Group Presentation

Course Code :- BTW14

Course :- Feminist Theology

Submitted To :- Dr. Asangla Paul

Submitted By :- Group: 5
Debashis (L), Meshak, Wanda, Robert,
Mukshah, Juntiar, Elkan and Soumya

Submitted On :- 15 / 02 / 2018.

* Topic :-

“Feminist Pneumatology”

UNION BIBLICAL SEMINARY

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 Outline

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………02

2. Terminologies……………………………………………………………………………02

2.1. Feminine………………………………….…………………...…………………………02

2.2. Pneumatology………………………………………………...…………………………02

2.3. Feminist Pneumatology…………………………………………………………………02

3. Need/Purpose of Feminist Pneumatology……………………………………….….……03

4. Feminist Pneumatology……………………………………………………………….…04

4.1. Understanding the nature and work of holy spirit………………………………………04

4.2. Personification of Holy Spirit……………………………………………...……………06

4.3. Feminine images and Metaphors of Holy Spirit-Sophia………...………………………07

4.4. Reclaiming Women’s Spirituality………………………………………………….……08

4.4.1. Passion: reclaiming incarnation…………………………………………………….……09

4.4.2. Imagination: reclaiming symbols…………………………….….………………….……09

4.4.3. Resistance: reclaiming the struggle………………….….………………………….……10

4.4.4. Solidarity: reclaiming the community of life……………………………………….……10

5. Biblical Response…………………………………...……………………………………11

6. Theological Response……………………………………………………………………11

7. Reflection……………………………………………………………………...…………13

8. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….……………13

9. Resources………………………………………………………….......…………………14

9.1. Bibliography…………………………………………….………………………………14

9.2. Webliography……………………………………………………………………………15

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 1. Introduction

Feminists’ theology offers a new vision; it discovers and reinterprets old symbols and shapes
new ones. It entails re-reading and re-imagining the traditional facets and present it with a newer
vision which promote equality and liberation of women. The traditional idea of ‘Pneumatology’
is redefined in Feminist theology. This paper discusses various aspects of Pneumatology with
Feminist viewpoint.

2. Terminologies
2.1. Feminine

Oxford Dictionary defines Feminine is an adjective, which means “having the qualities or
appearance considered to be typical of women; connected with women”. 1 In terms of the new
understanding of the Divine, contemporary feminine spirituality draws from a number of
resources. These include a creative rereading of biblical and historical writings, and the work of
feminist theology in Christian and other world traditions. To explore and fully experience the
sacredness of femininity, it seeks inspiration in liturgy, rituals, spiritual texts, and scholarly work
based on feminist perspective.2

2.2. Pneumatology

Pneumatology is derived from Greek word pneuma, which means spirit: the branch of theology
which deals with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.3

2.3. Feminist Pneumatology

The feminist scholars like Mary Daly, Rosermary Ruether, etc. opposes the way how the image
of God has been seen as Father traditionally. For them, it denotes a symbol of patriarchy and it
indicates subjugation and oppression of women. The feminist opinion asserts that the language of
God as Father has often led to the social oppression of women. This led the feminist thinkers to
construct the idea of ‘Feminist Pneumatology’. Feminist Pneumatology does not mean that the

1
A.S. Hornby, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (Oxford University Press, 1948), 318.
2
Ulrike Wiethaus, Feminine: The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 124.
3
Alan Richardson, Pneumatology: A Dictionary of Christian Theology ed., (London: SCM Press, 1969), 532.

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Spirit is feminine any more than Father indicates masculinity. On the contrary, each Person is
he/she or transcends gender and sexism.4

3. Need/Purpose of Feminist Pneumatology

Feminist Pneumatology attempts to reflect upon the association of the Spirit in the Bible with
female experience. Holy Spirit is considered to be the third person of the Trinitarian God,
however, there has been a difficulty of recognizing the Holy Spirit as equal part of the Trinity
with the Father and the Son. Hence, Feminist theology attempts to relate the repression and
marginalization of the Spirit, in the dominant theologies, similar to the experience of women. 5

They strongly believe that the neglect of the spirit bears some relation to the repression and
marginalization of women themselves in Christian tradition. Feminist Pneumatology aims at re
appropriating and renewing women's spirituality by reframing theology of the spirit within a
wider framework of reworking of the Trinitarian theology. Theologians like Johnson and Mc
Fague's approach deals with a wholesome re-evaluation of all God- language, not simply the
feminization of the spirit. Slee comments that such an approach proposes "speech about God in
which the fullness of female humanity as well as of male humanity and cosmic reality may serve
as divine symbol, in equivalent ways."6.

They attempt to find the solution to the problem of exclusivity of male image of God by using
the androgynous concept, where they focus on both the male and female characteristics of God,
instead of emphasizing on only the male aspects. 7 Leelamma Athyal, in her article,
Pneumatology and Women, says the purpose of Feminist understanding of Pneumatology, is to
help overcome our theology and praxis from the sexist tendency in the light of what the holy
spirit does in relation to the other two persons in the trinity. It can correct the errors of the male-
dominant theology that has been passed on from the past.8

4
Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Pneumatology: the Holy Spirit in ecumenical, international, and contextual perspective
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 164-165.
5
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality" The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology (ed.) Susan Frank
Parsons (Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 2002) 171.
6
Ibid., 182
7
Prassanna Kumari, A reader in Feminist Theology (Madras: Gurukul Publication, 1993)83.
8
Ibid., 93

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 4. Feminist Pneumatology
4.1.Understanding the nature and work of holy spirit
 THE NATURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit. Jesus did promise to leave
his Spirit with us, and he did so on the very day that he ascended to the Father - the day of
Pentecost. But this Spirit - called the Spirit of Truth - is not the same as the Holy Spirit, third
person of the trinity. 9 "Acts 1:8 tells us that the disciples would receive power when the Holy
Spirit came upon them and they would be witnesses not only in Jerusalem but also to the ends of
the earth. And after they received the Holy Spirit the evidence of that presence in them caused a
movement to begin.10 "It is impossible for a believer to fully experience the fullness of God, and
successfully live for Christ, without the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, one
cannot interpret the Word of God properly, cannot serve God effectively, nor discern things
clearly. Many have been baptized in the water but not in the Spirit." 11

 THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

The Holy Spirit has a job description. The Spirit of God has specific work to be done, and the
Scripture clearly teaches us about that work, these are:

The Holy Spirit exalts Jesus: The purpose of the Spirit is to exalt Jesus and let Him be lifted up.
The Spirit has come that we might be deeply impressed with the Person of Jesus Christ and go
away excited about His work. 12

The Holy Spirit provokes us to worship: The Spirit provokes us to that kind of worship.
There's a time to be quiet in the presence of the Lord, a time to hear the Word of the Lord: "Be
still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). But there is also a time to praise the Lord with an
upraised voice. There is a time to say from the depths of the inner man, "Hallelujah! For our
Lord God Almighty reigns" (Rev. 19:6). 13

9
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality" …. 172.
10
http://theologicalperspectives.com/the-nature-of-the-holy-spirit (Accessed on 08/02/18, 9:10 pm.)
11
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality"….171.
12
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality" ….173.
13
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality"….176.

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The Holy Spirit lives in us: We are charged to be filled with the Spirit as Holy Spirit lives in us.
If we allow Him in our lives and give free access to Him of every part of us, He will lead us
towards a better life in Christ. 14

The Holy Spirit convicts us: It is the Spirit's mission to convict us in three areas. Firstly, He
gives us an awakened sense of unbelief in Jesus. The Spirit wants to reverse that unbelief so we
will trust and believe in Christ. Secondly, the Spirit's mission is to affirm the righteousness of
Jesus and call on us to look to Him alone for salvation. Lastly, the Spirit comes to usher us into
an acknowledgement of Jesus that judgment has already been passed against the evil one. 15

The Holy Spirit guides us: While we are really helpless in getting right direction that time Holy
Spirit works within us. The Spirit is especially present, especially active, in crises of our life—
times when we're making vital decisions that are going to affect us for many days to come. 16

The Holy Spirit enables us to understand and apply the Word of God: The Spirit not only
inspired the Scripture, He also caused it to be inspiring. "All scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16). 17

The Holy Spirit empowers us for witness: There is a balance between the worship of the Lord
and the work of the Lord. It is never the purpose of the Lord to simply have the Spirit stir us to
worship and then leave us there. The Spirit's task is to instill strength in us in the moment of
worship, so that we can go out empowered to be the witness and do the work of the Lord. 18

The Holy Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies: This is a work of the Holy Spirit that is yet
to come. But the promise of that work is connected incredibly with the resurrection of Christ
himself: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in
you" (Rom. 8:11). 19

14
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality".…173.
15
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality"….173.
16
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality"….174.
17
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality"….175.
18
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality"….176.
19
Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality"….175.

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 4.2. Personification of Holy Spirit

There are several lines of evidence in the NT which argue for the personality of the Holy Spirit.
Before Jesus was ascended to heaven, He promised to his disciples that the Holy Spirit would
take his place after he departed, to further testify of Him. 20 Jesus further reveal that the Holy
Spirit is the “Spirit of truth”, testifying to Him the Truth (John 14:6). The world does not know
this Spirit, but the disciples know it. Here the neuter pronoun “it” is used for the Spirit, not
because the Spirit is neuter but because in Greek pneuma is neuter. Jesus has clearly meant the
“another paraclete” as a person. Jesus clarified this in John 14:26, “He will teach you all things
and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit is, therefore, sent by
the Father in the name of Jesus.21 This Paraclete is the one who comes alongside the believer to
“guide into all truth” (John 16:13) and to “help us in our weakness” (Rom 8:26). The Spirit
comforts believers by “testifying with our Spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom 8:16). And he
is our perfect advocate before a holy God; he intercedes or speaks for us with “groans that words
cannot express…in accordance with God’s will” (Rom 8:26, 27). 22

For, in contrast to the dominant biblical metaphors and models for God and Christ, which are
largely masculine, the central biblical metaphors for the Spirit – ruah, shekinah, and hokmah or
sophia – are either female or gender non-specific, offering support for the notion of a feminine
Spirit which, though largely repressed in Christian tradition, has nevertheless persisted, and re-
emerged in our own time in a renewed debate about the appropriateness of naming the Spirit in
explicitly female terms.23 Feminist emphasizes the Spirit with female characteristic. We can
readily uncover a tradition of regarding the Spirit as the maternal aspect of God – brooding,
nurturing, and bringing new members of the church to life in baptism. There is, too, the early
Syriac tradition of styling the Spirit as feminine, following the female gender of the noun in the
Semitic languages (ruha’ in Syriac, ruah in Hebrew). 24

20
Charles Ross, The Inner Sanctuary: an exposition of John 13-17, (Britain: Hazell Watson & Viney, 1967), 102.
21
Lucius Nereparampil, Spiritual insights of Johannine Literature, (Bangalore: Dharmaram Publications, 2006), 64.
22
Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, “Holy Spirit”, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery,
(Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1998), 391.
23
Susan Frank Parson, The Cambridge Companion To Feminist Theology, (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2004), 171 – 172.
24
Parson, The Cambridge Companion To Feminist Theology…, 142 – 143.

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For Elizabeth Johnson, the Spirit plays a clearly articulated role in regards to divine mystery.
Johnson speaks of God’s “livingness” and God’s “touch” which she attributes to the Spirit
leading human beings towards Jesus and thus towards the fullness of divine mystery. In inverting
the traditional ordering of the three divine persons, starting with Spirit-Sophia who leads to
Jesus-Sophia who leads to Mother-Sophia, Johnson accentuates God’s Spirit as the divine person
first to encounter creation and human beings. In a feminist articulation of Trinity, not only is the
Spirit linked with female expression, but so too are the first and second persons of the Trinity.
All three divine persons are grounded in God’s Wisdom or Sophia. Aware of the importance, in
Jesus’ life, of the Spirit guiding, enlightening and teaching the Christian community, Johnson
pictures the Spirit as the divine person enabling human beings to recognize the divine, first
within Jesus and then beyond. 25

4.3. Feminine images and Metaphors of Holy Spirit- (Sophia, Hokmah)

Viewing the Holy Spirit through feminine imagery helps explain the fact that hokmah, divine
wisdom, is scripturally described in unmistakably feminine terms. Indeed, hokmah is one of the
clearest examples of feminine imagery connected with the Divine in the Bible. The term wisdom
is feminine in Hebrew (hokmah), Greek, (Sophia). It presents wisdom as a feminine image, a
virtual hypostatization, with the term hokmah appearing more than three hundred times in the
Hebrew Scriptures. Wisdom is the most developed personification of God’s presence and
activity in the Hebrew Scriptures.26

James D. G. Dunn notes that rabbinic thought, rather than postulating that hokmah is a divine
being designed to relate to humanity and counterbalance the absolute transcendence of the
Hebrew God, has asserted that hokmah is a means of speaking of God’s active involvement in
the world in such a way that does not compromise his transcendence. Therefore, hokmah in
Jewish thought is “simply God, revealing and known,” and this manifestation of the Divine is
clearly expressed in feminine imagery. 27

25
Helen Bergin “Feminist Theologians and Pneumatology: An Enrichment of Vatican II,” Australian eJournal of
Theology 21/2, (August 2014), 162. 155 – 169.
26
Martin Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism (London: SCM Press, 1973), vol. 1, 157-162.
27
James D. G. Dunn, Christology in the Making (London: SCM Press, 1980), 195.

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Raymond Brown argues that in the Gospel of John, “Jesus is personified Wisdom” (Sophia).
James Dunn concludes that “Jesus is the exhaustive personification of divine wisdom.” 28
Leonard Swidler argues that “the feminine divine Wisdom of the Hebraic-Judaic tradition
bifurcated in the Christian tradition,” retaining the usual Hebraic association of the feminine with
the Holy Spirit (Ruach) while shifting to the rare Judaic association with the masculine Word,
Logos, of God. As a result, one person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, came to be identified
with the feminine divine Wisdom and at times was described in feminine imagery, while the
second person of the Trinity, the Logos, was also identified with the feminine divine wisdom but
was only rarely described in feminine imagery.29

4.4. Reclaiming Women’s Spirituality

Feminist spiritualties and theologies of the spirit can be both understood as part of a wider
movement within contemporary culture to critique, enliven and transform institutional form of
faith and as te significant of the wider movement. Women today are daring to tell their truth, to
break open the silence in which their lives have for generations been shrouded. 30

More and more of them are using the language of spirituality as they name their new sense of
themselves, of the world, of God and of their own Godlikeness. Joann Wolski Conn, Christian
spirituality 'involves the human capacity of self-transcending knowledge, love, and commitment
as it is actualized through the experience of God, in Jesus, the Christ, by the gift of the Spirit'.
The work of Denise Lardner Carmody in her feminist spirituality, an upward spiral symbolizes
the human impulse to stretch beyond ourselves, and 'Lady Wisdom' stands for the wholeness
toward which we all aspire. To maintain that movement beyond the self to others and to God is
not only possible but necessary presumes that there is a self to move beyond. The task of
spiritual self-transcendence for a woman demands that she first grow into and claim her
conscious and responsible selfhood.31

28
Raymond Edward Brown, The Gospel According to John I-XII, 125.
29
Leonard Swidler, Biblical Affirmations of Woman (Philadelphia, 1979), 63-66.
30
Susan Frank Parson, The Cambridge Companion To Feminist Theology, (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2004),185.
31
Susan Frank Parson, The Cambridge Companion To Feminist Theology, (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2004),185.

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Madonna Kolbenschlag identified four characteristics of feminist spirituality: passion,
imagination, resistance and solidarity. These will serve as reference points from which we can
further explore spirituality from the perspective of Christian feminist.32

4.4.1. Passion: reclaiming incarnation: Our third and fourth century ancestors,
steeped in world-denying philosophies, taught that freedom from passion, was
a state to be sought as prerequisite to contemplative union with God. Free
from the inner warfare of the unruly passions, with all one's powers in
harmony with God's design, one could see rightly and judge truly about the
things that really mattered. As feminists have documented, women's bodies
have been treated as property to be flaunted and traded, as territory to be
conquered, as moral quicksand to be avoided. Their emotions have been
stifled and trivialized. A feminist spirituality reclaims the holiness of
inspirited bodies and the gift of passion as a force to move onward. Rosemary
Haughton reminds the 'passionate God' whose being is to love and to embrace
in love. The ethicist Beverly Wildung Harrison calls women to harness 'the
power of anger in the work of love'. 33
4.4.2. Imagination: reclaiming symbols: Feminist scholars have documented
women's exclusion from the ranks of those who shaped the symbols and
meanings which became the dominant myths of civilization. The exclusion
was not accidental, nor is it ended, as evidenced by the virtual absence of
women from positions of influence in fields such as government, religion and
communications, fields recognized as keepers of symbol systems. Feminist
spirituality draws on the power of imagination to develop symbols which
mirror alternative views of reality. For instance, Haughton suggests that, if the
symbol of Eve was used by a male-dominated culture to connote 'women's
innate sinfulness, her power to degrade and corrupt, or divine punishment laid
on all womankind', then Jesus's empowerment of women could be described
as 'the re-creation of Eve'. Imagination is the foundation of a spirituality of
hope, a spirituality of the poor. Women may be closer to the fount of

32
https://www.theway.org.uk/back/28Bechtle.pdf (Accessed on 10/02/18, 9:20 pm.)
33
https://www.theway.org.uk/back/28Bechtle.pdf (Accessed on 10/02/18, 9:20 pm.)

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 imagination because they stand on the fringes of the world's power. As
Haughton asserts, 'In a patriarchal society women are those who are able,
sometimes, to perceive an alternative, because like the women who followed
Jesus they have nothing to gain from mere changes of power structures'. 34
4.4.3. Resistance: reclaiming the struggle: A spirituality of resistance deeply
threatens those who are charged with protecting the system from change,
whether in the name of God's will, the common good or the future of
civilization. Feminists know that the journey will take them, perhaps many
times, to the point of impasse, where once-consoling symbols shatter, where
formerly sustaining bonds must be broken. As they confront this new face of
the classic 'dark night' experience, they gain a new understanding of the
dynamic of feminist conversion, which for them seems to be 'not so much
giving up egocentric notions of power as passing through an experience of
nothingness finally to gain power over their own lives'. 35
4.4.4. Solidarity: reclaiming the community of life: Christian feminists believe
that the Good News summons and creates a community. Such a view does not
seek to bury individual responsibility in the collective conscience, but rather
to correct the distortions which have made morality and spirituality a private
affair between God and each person. In contrast, feminists envision Christian
spirituality as 'eating together, sharing together, drinking together, talking
with each other, receiving each other, experiencing God's presence through
each other', and in the concrete communion of such actions, thereby
'proclaiming the gospel as God's alternative vision for everyone, especially for
those who are poor, outcast, and battered'. The image of 'connection' describes
the feminist commitment to a relational way of knowing, living, acting and
praying. One author finds that 'the quest for wholeness: the apprehension of
everything as intrinsically interrelated' is characteristic of women's way of
knowing. All the elements of feminist spirituality are interwoven. To embrace
life with passion unleashes imagination and creativity. To imagine the

34
https://www.theway.org.uk/back/28Bechtle.pdf (Accessed on 10/02/18, 9:20 pm.)
35
https://www.theway.org.uk/back/28Bechtle.pdf (Accessed on 10/02/18, 9:20 pm.)

10 | P a g e Feminist Pneumatology
 possibility of a future different from the present is an act of hope-filled
resistance, which gives soul to the enduring struggle to change one's world
and oneself. And resistance is not born out of isolation; it draws life and
strength from community.36
5. Biblical Response

Applying feminist images to the Spirit is biblically legitimate since in the bible the role of the
Spirit involves activities more usually associated with maternity and feminity in general. These
include inspiring, helping, supporting, enveloping, bringing to birth and so on. Of all the
Trinitarian persons, the Holy Spirit is more often related to intimacy. Several feminist such as
Sallie McFague and Elizabeth Johnson have suggested a metaphorical understanding of God-
language to combat the literalism (and thus patriarchalism) of traditional theology. 37

We do not find any concrete instances in the bible that describes or explains the gender of the
Holy Spirit and the passages that speak of the Spirit are masculine dominated. However, going to
the root, we find in Genesis 1:2 in which the Spirit is termed as Ruach in Hebrew which is in
feminine gender. This passage is much quoted by the feminist in supporting their claim that Holy
Spirit is or could be female. Other than this we do not find any explicit biblical basis for viewing
Holy Spirit as the female persons in essence. God is invisible and Spirit as in John 4:24; Romans
1:20; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17. No gender can be attributed to the body. Thus, biblically,
God or the Spirit is in essence a genderless Being which restricts the absolute male theistic
domination of the Spirit or Pneuma.

6. Theological Response

Several feminist theologians have challenged traditional ways of interpreting pneumatology.

These theologians focus on the maternal or feminine characteristics of the Holy Spirit to
counterbalance masculine pronounce of Father and Son.38 None of the divine persons has gender,
even though when we speak of the acts of Trinitarian God, each person is known by names

36
https://www.theway.org.uk/back/28Bechtle.pdf (Accessed on 10/02/18, 9:20 pm.)
37
Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Edt., Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology…, 22
38
Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Edt., Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology…, 21.

11 | P a g e Feminist Pneumatology
borrowed from gender language. Addressing the Holy Spirit in feminine terms does not mean
that the Spirit is feminine than Father indicates masculinity. 39

Several scholars compared the Spirit to Eve to compliment the comparison to Adam. Some
would say that the woman in Revelation 12 is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would thereby be
associated with the church.40 Some female theologian’s way of speaking of the Spirit includes
the qualities of beauty, intimacy and shared love, as in Roman Catholic Mary Ann Fatula’s
account:

“We ourselves know this Spirit, just as we intuitively know the air we
breathe and without which we cannot live, for the Spirit lives with us and
is deep within us (John 14:17) … Even hard times bring us the Holy
Spirit’s fragrance, for al that the Spirit touches is anointed with joy (1
Thess. 1:5) …the holy Spirit of love…dwells in us as our inseparable and
intimate friend, our beloved “Paraclete” and counsellor, our advocate and
helper, our comfort and consoler”.41

Rachel Matthew says, “If there is a Son and a Father, why is there no mother? It is not mere
coincidence that the term in its original (Ruah) is feminine,42 referring to the Spirit as Mother
introducing the most fitting symbol that goes naturally with the Father and the Son. Leelamma
Athyal points out that, the traditional way in which the Holy Spirit is presented as a male person,
does not fit the “Father-Son” combination. When there is a Father and a Son, one tends to think
naturally of a mother, so as to complete the symbolism of the unity of a family. 43 This point is
clear in overcoming any restrictive patriarchalism.

39
Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Edt., Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology…, 260.
40
Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Edt., Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology…, 260.
41
Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Edt., Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology…, 265.
42
T Mercy Rani, Assailants of the Spirit and the upholders of Sakti: An Indian Feminist Assessment of the Holy
Spirit, (Bangalore: SATHRI, 2003) 69.
43
T Mercy Rani, Assailants of the Spirit and the upholders of Sakti: An Indian Feminist Assessment of the Holy
Spirit…, 70.

12 | P a g e Feminist Pneumatology
 7. Reflection

In contrast to the dominant biblical metaphors and models for God and Christ, which are largely
masculine, the central Biblical metaphors for the Spirit are either female or gender non-specific.
The Spirit is also usually subordinated to the Father and the Son and considered to be the ‘third
person’ in the trinity. The marginalization and oppression of women then can be associated with
the Spirit in the Bible with is attributed with female imagery and experience. The neglect of the
Spirit seems to bear direct relation to the repression and marginalization of women themselves in
Christian tradition. The obscurity and namelessness of the Spirit is reflected in the invisibility of
women in Christian theology and life.

The reflections of feminist scholarship on pneumatology, has initiated much creative thinking
about the person and work of the Spirit within the rapidly expanding field of feminist spirituality.
Feminist spiritualities and theologies of the Spirit is significant because, as part of a wider
movement within the contemporary culture, they critique, enliven and transform institutional
forms of faith and at the same time contribute most significantly to the wider movement.

Although the feminist issue on the language used to describe God cannot be rendered irrelevant,
our deliberations should not obscure us from the important question while dealing on the subject
of pneumatology whether through our relationship with the Spirit we are brought closer to God
or fragmented over simple matters of gender.

8. Conclusion

Feminist pneumatology presents individuals and institutions, significant insights from their
experiences and understanding, in relation to the Spirit. They challenge the tradition
understandings and seek to liberate themselves from the oppression and subjugation used in the
male dominated languages. They offer the means of transforming and empowering present
dominant structures and conceptions.

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 9. Resources
9.1. Bibliography

Bergin, Helen. “Feminist Theologians and Pneumatology: An Enrichment of Vatican II,”

Australian e Journal of Theology 21/2, (August 2014): 155 – 169.

Brown, Raymond Edward. The Gospel According to John I-XII.

Frank Parson, Susan. The Cambridge Companion To Feminist Theology. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2004.

G. Dunn, James D. Christology in the Making. London: SCM Press, 1980, 195.

Hengel, Martin. Judaism and Hellenism. London: SCM Press, 1973, vol. 1.

Hornby, A.S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English Oxford

University Press, 1948.

Karkkainen,Veli-Matti, Edt. Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian

Theology. Kentucky: John Knox Press, 2010.

Karkkainen, Veli-Matti, Pneumatology: the Holy Spirit in ecumenical, international, and

contextual perspective Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002.

Kumari, Prassanna. A reader in Feminist Theology. Madras: Gurukul Publication, 1993.

Nereparampil, Lucius. Spiritual insights of Johannine Literature. Bangalore: Dharmaram

Publications, 2006.

Nicola Slee, "The Holy spirit and spirituality" The Cambridge Companion to Feminist
Theology. Susan Frank Parsons (ed.). Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of
Cambridge, 2002.

Rani, T Mercy. Assailants of the Spirit and the upholders of Sakti: An Indian Feminist
Assessment of the Holy Spirit. Bangalore: SATHRI, 2003.

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 Richardson, Alan, ed. Pneumatology: A Dictionary of Christian Theology London: SCM
Press, 1969.

Ross, Charles. The Inner Sanctuary: an exposition of John 13-17. Britain: Hazell Watson
& Viney, 1967.

Ryken, Leland, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, “Holy Spirit”, Dictionary of
Biblical Imagery. Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1998.

Swidler, Leonard. Biblical Affirmations of Woman. Philadelphia, 1979, 63-66.

Wiethaus, Ulrike, Feminine: The Encyclopedia of Christianity Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

2008.

9.2. Webliography

http://theologicalperspectives.com/the-nature-of-the-holy-spirit (Accessed on 08/02/18,

9:10 pm.)

https://www.theway.org.uk/back/28Bechtle.pdf (Accessed on 10/02/18, 9:20 pm.)

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