Crossing the Divide

by Thompson, Deanna A.

• ISBN13: 9780800636388
• ISBN10: 0800636384
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-05-01
• Publisher: Fortress Pr

Summary

Over the last two decades, traditional formulations of the idea of atonement have come under heavy attack from feminist theologians and others. They argue that the traditional view valorizes suffering and encourages people to acquiesce in needless self-sacrificing suffering; that it is unseemly to think of God as demanding suffering of his son; and that the theology of the cross needs to be rethought in light of the whole life, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus. Equally committed to the insights of the theology of the cross and feminist theology, Deanna Thompson takes up these contentious issues here in a creative and nuanced way. Her work emerges from direct engagement with Martin Luther and his archimedean text, "The Heidelberg Disputation, as well as with the architects of reformist feminism. She finds surprising common ground beyond the stereotypes on issues of suffering, abuse, atonement, reform, ethics, and the import of Jesus, and her book culminates in a constructive and promising feminist theology of the cross.

Author Biography

Deana A. Thompson is Associate Professor of Religion at Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	ix
Part One
1. Claiming the Cross	3	(26)
The Stirring of Luther's Theological Imagination	4	(7)
New Language for a New Vision	11	(4)
Stepping Out as a Theologian of the Cross	15	(14)
2. The Walls Come Tumbling Down	29	(38)
Sounding the Trumpets	37	(11)
A Political Theology of the Cross?	48	(10)
Freedom, Bondage, and the Will	58	(9)
3. Down to the Very Depths	67	(30)
Christ Is Really Here	70	(4)
Defense and Disobedience	74	(6)
Promising Christ	80	(17)
Part Two
4. Feminists Interrogate Luther	97	(42)
Feminist Reform and Revolt	98	(7)
Interrogating Sin	105	(11)
Interrogating the Male Savior	116	(11)
Interrogating Atonement	127	(12)
5. On Becoming a Feminist Theologian of the Cross	139	(23)
Describing the Human Condition	141	(6)
Calling Victims and Oppressors What They Are	147	(8)
Embodying Christ: Friendship as Christian Vocation	155	(7)
Notes	162	(19)
Index	181