Exploring Feminst Theology | With Library Technology

The Group Discussion

In the discussion, we will share with each other our own thoughts and feelings about the texts via group dialogue. Participation in discussion is very important and I will be facilitating to ensure that the space remains one of safety.

 

Participants will guide the discussion, but to begin thinking about the text at a more critical level, review the questions below. We can discuss these questions in our group dialogue, or we can let our conversations naturally progress. This is YOUR class and YOU can decide how it best fits you.

 

• In many ways, Christ’s assertion that the Goddess provides an affirmation of the female body is a blatant rejection of the Cartesian split. In this model, Christ rejoins the body to the spirit. In the old model, patriarchal thought distanced women from religion because it posited females into the sphere of the body, the flesh, the sinful carnal. Women could not ascend into spirituality and culture production because they could not transcend their bodies. However, Christ’s proclamation that the Goddess sees the female form as sanctified allows women to be bodily and spiritual beings. The body and spirit are not in contention. What are the implications of this? Think about what this may mean for sexual abuse victims, for individuals with Eating Disorders, or for others whose religions have told them that sex is wrong.​

• Christ speaks about how the Goddess symbolism functions as 1.) affirmation of female power, 2.) affirmation of the female body, 3.) affirmation of the female will, and 4.) affirmation of women’s bonds and heritage. Of these four facets of the Goddess, do any resonate with you at a personal level?

• What are the implications of Christ’s taxonomy of ‘moods’ and ‘motivations’?

• Christ asserts that patriarchal symbol systems cannot simply be rejected. As they stay ever present, even in secular spaces, the ‘moods’ and ‘motivations’ legitimate the authority of fathers and sons. Thus, Christ calls for these symbols to be REPLACED; mere rejection is not sufficient. Can you think of ways in which particular religious symbols associated with certain rituals have pervaded even secular minds and spaces?

• How does Goddess symbolism relate to themes present in the current women’s movement? Does the Goddess symbol reflect the intersecting and diverse identities that make all humans complex subjects?

• Christ speaks of re-appropriating certain female archetypes within the Goddess symbolism. She also reveals a degree of selectivity in choosing which goddess traditions to emulate. What are the benefits of this excavation of archetypes and this selectivity of past traditions?

• Does the Goddess symbol make God seem less remote and indifferent to the sufferings of the world?

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