Do contemporary Jewish and Christian feminism affirm traditional views about God, or do they represent a new direction in theological reflection?

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Contemporary Jewish and Christian feminism
Traditionally, both Judaism and Christianity have often portrayed women as the weaker or inferior being to their male counterparts. The female gender is relegated to less influential or simplistic roles in the religious activities and aspects of both religions. It is the inferior representation of women in both religions upon which feminist theology thrives through challenging the traditional conceptions of the male gender as being closer to God and thus superior to their female counterparts. The traditional views of God play a significant role in feminist theology as they are perceivably or rather believed to be the basis for the oppression of women, which stems from religion to other social constructs. The patriarchal depiction of God in both Judaism and Christianity undermined the role of women in religion and thus provoking feminine theologist to develop a diverse feminine perspective on the traditional views about God in an effort to restore or rather women’s position in both religions. Among the renowned feminine theologist include the Jewish feminist, Melissa Raphael, and Elizabeth Johnson, a Christian theological feminist. Raphael and Johnson fault the traditional views about God in Judaism and Christianity respectively as being biased against women and a cause for the oppression of women in religion as a whole. The feminine theologists differ with the traditional views and instead provide a feminine approach in the perception of scriptures and historical experiences of women through which theology can reflect upon God’s various manifestations.
Contemporary Jewish and Christian feminism play a significant role in the empowerment of women by addressing or rather challenging the existing traditional values, principles, and perceptions deemed oppressive to the feminine gender for both religions. Both the Jewish and Christian feminism offer informed theological arguments seeking to promote the equality of both men and women through a comprehensive analysis of the two religions’ doctrines, scriptures, and historical experiences denoting the manifestation of divinity. Raphael, for instance, seeks to restore the dignity of women in Jewish post-holocaust theology by opposing the patriarchal depictions of God which have shielded the women from equal recognition in various aspects of the Jewish religion. Melissa Raphael’s, The Female Face of God in Auschwitz: a Jewish Feminist Theology of the Holocaust, provides an excellent platform for the analysis of feminine Jewish theological perceptions of God’s manifestation during the Holocaust CITATION Mel03 \l 1033 (Raphael). Raphael differs with the Jewish theology of the Holocaust arguing for the absence of the patriarchal God in Auschwitz at a time of the Jewish utmost need (Raphael, p27). Her views on the God’s manifestation during the extreme circumstances of suffering among the women in the concentration camps depict a feminine perception and understanding of God, which is in great contrast to the traditional views about God in Judaism.
Melissa Raphael confronts the patriarchal depiction of the Holocaust as the Jewish theology goes ahead to overlook women’s suffering by maintaining a dominant male orientation in discussing the presence or absence of God during the whole ordeal (Raphael, p.23). Women’s inferior role or subjugation in the Jewish practices such as their inadmissibility to give or witness God’s presence obscured them from giving their individual accounts of their encounters with God in times of suffering in Auschwitz (Raphael, p.23). Raphael was simply highlighting the often misplaced ideology of the masculine imagery or perception of God and other aspects of Judaism and the Jewish religion. The traditional patriarchal representation of God in the Jewish religion led to the disbelief and despair of the Jews at how powerless their God was in letting them suffer that much. Raphael, however, shares a different perspective on how God’s power and presence manifested in Auschwitz through the relational activities of women who turned to acts of compassion and care amongst themselves while upholding the Jewish traditional practices of prayers and purification (Raphael, p.37). The women embraced God’s nurturing, indwelling presence also known as Shekhinah in Judaism and a representation of the female face of God. Raphael further offers a different point of view on the divine manifestation thr...