Wednesday, May 02, 2018

The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church:

The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church by: Monica Migliorino Miller
Non-fiction: Religion, 189 pages
Physical Book Count:5
Book Count:14

This book is written as an answer to the branch of feminist theology that connects authority with hierarchical power and equality with sameness.  So it is not a book for women as priests (although it does briefly talk about women in other offices in the church.)  Neither is it a book for rad-trads that think the proper place for a woman is in the kitchen and pregnant.  (At one point it directly goes against their complaint that the modern Mass is too feminine, by pointing out that it should be feminine, as the Church is the Bride of Christ and women represent  the Bride.)
It starts with pointing out what is authority, pointing out that the latin root word means "to be the author or creator of something."  And then gets into the use of marriage as a symbol of Christ's love for the church, (note: this is the type of book that you feel like you shouldn't be reading in church, until you remember that it is about church.  Like how you don't see Song of Solomon in the lectionary.)  And it also goes into the idea of Christ is the head and we are the body.
Next it talks about the authority of Mary,  especially as the new Eve.  Then things that you wouldn't expect said by the church fathers about the power and importance of women.  It next goes into bible passages that seam anti-women, and use the original language and culture to show a deeper, not anti-women meaning.  For example, the word translated as helper in Gen 2:18 is ezer from the verb azar which means to "save from extremity, to deliver from death," and is often used to describe times God saves people, not a servant's actions.  It then goes into ways that the church also is the new Eve and cares for it's children in a motherly way.  Lastly it has a section on women who did great things that men could not do or did because of their feminine authority.  This includes Judith and Deborah from the bible, St, Monica, St. Catherine of Siena and others.

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