Feminist Hermeneutics and Feminist Language

Natalie K. Watson argues that “Feminist hermeneutics is the process of developing a critical and constructive reading of scripture that advocates women as full members of the Christian church.” A feminist interpretation of Scripture assumes that the authority of the biblical text cannot be separated from the authority of women as its critical readers. The critical principle for feminist theologians is not the bible itself, noit the canon, not a “canon within the canon”, noty even Christ; it lies in the community of women and men who read the Bible and who, through their dialogical imagination, appropriate it for their own liberation.

1. “Texts of Terror”: Hermeneutics of Suspicion

Two passages from the “texts of terror” by Phillis Trible will be highlighted here. The first one is about Hagar, who is desolate and rejected. This story appears in genesis 16:1-16 and 21:9-21.
Her story comes at the backdrop of the story of Sarah. Here it portrayed Hagar as powerless and is a symbol of the oppressed. She is a faithful maid exploited by the powerful. The story of Hagar brings to light three familiar forms of nationality, class and sex.

The other woman who experiences abuse is Tamar who is raped by a prince. The story is recorded in 2 Samuel 13:1-22. It is a royal rape. The brother violates his sister. Power, prestige and uncontrolled lust belong to the prince. But Tamar a princess has wisdom, courage and unrelieved suffering. There are three episodes before the rape and three after it.

Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza suggests a fourfold approach to reading Scripture:

            (i) Suspicion: text are not taken at face value; patriarchal interest of authors are analyzed and require a critical response.

            (ii) Remembrance: which moves beyond specific texts on women to reconstruct women’s history obscured by male historical consciousness.

            (iii)Proclamation: which stimulates texts are assessed and evaluated theologically for their oppressive impact or liberating tendency.

            (iv) Creative Actualization: which stimulates our creative powers to recall. embody, and celebrate the achievements, sufferings, and struggles of the biblical women.

Florenza advances the term feminist hermeneutics of suspicion in developing such interpretative observation for explicit feminist historical reconstruction and theology by pointing out the underlying presuppositions and androcentricism in the scripture. She develops from it a dualistic hermeneutical strategy. She proposed two critical moments leading to a hermeneutics of suspicion- a consciousness raising and a systematic analysis that arises from conscientization. A hermeneutics of suspicion challenges the structure of domination and it is threatening. It makes one feel uneasy as it breaks all taboos and presuppositions of the biblical interpreters. The hermeneutics of suspicion takes into consideration the way in which women’s actual presence and practices are constructed in a distorted way. They produce marginality of women as a given fact and common sense reality. For the kyriocentric character to be exposed and dislodged a hermeneutics of suspicion is needed.

            (i) Task of Hermeneutics of Suspicion

The task of hermeneutics of suspicion is to disentangle the ideological functions of kyriocentric text and commentary. It is applied to grammatically masculine kyriocentric texts inorder to unravel their ideological functions, to kyriocentric stories to analyse the point of view of the stories, to contemporary commentaries and interpretations of the text as well as the interpretation of its history, and to our own common sense prejudices and value systems. Thus a hermeneutics of suspicion critically analysis such dominant strategies of meaning making. It engages in a conscious articulation of the ideological strategies of the text and makes the interaction of the text resonate with the experience and cultural value system.

            (ii) Necessity for a Hermeneutics of Suspicion

Fiorenza argues that the andro-kyriocentric language necessitates for a hermeneutics of suspicion. Androcentrism literally means male-centredness. It is a linguistic and cultural system which understands male as the norm and women as secondary, peripheral and deviant. The other reason for a
hermeneutics of suspicion is the “common sense” character of the oppression and the
question which asks “what kind of a God we proclaim?”

2. Hermeneutics of Retrieval

Hermeneutics of retrieval tries to recover from the biblical texts forms of patriarchal mistranslations and misinterpretations with its aims to reclaim the text as positive to women. The purpose was to redeem the traditional through the retrieval of strong foremothers, role models, characters with whom contemporary women located within religious communities. They focus only on individuals, those who played major roles in the Bible. E.g. The reconstruction of Jesus figure, it indicates that Jesus understood himself as Sophia(wisdom) and it can be descried bed by many female images. Elizabeth Moltmann argues that…. We should not only attempt to rediscover the feminine in theology but also the humanity which has been lost in patriarchal theology, the non-deformed maleness. So she claims that incarnation is to become human not to become male.

This is the hermeneutic that attempts to discern critiques of patriarchy from within. It seeks to find and expose the countercultural impulses within the text. These are the texts that have been overlooked or distorted and that, when recovered or seen correctly, become texts of hope and
of affirmation for women.

According to Anne Elvey, the hermeneutic of retrieval comes in a series of three: suspicion, identification and retrieval. A hermeneutics of suspicion concerns alertness to the anthropocentrism of biblical texts and interpretations. A hermeneutic of identification involves the “task of empathy” and requires the reader to endeavour “to come to terms with his or her deep ecological connections,” and to acknowledge and take in “the prior ecological reality of our kinship with Earth.”A hermeneutic of retrieval builds on such identification and ideally employs writing styles that invite from readers sympathetic and empathic identification with Earth others, or that shift the perception of the readers’ anthropocentrism or their habitual identifications with human concerns. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza argues in a feminist frame, the three hermeneutics (suspicion, identification and retrieval) are not simply applied consecutively but form a circle or web, so that suspicion is re-applied to our ecological identifications and retrievals, with an ear for example to where in ecological interpretations we are “colonizing the referent,” namely Earth or members of Earth community

3. Re-reading Bible with new eyes

Evangeline Anderson Rajkumar argues that re-reading Bible with new eyes is imperative to experienced full humanness and human dignity gifted by God. Further she reiterates that women experience powerless in authorizing new vistas of equality, life and justice for all that may be possible only when patriarchy is uprooted and gender justice finds it place.

Feminism is that consciousness and sensitivity which is developed within a man or a woman to realized that women as a class, caste, race and sex- have been discriminated, suppressed, denied of opportunities in life.

There is a high need to re-read the Bible with a new eye in feminism which would transcend the present understanding to a better view of the hermeneutics and the language involved in them.

            (i) Jesus the Reformer

Through the re-reading with a newer perspective, one can look at Jesus as a reformer, who indeed envisioned a new life or a new dimension for the women during the time of Jesus movement. From the broader cultural context, Jesus can be described as a Reformer of patriarchal society. Reading the bible with a new eye also means that we interpret the text to the context that we are in. may be a contextual interpretation gives more in depth meaning to the audience. Once we read with a different lens, then the crux of the content becomes more relevant without any abuse or prejudice or does it hurt anyone. For example, the dialogue between the Samaritan women and Jesus can be taken as an example. The encounter that Jesus had surfaced the shared experiences of prejudice, racism and sexism flowing from the social norms of their societies. Jesus reaches beyond these prejudices, however leading the woman, the Samaritans and  his own disciples to do the same.

            (ii) A vision for the future

Patriarchy in the bible subtly hides the elements of domination and dependence which are contrary to the liberating purpose of God’s intervention in history. Domination of men over women belongs to those fundamental assumptions which are never questioned or seen as problems because they have been part of the social contract which has defined the roles, division of labor and allocation of power between men and women. This hardly matches the message of liberation brought by Jesus Christ. The vision for the future is the old vision from the past as it renews itself continuously, the vision of an amended creation, the new creation in the mission and in the vision of Jesus Christ.

There are the various ways in which one can read bible with a new or a different eye, where it enable one to enlarge his or her dimension about women and their dignity. Lee, Oo-Chung says that it is important to remember whether the interpretations that speak about women are biased by the dominant male mentality, do they do justice to women. It is necessary to watch out for all signs of patriarchal attitudes, hierarchical forms of dominance and control, which involve little concern for the oppressed and marginalized.

4. Inclusive Language to Develop Non-Gender Bias Language

Inclusive language is language which does not exclude anyone on the basis of gender, race, physical abilities, or other characteristics. Inclusive language is important
ion Christian context because the message of the gospel is meant for all people. Therefore, our language should make all fell welcome, respected and included.

The language we commonly used id sexist language, in which male terms are used to stand for the whole humanity, such as, man, brother, he. Male sexist language discounts women and makes them invisible, historically and in the worship life of the church. though God is beyond sex and gender, male language is used almost exclusively for the divine: God is called Father, lord, King. Since male is seen as norms, God must be male” and if God is male, male must be closer to God. this distorted theology has been responsible for untold suffering and violence against women and children down the centuries. So, developing inclusive language is the dire need of theological discourse which is non-gender bias language.

For inclusive community inclusive words like humanity should be use in place of men, chairperson instead of chairman. Inclusive language works to undo the destructive power of sexism, racism, and class division, which we have created between one another. Inclusive language should be used in all aspects of our lives.

In Christian context, the sermon, Bible reading, music, prayers and liturgy are all places where inclusive language should be used. Creating new worship expressions may be the most meaningful way to express inclusiveness. However, it is possible to correct traditional prayers, hymns, and liturgies without being confrontational.

(i) Identifying sexist language and make changes appropriately.

(ii) Using BRSV translation for public reading in worship:

            Mt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before others (instead men)

(iii) Use words that evoke new images of god along with or in place of traditional ones.

            presence, light, strength, source, sustainer, compassion, rock, redeemer, mother, friend, healer.

(iv) Change masculine words referring to God- such as Lord, father, he, him and his to God or God’s.

(v) Replace masculine expression in well-known hymns of one’s tradition, being conscious of syllables and beat.

            “substitutes ‘people for brothers’; folk for men”

(vi) Rewrite traditional prayers and or hymns, taking out exclusive language.

(vii) Choose biblical text that give more prominence to women and put them in the centre of action and reflection.

(viii) Include women, children and lay men in worship leadership affirming the “priesthood of all believers”.

The use of inclusive language expands our knowledge of and experience of God and of the divine working in human lives. An effort to sue more inclusive language may make us more aware of our (unconscious) sin of sexism, racism, elitism, nationalism, classism and all other prejudices. It is a matter of faithfulness to God and sensitivity, openness and moral responsibility to and for our neighbor.