Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 2009 Discerning Redeeming Communities: Rita Nakashima Brock and Elizabeth A. Johnson in Dialogue Alison Downie Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Downie, A. (2009). Discerning Redeeming Communities: Rita Nakashima Brock and Elizabeth A. Johnson in Dialogue (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/501 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DISCERNING REDEEMING COMMUNITIES: RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK AND ELIZABETH A. JOHNSON IN DIALOGUE A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Theology McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Systematic Theology By Alison Downie May 2009 Copyright by Alison Downie 2009 DISCERNING REDEEMING COMMUNITIES: RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK AND ELIZABETH A. JOHNSON IN DIALOGUE By Alison Downie Approved December 9, 2008 ______________________________________ Dr. Anne M. Clifford, CSJ Dissertation Director _______________________________________ Dr. Jean Donovan First Reader _______________________________________ Dr. Maureen O’Brien Second Reader _______________________________________ Dr. George Worgul Chair, Department of Theology _______________________________________ Dr. Albert Labriola, Acting Dean McAnulty College of Liberal Arts iii ABSTRACT DISCERNING REDEEMING COMMUNITIES: RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK AND ELIZABETH A. JOHNSON IN DIALOGUE By Alison Downie May 2009 Dissertation Supervised by Dr. Anne M. Clifford, CSJ Rita Nakashima Brock’s Journeys by Heart: A Christology of Erotic Power and Elizabeth A. Johnson’s Friends of God and Prophets: A Feminist Theological Reading of the Communion of Saints offer resources for reflecting upon what redemptive community is, how it functions, and how women, in particular, experience redemption. With deep roots in Trinitarian creation theology and a strong trunk of feminist theological anthropology, the branches of Christian feminist reconstructionist theology produce rich soteriological fruits. Without rootedness in creation theology, theological anthropology is anthropocentric, not sufficiently holistic or ecologically aware. Similarly, without development of a feminist theological anthropology, soteriology inevitably reflects the distortions of patriarchal perspectives embedded in anthropological themes intertwined with soteriology, such as the imago dei, sin, and grace. iv Rita Nakashima Brock’s Journeys by Heart understands both woundedness and healing as relational phenomena. Her interpersonal and process orientation can benefit from dialogue with systematic categories. Her analysis of heart and the relational power of Eros to heal have deep resonance with the systematic theological categories of imago dei and pnuematology. Elizabeth A. Johnson’s Friends of God and Prophets reconstructs the symbol of the communion of saints for a contemporary North American faith. In her hands, this symbol functions as an inclusive, relational, dynamic image of redeeming community, offering a Christian symbol and language for a reality not limited to one faith. Despite the differences between Brock and Johnson, in these particular texts, each of them offer evocative insight and language which can dialogue together in the ongoing task of articulating what the word “redemption” means in the particularities of women’s lives and in theological discourse. v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my advisor and mentor Dr. Anne M. Clifford for hearing me into speech vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to briefly sketch the contours of the wide ranging support and many gifts of grace which have carried this work toward completion. I am very grateful to the Theology Department at Duquesne University for the support of graduate student assistantships over the course of several years. I am also deeply indebted to The Unitarian Universalist Panel on Theological Education for receipt of its 2007-08 Scholar’s Grant. I would not have been able to complete the dissertation had it not been for the financial support and emotional renewal this generous grant provided. I am thankful to the panel members who believed my project showed promise and trusted me to complete what I had begun. Many professors over the years have encouraged and inspired me. At Duquesne University, I am grateful to my readers, Dr. Jean Donovan and Dr. Maureen O’Brien, for their time, focused attention, and encouragement. As Theology Department Chair, Dr. James Hanigan supported me in a difficult time. Drs. William Thompson-Uberuaga and Maureen O’Brien also offered employment, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work for both of them. I thank Dr. Moni McIntyre for her personal availability to students. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to study with Dr. Marilyn Schaub, who has taught me much about Wisdom. I also wish to thank the faculty of the Religious Studies Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), not only for providing me the opportunity to teach a variety of courses, but also for welcoming me into their collegial community and vii encouraging me to finish my doctoral work. At IUP, I am especially grateful to Drs. Terri Smith and Stuart Chandler. Many fellow graduate students at Duquesne created a wonderful sense of community during shared years of course work. I am especially thankful for Andrew Getz, Mary Ann Rivera, and Steve Hanson for their generous spirit in fostering community. Taza d’Oro houses another sort of community which has enriched and encouraged me, a special place of belonging and welcome. Among the many whose friendly support has made such a difference to me, I especially thank Amy, Rachel, Jim, Mike, Dave, Matt, Ben, Ross and Lawrence. I borrow Elizabeth Johnson’s phrase “a great sea of support” to describe the many dear friends who have been and continue to be my redemptive community. The following women, in particular, have given me more strength than they know: Rosa Snyder-Boyd, Esther Tse, Patty Sharbaugh, Rachel Wildman, Paola Scommenga, Shelley Thacher, Ellen McGrath-Smith, Paula Flaherty, and Jane McCafferty. Dr. Anne M. Clifford, my spiritual mother, to whom this work is dedicated, empowered me to believe I could make this academic and personal journey. I continue to learn much from each of these wise women. My prayer for each is that they may receive the kind of care and support they have given to me. I thank my three sons, Ethan, Kevin, and Cullen, for their presence in my life. They are blessings beyond words to tell, the treasures of my heart. May they each know their own worth. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract.............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication.......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements........................................................................................................... vii Experiencing Redemption: A Personal Preface................................................................ xii Chapter One. Rumors of Glory....................................................................................... 1 Critiques of Classical Theism ................................................................................. 3 Critiques of the Classical Christian Heritage.......................................................... 6 Feminist Methodology............................................................................................ 9 Male Language for God.................................................................................... 16 Images of Power ............................................................................................... 19 The Role of Experience: Beyond “Above” and “Below”................................. 23 Trinitarian Creation Theology .............................................................................. 32 Creator............................................................................................................... 36 The Hebrew Wisdom tradition...................................................................... 38 Woman Wisdom ........................................................................................... 40 Redeemer .......................................................................................................... 43 Sustainer............................................................................................................ 47 Toward a Relational Theological Anthropology .................................................. 52 The Imago Dei .................................................................................................. 53 Embodied Spirit: Five Themes ......................................................................... 55 Ways of Knowing and Ambiguity .................................................................... 57 ix Chapter Two. Rita Nakashima Brock’s Vision: The Whitecap on the Wave:.............. 64 Introduction to Brock...........................................................................................