The Radical Kingdom. Rosemary Radford Ruether

Using the analogy of the two Divine Words, this chapter begins by exploring pressing debates in contemporary Islamic feminist and Muslima theological engagement with the Qur’an, debates that arise out of the underlying problematic of the Word in the world. The chapter, then, explores Christian perspectives on Jesus Christ from Rosemary Radford Ruether, Jacquelyn Grant, Kwok Pui-lan, and Ada María Isasi-Díaz. These theologians discuss topics ranging from the language and symbols invoked to describe Jesus to the value assigned to particular human markings of Jesus (inclusive of but not limited to Jesus’s maleness) to the affiliations of Jesus with power and marginal groups. The chapter concludes by returning to Muslima theology and constructively proposing an approach to the Qur’an that embraces hybridity, human experience, and a preference for the marginalized.

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Women Healing the Globe, Preserving the Tibetan Plateau

Feminist Theology ◽

10.1177/09667350211000603 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 264-289

Author(s):

Janice L. Poss

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Roman Catholic ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Rosemary Radford Ruether ◽

Relevant Today ◽

The Earth ◽

Faith Traditions ◽

Responsible Care ◽

Exemplary Practice ◽

Sentient Beings

The Tibetan Plateau’s Permafrost is melting at an alarming rate. Six of the world’s major rivers are sourced in the Tibetan Himalayas that are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the earth. If the temperature of the region continues to increase, the rivers will dry up and the earth will warm at an even faster rate. Buddha Yeshe Tsogyal (ye shes mTsho rgyal) (757–817 CE), long considered the Mother of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, was the consort of Padmasambhava. She reached “complete liberation” or Nirvana in a single lifetime. Her stories are preserved in rman thar. Her life was an exemplary practice of compassion, responsible care, and non-violence toward all sentient beings and the world. Can we follow her proto-eco-feminist example? Can we build responsible care for our planet and humanity across disciplines and faith traditions? What does compassionate, non-violent Buddhist thought and Roman Catholic pastoral care bring to eco-feminism? Can an eco-feminist epistemology informed by Buddhist EcoDharma construct programs of sustainability into humanity’s excessive habits integrating science’s ability to quantify, with Buddha nature? Can Catholicism’s pastoral ability to show dependence on God, the peaceful, compassionate Creator of all allow us to see our dependence on God and our earth? Many women have already begun this work around the globe. In 2002, Rosemary Radford Ruether brought 16 women together from around the globe in Women Healing Earth: Third World Women on Ecology, Feminism, and Religion to tell us how they are doing it and succeeding. Each is highlighted here for their visions on how to heal the planet at the grassroots level. From their insights, this article explores their contributions as being still relevant today and adding new concerns about the dangers arising on the Tibetan Plateau. The article emphasizes their ideas, provides a warning and other ideas that collective activation might inspire to address climate change.

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