Acts of Faith: Readers weigh in on the gender of God

Dear Acts of Faith readers,

I asked on Tuesday, after writing about the Episcopal church's debate over whether to revise its prayer book, whether you think God has a gender, and what that gender means to you. So many of you responded with thoughtful perspectives. Here are just a few.

• "I am a Catholic priest....I think the reality is that God is beyond gender, but the traditional practice of referring to God as 'Father' and in masculine terms seems perfectly natural to many people and they don't even notice that there might be a different approach,based on reality. Recently a woman speaker here at our retreat center referred to the Holy Spirit as 'She,' and one person was upset by that and wrote a note to us saying the Holy Spirit is a 'He.' Not necessarily so. And properly, neither 'He' nor 'She' may be correct. But, being human, we have to use words." -- Rev. Tom Zelinski, Washington, Mich.

• "To me as a Trinitarian, an all-encompassing God who is all genders with a person who is male (Jesus Christ) and a person who is female (Holy Spirit) makes intellectual and spiritual sense, though I'm sure that would not pass doctrinal muster with others." -- Rev. Ruth E. Shaver, North Conway, N.H.

• "I'm an initiate in the Firefly House, a tradition of witchcraft and Wicca in Washington, D.C. The religion of my childhood, though, was conservative Judaism. One of the key reasons that I moved away from that faith community was because of the male-gendered terminology used in the synagogue for God in search of the balancing realities of the goddess.... My Pagan path has led me to a better understanding of the divine -- one that both transcends and includes gender -- and myself." -- David Dashifen Kees, Washington, D.C.

• "From a personal perspective, (and yes, I am male), 'we' do not own the right to make changes -- for whatever reason. 'We' did not write the book. I have done a fair amount of translation over the past 40 years, both secular and religious. Never did I take the liberty to change the text of the original document.... With the Bible, if we accept the idea of 'inbreathed' by God, we have to learn to live with the text, end of story. The question as to whether I feel comfortable with it, or whether society has changed - too bad, so sad. I will never have the right to make changes!" -- Rudy Schellekens, Muscatine, Iowa

• "I have never felt completely comfortable with the concept that there was not a female god figure in my religion, and I believe that is why most Catholics, including myself, embrace Mary, mother of Jesus, as our own Mother, and pray to her so fervently." -- Kate Taylor, Mount Olive, N.J.

• "This very issue popped up in a Bible study class I was teaching with first and second graders. The kids liked acting out stories from Genesis and Exodus. The only boy in the class pointed out that since he was a boy, he was the only one who could play the role of God.... My bold response to this was to change the subject. I had no idea where to go with the topic, and I didn't want to offend anyone. In conclusion, though, I see that pronouns matter. The kids had formed an idea of God based on masculine pronouns. If we want to change this, we'd better talk about it early in religious education." -- Linda Worden, Boise, Idaho

• "One pattern among many is taking away God's right to define marriage, gender, life, love, and even Himself....I have no problem with the fact that God has referred to Himself in the masculine gender for over 4,000 years. He is all-knowing and all-powerful and certainly has a reason for doing so. My point is: authority. Who am I to decide that it is time to change His gender?" -- Heather Peterson

Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts. I'm at julie.zauzmer@washpost.com.

Yours truly,
Julie Zauzmer, Religion Reporter

Religion and women after trauma and violence

Religion is two-edged sword for women after trauma and violence

Left to right, Dr. Silka Spahic Siljak and Dr. Susan St. Ville

13 June 2014

Religion is a double-edged sword for women healing from violence and trauma, say two scholars whose work investigates and analyses the area.

Dr Susan St. Ville teaches in and directs the master’s programme at the Joan B. Krock Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, U.S.A., while Dr Zilka Spahic Siljak, a Bosnian scholar, serves currently as a visiting lecturer in Women’s Studies and Islamic Studies at Harvard Divinity School.

The two theologians visited the Ecumenical Centre while facilitating the weeklong workshop on “Women’s Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace—Inspired by UNSR1325,” sponsored by the Ecumenical Institute Bossey, the educational engine of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The seminar was developed by the WCC programme Just Community of Women and Men (formerly Women in Church and Society) led by Dr. Fulata Lusungu Moyo, programme executive, and  focussed on making accessible UNSCR1325 to religious women.

UNSR1325 is the UN Security Council resolution that mandates focus on and involvement of women in post-conflict arrangements for peace-building and reconstruction, a key asset for developing or restoring gender justice in war-torn areas that have witnessed large-scale gender violence.

Religion: friend or foe of women?

While recent Gallup Polls, for example, still demonstrate the ongoing influence and authority of religion in people’s lives, says Siljak, it varies wildly in different contexts. In post-socialist regimes of Eastern Europe and during the Bosnian war, for example, religious institutions and church bodies proved not helpful to women. “Religion is not helpful if politicized or manipulated” as a tool of nationalism, she said. “But personal religion was helpful for women who had been victimized by violence as a means of coping with trauma and moving on to reconstruct their lives.” In the end, she said, their faith in God can help women heal.

Against a backdrop of institutional indifference, Siljak noted, women have created “alternative spaces” and faith-based organizations to address their concerns. Ironically, she said, the work of secular organizations can sometimes provide a platform for and impetus to religious women to organize.

Still, in many contexts “churches have been real resources for resilience,” said St. Ville, citing work in East Africa, particularly Uganda, where she has seen religious women create effective programmes for counselling and post-trauma life-support for women after 20 years of war.

Practice trumps and validates theory

Although at the forefront of recognizing and engaging diversity and the role of practice, feminist theory and theology still struggle for legitimacy in academic settings and are often seen as too abstract, both scholars affirmed.

“The WCC functions well as a partner in this dialogue” between theory and practice, said Siljak, since it provides access to a global infrastructure of women active in religious settings around the world, both individually and in powerful movements on the ground. “Women’s movements are feminist theory in practice,” said St. Ville, and theologians can “use the great religious infrastructure” to inform their theologies and support real change. To stay relevant, she said, theologians “should not allow theories to discount practice.”

Frontiers of feminist reflection

After a generation of pioneering feminist theology and historical work, and of feminist theory, where is the feminist engagement with religion headed?

Siljak finds inspiration in on-the-ground women’s movements, especially in Roman Catholic communities of women religious and in Islamic communities. There she witnesses women working with, through, and around religious traditions to find affirmation, respect, and authority. In nonreligious NGOs, too, Siljak experiences helpful inter-religious encounters of Christian, Muslim and Jewish women.

For St. Ville, the feminist quest still centres around the question, “How do women get agency?” whether in situations of violence and trauma, in creating movements for social change, or in the academic disciplines.

Although for post-trauma women “the theodicy question is huge,” she marvels at how, despite the checkered legacy of faith communities in relation to women, “People find their way through it in different ways, through their personal faith journeys.” Attending to how women actually cope as individuals and in movements, she says, is the privileged site of new learning, because “People find their way out of pain in amazing ways.”

Women in Church and Society

Women's pilgrimage toward justice and peace

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, by the end of 2013 the WCC had 345 member churches representing more than 500 million Christians from Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other traditions in over 140 countries. The WCC works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.

Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press

Visiting address: 150 route de Ferney, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka - M.A.D.E. : Human Rights Arts and Film Festival - Oct, Nov 2013

M.A.D.E for Movies M.A.D.E and the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival present four award winning and thought provoking documentaries.   PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL  (72 minutes) FRI 25th OCT 7.30pm SUN 27th OCT 11.30am SUN 3rd NOV 2pm Director: Gini Reticker/ USA / 2008 / Documentary Tribeca Film Festival ‐ Best Documentary Feature        Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honours the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations. Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uon9CcoHgwA WORDS OF WITNESS (68 minutes) SAT 26th OCT 7.30pm (one screening only) We are pleased to announce this session will be introduction by Ella McNeill - Director of Human Rights Arts and Film Festival.  Director: Mai Iskander / Egypt and USA / 2012 / English and Arabic with English subtitles / Documentary Berlinale, 2012, One World Film Festival, 2012 – Best of the Festival Jury Award During the Egyptian uprising, social media was the weapon of choice for a new generation. In Words of Witness, filmmaker Mai Iskander follows Heba Afify, a budding online journalist reporting from the frontline of the revolution. Heba's attempts to report are continually compromised by the restrictions she faces as a young woman in Egyptian society – in particular, by her mother's incessant reminders that, whilst a journalist, she is above all 'a girl'. Exploring the personal and political in equal measure, Words of Witness is a timely glimpse into post-­revolution Egypt today.               Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjgin_7xpb8   TAXI SISTER + RED WEDDING - 2 Documentaries combined as one session (1hr 45 including 15minute intermission) SUN 27th OCT 1.30pm SUN 27th OCT 5.00pm FRI 1st NOV 7.30pm TAXI SISTER (30 minutes)   Director: Theresa Traore Dahlberg / Senegal / 2011 / Wolof and French with English subtitles / Documentary     There are 15,000 taxi drivers in Senegal; only 15 of them are women. Taxi Sister follows one of them. As Boury speeds around Dakar transporting tourists and locals to their destinations, she must defend herself against the social taboos that define driving as a male profession. An energetic peek into urban West Africa, Taxi Sister revels in the solidarity of a small group of women as they accelerate change. Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGf6pVRRui0 RED WEDDING (58 minutes) Directors: Lida Chan & Guillaume Suon / Cambodia and France / 2012 / Khmer with English subtitles / Documentary IDFA, 2012 – Winner Best Mid-­Length Documentary   Thirty years have passed, and on the eve of her son’s wedding, Sochan Pen is finally ready to break her silence. At the age of 16, she was forced to marry a soldier as part of Cambodia's genetic engineering. Juxtaposing haunting archival and present day footage as Sochan confronts the people responsible for her rape and torture, Red Wedding is a land mark exposition of forced marriages under the Khmer Rouge.  Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBnePP31c04   Bookings Essential - 1800 287 113 or http://made.org/WhatsOn/Events.aspx Tickets $10 or Conc. $7 per session M.A.D.E (Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka) 102 Stawell St South, Ballarat Phone: 1800 287 113 info@made.org http://www.made.org Share Tweet Forward to Friend Facebook Twitter Website

Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E) is Australia's newest museum. It is located on the site of the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, western Victoria. With the evocative 159-year-old Eureka Flag as its centrepiece, M.A.D.E’s interactive and immersive exhibitions will explore the evolution and the future of democracy – looking at culture, civics, history and citizenship. For more information, visit our website www.made.org