A feminist theology which aims all humans, men and women, to be whole ones and to be liberated points out that all over the Bible, traditions, systems of theology, the hierarchy and the history of church the androcentric patriarchism is deeply partici...
A feminist theology which aims all humans, men and women, to be whole ones and to be liberated points out that all over the Bible, traditions, systems of theology, the hierarchy and the history of church the androcentric patriarchism is deeply participated and acts as a mechanism that suppresses the women. Especially among them the christology is coming with more importances and difficulties than any other. The confess 'Jesus is Christ!' is the core of christian belief and theology and the justification for forming the identification as the christian community. But it is said that the fact that the historical Jesus is a man and the androcentric and patriarchal distortions to man Jesus not only justify the suppression of women but also jeopardize the women's salvation. The feminist theologic standpoints are bifurcated to the problems of the existing androcentric and patriarchal christoloy.
Feminist theologians including Mary Daly think that Jesus's manhood is so basic that man Christ only justify the superiority of men over women and suppression of women and is nothing more than an idol and an obstacle that hinder the female's liberation. They are in efforts to establish a new form of traditions which is based on the female experiences leaving the pre-exiting christian traditions.
The other feminist theologians concentrate the distortion of the Christology by the androcentric patriarchism. They judge that Christ of equality and liberation is fixed as to marginalize and suppress the female through the systemic processes in patriarchal society, especially having combined with the state power of Rome Imperial and with the dualistic Hellenism. They reject the unconditional denial of the christian tradition and are in efforts to reorganize the tradition from the inside. They want to restore the christology of nonpatriachism and equality between man and woman criticizing the perversion of the androcentric and patriachial christology. Their theologic works show diverse modalities according to the social and cultural situations, races and classes they confronted, and their hermenoitical methods uses variously critics of Bible, psychology, cultural history, economics and etc.. But as a whole, whereas the first-world feminist theology emphasize the mainly scientific and theoretical theology, the third-world theology puts emphasis on the interpretation and reflection of their circumstances.
The Sophia Christology that studied in this paper is one of the attempts of the substitutional christology groped out by the first-world theologians. The Sophia Christology is re-focuses the christology based on the biblical wisdom tradition through the critical interpretations of the Bible.
In the wisdom literature of the Old Testament Sophia shows as a personal figure. Sophia in the Old Testament is diversely expressed as a Creator partner, a justice protector, a life giver, God' darling and the image of God. The scholarism makes an opinion that the extra-biblical figure of a female deity, especially a figure of Isis Goddess, has influenced the biblical depiction of Sophia. Though there are many opinions about the theological meaning of the personified wisdom in the wisdom literature, E. A. Johnson who theorized Sophia christology interpretate it as a personification of God's own self. This personified wisdom is a female image and the God's own revelation and acting presence which express the God of creation and salvation who do not put us into the ditheism and promises the life.
The first-century christians sought vigorously for the combed the Jewish religious tradition and Hellenistic culture to express the Jesus's ultimate origin and saving significance. The expressions, functions and attributes which were stated in late Judaism were immediately transferred to Jesus. In New Testament Jesus is introduced as a teacher of wisdom, envoy of wisdom and wisdom herself. The first-century christian could see crucified Jesus as a pre-existing one and an universal significance through the Sophia christology in which they identified Jesus with the wisdom of female figure having been with God from the Beginning. Jesus as an incarnation of the female wisdom with his salvational words and deeds proclaims the equality and dignity of all human including the female who are the lowest class in the society, restores the original orders of creation, shares the same mind with female, sets the new orders reversing the partrichal overwhelming orders. Jesus's acts and death are the shapes of the rejected wisdom having denied the patriarchism and declared the entire humanization and the life, and the symbol of 'kenosis of patriarchism'. Through the resurrection of Christ transcend basically. Christ as Spirit of wisdom is present and corresponds with who believe in and follow him and with who suffered from the power of injustice and wealth and with who are intended to realize the justice and peace standing against them.
Sophia Christology as a symbol of female makes it possible the christology which is not engaged in patriarchism and the image of God, deepens the mystery of God through the female wisdom of God who is incarnated in human manhood, honors the female dignity with the deep solidarity with female. In Sophia Christology manhood of Jesus is not the significance to legitimate the superiority of man over woman but rather works as the significance of kenosis of patriarchism.
Sophia Christology is not only the meaning that it is reorganization of the christology for the feminist theology but also it will be contributed to the ecological care for the earth, respect of religious tradition, interest about the poor and justice, right attitude to the inclusive value having transcended the dualistic thought.
Sophia Christology which is founded in biblical tradition and refocused by the feminist theology will be the liberating and salvatory Christology inclusive the all human, man and woman, and the earth. With the excellent analysis and the view of liberation Sophia christology in a feminist theology shows the possibility to be set as an universal christology. At the same time Sophia Christology offers the tasks that the concrete applications and the practical methods should be sought in the concrete realities.