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CHURCH
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WOMEN CHURCH GOD
• •
A
Socio-Biblical Study
WOMEN CHURCH GOD
• •
A
Socio-Biblical Study
Caleb Rosado
Foreword by Leona Glidden Running
Loma Linda University Press
Riverside, California
Copyright © 1990 by Loma Linda University Press
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher.
©
Copyright 1981 Christian Century Foundation. Reprinted by
permission from the 8/12-19/81 issue of The Chrisitan Century
—
Adapted from Mary The Feminine Face of the Church, by
Rosemary Radford Ruether. Copyright© 1977 The
Westminister Press. Adapted and used by permission
Edited by Robert Dunn
Copy edited by Juanita Singh
Book design by V. Bailey Gillespie/Edwin Zackrison
Cover design by Bailey Gillespie
Cataloging in Publication Data
Rosado, Caleb
Women, Church, God; A Socio-Biblical Study
Woman
1. (Christian Theology)
BV639.W7 261.8344
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-061454
ISBN 0-944450-059
Printed in the U.S.A.
Loma Linda University Press
CA
Riverside, 92515
I 1 7
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
PREFACE—
INTRODUCTION—
CHAPTER
1—JESUS—THE EXEGETE OF GOD—
2—JESUS AND THE PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM—25
3—THE RETURN TO SERVANTHOOD—37
4—JESUS AND THE SOCIAL STATUS OF WOMEN—46
5—THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT—69
6—IS GOD MALE?—79
7—THE FEMININE SIDE OF THE CHARACTER OF GOD—90
8—THE MOTHERHOOD OF GOD—98
9—IS THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE AT HOME?—108
10—MARY—THE HUMANIZATION OF THE CHURCH—115
APPENDIX
A—
THE FAMILY IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY—125
B—A MODEL FOR EFFECTIVE CHANGE—155
C—THE GOSPEL AND INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE—158
SCRIPTURE INDEX—168
INDEX—171
—
FOREWORD
Caleb Rosado has produced a book that is much needed
at this time, when the role of women in the church is
viewed from polarized positions, with each side claiming
Biblical support for its views. Unless made aware by some
educational process or other, most people are oblivious to
how much their attitudes and opinions a—re conditioned by
their entire background and—experience which are very
different from other people's and how much effect this
conditioning has on even the way they understand the
Bible!
This is where sociology can be helpful, explaining deeper
reasons (which may turn out not to be the correct reasons)
for holding certain views, and even interpreting the Bible
in certain ways. Bringing his cross-disciplinary training
to focus on this important question, Dr. Rosado produces
valuable illumination of the whole problem. He goes to
basic principles rooted in the very nature of God as
progressively revealed to human understanding. His
treatment of many, many Old and New Testament texts is
thoughtful and genuine exegesis, and his basic premise
that Jesus Christ revealed the character of His Father
much more perfectly than was done by men writing under
inspiration but hampered by—their position among the diS'
tortions caused by the Fall is surely correct. God was
sending His light through faulty prisms that bent its rays
and darkened it. Jesus simply ignored the man-made barri-
ers. He encountered and revealed the compassionate
Heavenly Parent.
A
delightful and satisfying journey is ahead for each
thoughtful reader of this excellent book.
Leona Glidden Running, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita of Biblical Languages,
Theological Seminary, Andrews University
Preface
PREFACE
Human beings are creatures of habit, including habits
of belief and thought. Once we get into a set pattern of be-
having, believing and thinking, change comes with great
difficulty.
On November 9, 1989 the Berlin wall was breached, al-
lowing thousands of East Germans to experience a new-
found freedom. Since then Eastern Europe has not been the
same. That these socio-political changes have taken place
with such rapidity was an unforeseen happening that
many thought not possible in their lifetime. Yet the fact of
a broken Berlin wall stands as evidence that the human
spirit is capable of change, even rapid social change. On
February 2, 1990 the wall of apartheid in South Africa was
also breached, making it possible for millions of black South
Africans to begin experiencing full humanization. There is
another—wall that still stands erect in socie—ty and in the
church the wall of gender discrimination which mars
the character of God, violates the principles of God's King-
dom, blurs the mission of the church and continues to be a
perennial source of hostility in society. Jesus broke all di-
viding walls of hostility on the cross with His message and
practice of inclusiveness, with the result that" there is nei-
ther Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Je-
sus" (Galatians 3:28). Such divisions, however, has been
erected again in the church and are at the basis of
male/female conflict in society. How this wall of gender
discrimination can be broken is the purpose of this book.
The ideas for this book did not come overnight, nor were
they the product of a few months of quick research. Rather
they are the result of twelve long years of struggling with a
Women
ii
new understanding of God relevant to the needs of our
world society, a—nd the role this God desir—es for the members
of the Church both men and women in fulfillment of
their mission. The first struggle came in a graduate class
on Church and Society 1 took at the Seminary at Andrews
University in 1977. For the class project 1 decided to do an
investigation into the whole issue of the ordination of
women. Prior to my research 1 had no position on the mat'
ter. In fact, the leaning of my beliefs and thoughts was
somewhat negative to the question. After considering the
matter from a Biblical and historical perspective, and in
terms of church polity, my views changed.
Later, as 1 got into graduate work in sociology at
Northwestern, I realized how inequality is structured into
the very fabric of our society and its institutions, including
the church. My professor and friend at Garrett-Evangeli'
cal Theological Seminary, Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether,
taught me a great deal about women, the church and so-
ciety that has left its imprint on my mind and in this book.
During this same time period 1 also began to understand
that many minority persons and women today are rejecting
God because God is perceived as a stern, harsh being who
sanctions oppression in various forms. Slowly and
painfully my ideas about God began to change, and with
them the role humans are to play in the divine/human
drama. While serving as pastor of a Hispanic congrega-
tionin Chicago, 1 ordained my first woman as elder for local
church ministry in 1978. With the establishment of All
Nations Church in 1979, 1 came to —the realization that due
to the nature of the congregatio—n a microcosm of the
world in terms of ethnic diversity it would have a short*
lived history if a new understanding of God was not pre-
sented on which the church would base its mission and
purpose for existence. Thus began my own, and with me my
congregation's, understanding of God as a Compassionate
Being who ministers to us at all levels of human need. We
were introduced to this God by God's son, Jesus of
Nazareth, our Elder Brother, whose way is the way of com-
