clergy. Some say that more than 60 percent of Roman Catholic priests are homosexual by orientation, though this is not a statement on sexual behavior." page 92

Hunt discusses the "corporate culture" in the [Catholic] Church. Specifically,

1. A select group [of academically trained theologians and ethicists] claims ownership of questions regarding ethics and/or morality. Those who work in "the field" [i.e, those with real world experience dealing with real world problems] have little input into the academic discussion." page 96
2. A clear hierarchy with rewards [money, power, and status] exists. Clearly, some make pronouncements while others receive the pronouncements. The powers-that-be are wary of newcomers with new ideas who may threaten the established power structures. Furthermore, "[m]oving up in a hierarchy takes people away from places where others suffer or grapple with issues confronting them." page 97
3. "A corporate mind-set. . . urge toward monopoly. . . . In the theo-ethical world the urge toward monopoly is expressed by religious groups who claim to have a corner on truth." page 97
4. An old-boy, old-girl network., of mostly white, affluent, and well educated men and women, assure that ethical reflection will not stray too far from the traditional mark." page 98

      Hunt describes the domestic violence cycle - the abuse, the honeymoon phase, and the tension build-up phase. A more responsive Christianity would send women the message that "[t]hey do not need to tolerate the honeymoon period, as domestic violence theorists call it, when promises of better behavior issue from those who have acted violently. Nor must they tolerate the gradual buildup of tension that inevitably follows the honeymoon period in domestic abuse. They deserve nurture and support in their spiritual homes." page 102

      Further, "[s]exuality, rather than being trivialized or blown out of proportion in the pornographic model, will be integrated into normal daily care for one another. Sexuality will be defined in a broad way to include a loving touch, a well-served dinner, shared silence, as well as enjoyable genital activity. But it will be integrated into relationships where work and love, children and pets, illness and vacations are part of the mix. This is how most of us live our sexuality in healthy, mature, committed relationships both heterosexual and homosexual. Why not let our experiences be the norm?" page 102-103

Dominion to Rule: The Roots and Consequences of a Theology of Ownership
by Carole R. Bohn

I shall let Bohn speak for herself:

      "...[I]it is quite common for women who seek counsel from their ministers to receive some variation on advice reflecting the minister's belief in a theology of ownership, advice such as,

• Marriage is sacred and you must do whatever you can to hold it together.
• Your husband is the head of your household; do what he tells you and he won't need to resort to violence.
• You must have done something to provoke him; go home and mend your ways so he will not need to behave in this manner.
• All of us must suffer; it makes us more Christ-like. Offer up your suffering to Jesus and he will give you strength to endure." pages 106-107

      "In 1982, the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church conducted a study to investigate the presence or absence of domestic violence among its congregants. Gathering data from some forty-seven states, in rural and urban settings, large and small churches, cutting across economic lines, the study found that one in four respondents had been abused by their spouses, and that another one in five respondents had family members or close friends who had been abused. In addition, one in nineteen reported having been abused as children and one in fourteen said they were or had been victims of incest.

      This study revealed not only the widespread nature of the problem but the failure of the church to deal with it." page 107

      "Judith Herman maintains that the function of domestic violence is to preserve male supremacy. Speaking specifically of sexual violence, she says that "it is a form of terrorism by which men as a group keep women as a group frightened and submissive. . . . Perpetrators understand intuitively that the purpose of their behavior is to put women in our place and that their behavior will be condoned by other men as long as the victim is a legitimate target." Thus, women live with a fear of men which pervades all of life and which convinces women that their weakness is innate and unchangeable." page 109

      "Without the potential of violence legitimated by religious tradition which supports it, male supremacy would have little means of perpetuation.

      Men who have never engaged in violence joke with their wives that they "rule with an iron fist." Yet their humor carries more truth than they care to admit." page 109

      "Despite the documentation of the breadth of this problem, it remains a "myth" to many pastors. Although 40 percent of battered women report that they first went to their pastors for help, most pastors deny the existence of violence among members of their congregation. The "absence" of the problem represents the failure of the minister to acknowledge its existence and his or her willingness to address it." page 112

The Fallacy of Individualism and Reasonable Violence Against Women
by Polly Young-Eisendrath and Demaris Wehr

I shall also let Young-Eisendrath and Wehr speak for themselves:

      "Because female people are broadly considered less than or inferior to complete male people, women regularly surrender the validity of their own truths in the face of challenges by men and others perceived to be powerful." page 122

      "If a woman behaves as a healthy adult, she will be criticized for being unwomanly; conversely, if she behaves as an ideal feminine woman, she will be considered childlike or worse, even mentally incompetent." page 123

      "A summary of conclusions from a study of rape tolerance among prisoners, university students, and adolescents emphasize that "those who tolerated rape tended to perceive women as sex objects and to condone male dominance of women. This relationship was substantial among both females and males. Rape tolerance thus had the same attitudinal correlates among women and men." " page 125

      "In a recent article, Carol Turkington reports that sexual aggression and abuse are "anything but rare" and that attitudes supporting them are also common.

      In one study, up to 60 percent of 'normal' American men said they might force a woman to commit sexual acts against her will if they could get away with it. When the phrase 'commit sexual acts' was changed to the loaded term 'rape', about 20 percent of the subjects still said they might commit such an act if they wouldn't be found out." From the point of view of mature dependence 'not being found out' is absurd, crazy. Such sexual actions are between two or more persons; both of them "know" they are involved." page 136

The Transformation of Suffering: A Biblical and Theological Perspective
by Marie F. Fortune

      "Jesus' crucifixion was the tragic consequence of his faithfulness and refusal to give up his commitment in the face of Roman oppression. He voluntarily accepted the consequences, just as did civil rights workers, in order to bring about a greater good.

      Like voluntary suffering, involuntary suffering is unjustifiable under any circumstances. However, unlike voluntary suffering, involuntary suffering is not chosen and never serves a greater good; it is inflicted by a person(s) upon another against their will and results only in pain and destruction. Sexual and domestic violence are forms of involuntary suffering." page 142

      "Endurance in order to "keep the family" together is a sham because the family is already broke apart by the abuse." page 144

      "The resurrection and subsequent events were the surprising realization that in the midst of profound suffering, God is present and new life is possible.

      This retrospective realization in no way justified the suffering; it transformed it. It presented the possibility of new life coming forth from the pain of suffering. . . .Jesus' crucifixion does not sanctify suffering." page 145

      "[P]ersonal violence presents a victim with two options: endurance and acceptance of continued suffering, or an occasion for transformation. Endurance means remaining a victim; transformation means becoming a survivor.

      In order to become a survivor and transform one's suffering, persons must use their strength and all available resources within themselves and from others to move away from a situation in which violence continues unabated. God is present in this movement as a means to transformation." page 145

      "Just as God does not will people to suffer, God does not send suffering in order that people have an occasion for transformation. It is a fact of life that people do suffer. The real question is not, Why? but, What do people do with that suffering? Transformation is the alternative to endurance and passivity. It is grounded in the conviction of hope and empowered by a passion for justice in the face of injustice. It is the faith that the way things are is not the way things have to be. It is a trust in righteous anger in the face of evil which pushes people to action. Transformation is the means by which, refusing to accept injustice and refusing to assist its victims to endure suffering any longer, people act. We celebrate small victories, we chip away at oppressive attitudes cast in concrete, we say no in unexpected places, we speak boldly of things deemed secrete and unmentionable, we stand with those who are trapped in victimization to support their journeys to safety and healing, and we break the cycle of violence we may have known in our own lives. By refusing to endure evil and by seeking to transform suffering, we are about God's work of making justice and healing brokenness." pages 146-147

Pain and Pleasure: Avoiding the Confusions of Christian Tradition in Feminist Theory
by Beverly W. Harrison and Carter Heyward

      "We share with many secular feminists a conviction that feminist theory must incorporate a profound positive evaluation of the vitality of the erotic in women's lives." page 149

      "Consider the sons: Unless reconstructed along the lines of a feminist liberation hermeneutic [theory of Biblical interpretation], or of a radical womanism, Christianity - even in its most liberal dress - remains quintessentially a religion about men controlling men's bodies, men's women, men's children, and men's other property. This fundamental male-male relationship is imaged as that between father and son. The father is willful and benevolent, loving and just, one who desires - but does not always receive - obedience from his sons, in which case the sons can be punished justly. (Apologists for the sexism of Christianity are apt to insist that the "sons" include the "daughters." To the extent that the daughters fall for such patriarchal "inclusion," we can read ourselves into this drama of disobedience and discipline." page 155

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