Jan Paul S.

Lugtu Master of Arts in Theological Studies Revelation and Faith Elisabeth Schssler Fiorenza Feminist biblical scholar and theologian Elisabeth Schssler Fiorenza (born 1938) provided models, methods, and metaphors for biblical interpretations and a reconstruction of early Christianity in which women shared the center and were restored to human subjectivity. As a professional theologian Schssler Fiorenza's specialty, demonstrated in her doctoral thesis, "Priest for God: A Study of the Motif of the Kingdom and Priesthood in the Apocalypse," for the Catholic Theological Faculty, Wilhelms-Universitt, Mnster, was biblical studies and the history of early Christianity. Through the publication of significant books, articles, and co-edited projects as well as participation in numerous conferences and workshops both in the United States and internationally, she contributed to the feminist redefinition of theological and biblical interpretation both within the academy and the churches. http://www.bookrags.com/biography/elisabeth-schussler-fiorenza/(Encyclopedia of World Biography) Mary Daly Daly published a number of works, and is perhaps best known for her second book, Beyond God the Father (1973). Beyond God the Father is the last book in which Daly really considers God a substantive subject. She laid out her systematic theology, following Paul Tillichs example. Often regarded as a foundational work in feminist theology, Beyond God the Father is her attempt to explain and overcome androcentrism in Western religion, and it is notable for its playful writing style and its attempt to rehabilitate "God-talk" for the women's liberation movement by critically building on the writing of existentialist theologians such as Paul Tillich and Martin Buber. While the former increasingly characterized her writing, she soon abandoned the latter. Dalys Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism (1978) argues that men throughout history have sought to oppress women. In this book she moves beyond her previous thoughts on the history of patriarchy to the focus on the actual practices that, in her view, perpetuate patriarchy, which she calls a religion. Dalys Pure Lust: Elemental Feminist Philosophy (1984) and Websters First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language (1987) introduce and explore an alternative language to explain the process of exorcism and ecstasy. In Wickedary Daly provides definitions as well as chants that she says can be used by women to free themselves from patriarchal oppression. She also explores the labels that she says patriarchal society places on women to prolong what she sees as male domination of

society. Daly said it is the role of women to unveil the liberatory nature of labels such as Hag, Witch, and Lunatic. Daly's work continues to influence feminism and feminist theology, as well as the developing concept of biophilia as an alternative and challenge to social necrophilia. She was an ethical vegetarian and animal rights activist. Gyn/Ecology, Pure Lust, and Webster's First New Intergalactic Wickedary all endorse anti-vivisection and anti-fur positions. Daly was a member of the advisory board of Feminists For Animal Rights, a group which is now defunct. Daly created her own theological anthropology based around the context of what it means to be a woman. She created a dualistic thought-praxis that separates the world into the world of false images that create oppression and the world of communion in true being. She labeled these two areas Foreground and Background respectively. Daly considered the Foreground the realm of patriarchy and the Background the realm of Woman. She argued that the Background is under and behind the surface of the false reality of the Foreground. The Foreground, for Daly, was a distortion of true being, the paternalistic society in which she said most people live. It has no real energy, but drains the life energy of women residing in the Background. In her view, the Foreground creates a world of poisons that contaminate natural life. She called the male-centered world of the Foreground necrophilic, hating all living things. In contrast, she conceived of the Background as a place where all living things connect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Daly Sr. Mary John Mananzan, PhD Sr. Mary John Mananzan,OSB is a Missionary Benedictine sister. She obtained her doctorate degree in Philosophy major in Linguistic Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, and a degree in Missiology at the Wilhelmsuniversitaet in Muenster, Germany. Her involvement includes charting new paths in the academe and working with the masses especially the women. As a feminist-activist she has given birth to womencentered programs among them are the Institute of Womens Studies, Women Ecology and Wholeness Farm, and the Women Crisis Center. Most recently (March 2011), she received an award from Women Deliver who noted that the missionary Benedictine sister was instrumental in developing a feminist and third-world theology within the Catholic Church, boldly challenging the Churchs hierarchical and male-dominated views. Sister Mananzan has also steered the course of the Catholic Church history in the country by introducing feminist activism into the Catholic faith, the group said. She also founded the Womens Studies program at St. Scholasticas College, a womens college in Manila, and is now the executive director of the Institute of Womens Studies based in that school.

http://www.catherinecollege.net/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=69%3Asr-mary-john-mananzanphd&catid=36%3Asponsors&Itemid=59&showall=1 Tissa Balasuriya Tissa Balasuriya (born 1924) is a Sri Lankan Roman Catholic priest and theologian. In 1971 Balasuriya founded the Center for Society and Religion; four years later he founded the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians. In 1990, Balasuriya published the book Mary and Human Liberation. In 1994, the Sri Lankan bishops warned that the book included heretical content because it misrepresented the doctrine of original sin and cast serious doubts on the divinity of Christ. Balasuriya submitted a 55-page theological defense to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which rejected it. In May 1996, the Congregation demanded that he sign a profession of faith, apparently written exclusively for him, stating that he would "adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings of the Roman pontiff," even those teachings not proclaimed as definitive. Balasuriya responded by signing a different profession of faith composed by Pope Paul VI, adding a caveat that he was signing it "in the context of theological development and church practice since Vatican II and the freedom and responsibility of Christians and theological searchers under canon law." Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ruled that the caveat rendered the profession "defective." Balasuriya appealed directly to the Pope, but was excommunicated on 2 January 1997, with the Pope's approval. Balasuriya then appealed to the Apostolic Signatura, but was told that his case could not go forward. He subsequently agreed to drop the caveat from his profession of faith, and after intense international publicity and six days of negotiations, the excommunication was rescinded in January 1998. Although Balasuriya did not admit to doctrinal error, he did acknowledge "perceptions of error", and agreed to submit all future writings to his bishops for the imprimatur. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tissa_Balasuriya Assessment and Evaluation Having collated and analyzed the cited theologians works, the researcher found those theological views of Elizabeth Fiorenza to be quite remarkable, i.e., her theology offers fresh insights on the role women played in the crucial development and historical evolution of the early Church, as presented in her numerous published works in biblical studies and early Christian church history. The womens perspective in Catholic theology and biblical exegesis offers views not yet explored in the years that have covered theological reflection and biblical exegesis. This feminist approach can complement the already evolving Catholic understanding on the role of women in the Church. 3

Elizabeth Fiorenzas theological and biblical insights on feminist theology and biblical hermeneutics are said to have been influenced by another feminist theologian, Mary Daly. Fiorenza acknowledges her debt to Daly for having arrived at an understanding that the "imposed submission" of women to men in "Christian patriarchy" is responsible for "turning women against themselves" and condemning them to live as "marginal beings." In 1996, in challenging women to "break the silence" in regard to all the ways that patriarchy has "excluded" them "from defining the world and the meaning of human life and society," Fiorenza repeated Mary Daly's rallying call that women must reclaim "the power of the naming that was stolen from us." Daly's first major publication was titled The Church and the Second Sex. Here, Daly asserts that one is not conceived and born as a woman but rather becomes one in response to environmental influences. To suit her theological purposes, Daly plays off one Scriptural passage against anothere.g. Jesus against St. Paulas though there was no inner harmony in the message of the Bible. In her book Beyond God the Father, Daly claimed that the Bible was irredeemably sexist. She said: "If God in `his' heaven is a Father ruling `his' people, then it is in the `nature' of things ... that society be maledominated." In 1974, Daly summarized "the significance of the women's revolution as anti-Christ and its import as anti-Church." The researcher finds Dalys theology disturbing as this theologian tries to suit the interpretation to her feminist bias. Although great respect and diligent care has been considered in assessing her theology, Dalys theology shows a perspective that is not just to be interpreted as heterodox, but violates the parameters of what is authentically Christian and orthodox Church teaching. The researcher finds Dalys bias and racist treatment against the male species appalling, for her apparent refusal for admitting male students in her advanced womens studies class. In addition, her excessive subjectivity is colored by her feminist lens, that see women domination rather than genuine equality of sexes. http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=6580 Fr. Tissa Balasuriya offers creativity, but not necessarily novelty, in his Asian theology of liberation approach to understanding and re-appropriating Scriptures and Church Tradition, especially along the lines and experiences of Third World peoples. Theology has long been dominated by European and North Americans whose mindset has been set by the liberal-western optimism on progress through capitalism and industrialization, and now there is a flowering in theological understanding, much to the credit of third world Latin American liberation theologians. This has been followed by the development of various localized theologies, one of which is Asian approaches with liberationist and deconstructivist perspectives. It is just saddening that the excommunication imposed on Balasuriya (This was rescinded later on.), might appear to the researcher as silencing the voice of those who are called to be spokespersons for the voiceless. See Judge Act (Theological Pastoral Spiral)

This theology is not really a systematic body of teachings on the Christian faith, but rather a way of doing theology. I owe it to Dr. Jose de Mesa and Fr. Lode Wostyn in their book Doing Theology for introducing this theological methodology. This theology looks into the basic realities and processes, as one sees/observes human experience from the perspective of the poor and the oppressed. As one observes, investigation into the root causes of issues coupled with the hermeneutic of suspicion allows one to remove the various layers of cover ups that prevent many from looking at the real and total picture of poverty and oppression. The second phase looks into the sources of Judaeo Christian tradition, notably the Scriptures, to look into the theological framework, again the hermeneutic of suspicion is applied to discover any hidden ideological framework that may support the oppressive system. Finally, re-appropriation of Tradition is necessary to see the Faiths relevance in improving the situation and challenging the system to affect change Final Note There is No Single Theology Given the context of poverty, when it comes to theologizing and pastoral action, care and prudence must guide the pastoral theologian, as any given theology or method of doing theology may reflect a particular local culture or milieu to which any theologizing must be considered. It is worth noting that any theology must be put to the test of theological pastoral spiral SEE, JUDGE, ACT to see to what extent a particular theology may be found useful or relevant to the people, especially to the poor. As Fr. Abesamis would have agreed to the idea of grassroots theologizing the emphasis is on theologizing, not on theology.