Title
Taking Women Off the Cross: Reflections on Power, Male Violence, and Women’s Ordination
Gerald Hiestand
Abstract
Herein the essay offers a reflection on the cruciform nature of pastoral ministry and its life- giving implications for the oppressed. In particular, the essay invites us to consider the question of women’s ordination in light of the legitimate feminist quest to “break the tradition of male destructive domination of [the woman’s] body and soul.” The first section utilizes the liberationist paradigm of El Salvadorian theologian Fr. John Sobrino for assessing the historical ways in which oppressive male power has all too often “put women on the cross.” The second part examines the self-denying example of the crucified Jesus, and how his cruciform use of power has helped to liberate women. The third section considers St. Paul’s pastoral ministry as a continuation of Jesus’s cruciform “cross-releasing” mission. The final section concludes with some reflections on how all of the above, combined with the work of the German theologian Susanne Hiene, informs our understanding of Jesus’s maleness, the feminist telos of male power, and the logic of women’s ordination.
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This resource is part of the series Not So With You: Reflections on Power, the Pastorate, and Life in the Church. Click here to explore more resources from this series.
Gerald Hiestand is the Co-Founder and Board Chair of the Center for Pastor Theologians. He has over 15 years of pastoral ministry experience and currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL. He is the editor and author/co-author of several books, including The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision. He holds a PhD in Classics from the University of Reading. He is also a founding member of the St. Anselm Fellowship of the CPT.
