Feminist Theology

Ideal for classroom instruction, discussion groups, and personal study, this volume is an exceptional, user-friendly guide to contemporary feminist thought.

Rethinking the Christian faith from a woman's perspective has been an important advancement in modern theology. This book introduces the methods, ideas, and contributions of recent feminist theology to readers encountering the subject for the first time. Natalie Watson explores the historical background of feminist theology, discusses the value of reading Scripture from a feminist perspective, and shows how this approach can offer a critical, creative, and constructive rereading of the Christian tradition. She also sets forth some fresh ideas encouraging people to see feminism not as a threat to the church but as a challenging perspective that actually enhances its life in today's world. An extensive annotated bibliography invites readers to further study, presenting a wealth of books on feminist theology by many well-known authors. Ideal for classroom instruction, discussion groups, and personal study, this volume is an exceptional, user-friendly guide to contemporary feminist thought.

Library Journal

For those unfamiliar with the issues, history, and literature associated with Christian feminist theology, this is your book. With only 61 pages of introductory material, Watson (church history and ecclesiology, Ripon Coll. Cuddesdon, Oxford) pulls it together nicely, highlighting feminist touchstone concerns like justice, liberation, inclusion, and representation. Nor is she loath to opine or offer critique where such seems to be warranted-for example, is Goddess spirituality really a reversal of patriarchal Christianity or more appropriately seen as a synthetic response to current cultural and religious needs? Two chapters-"Scripture and Tradition" and "Themes in Feminist Theology"-put her extensive if not exhaustive annotated bibliography in context. This 50-plus-page bibliography is wide ranging, thoughtful, but strictly focused insofar as it references English-language works intended for those primarily new to the field. That said, this emerging series can be credited with providing an accessible and useful introduction. Seminaries, women's studies programs, new scholars, and those preparing for qualifying exams will benefit tremendously as much from the introductory material as from the bibliography itself. Recommended.-Sandra Collins, Univ. of Pittsburgh Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.