The Bonds of Freedom: Feminist Theology and Christian Realism (American Academy of Religion Academy Series)

217 Pages·2001·13.14 MB·English

by  Rebekah L. Miles

The Bonds of Freedom
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The Bonds of Freedom
Feminist Theology and Christian Realism
REBEKAH L. MILES
OXPORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
2001
OXPORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Copyright © 2001 by The American Academy of Religion
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miles, Rebekah, 1960-
The bonds of freedon : feminist theology and Christian realism /
Rebekah L. Miles,
p. cm.—(American Academy of
Religion academy series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-514416-3
1. Feminist theology. I. Title. II. Series.
BT83.55.M49 2001
230'.082—dc21 00-045279
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 42
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For my parents,
Jo Ann Ridgway Miles
and
John Pershing Miles I
"The lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage."
Psalm 16:6
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
1 O N C E believed that academic manuscripts were born in the isolation
of the study and nurtured under one set of watchful eyes; now I know better. They
come from large, extended families. They are shaped in the noise of the house-
hold, encouraged by the praise of friends, whipped into shape by colleagues in the
field, rushed along by the calendars of editors, and finally spit-polished by secre-
taries, graduate assistants, and copyeditors. This manuscript grew under the
watch of an unruly and generous family. Though they graciously shared in nur-
turing this work, they are in no way responsible for any errors in it.
I am indebted to the faculty of the Divinity School at the University of
Chicago, particularly to Robin Lovin, William Schweiker, Anne E. Carr, Martin
Marty, David Tracy, Don Browning, and Franklin Gamwell. I also give thanks for
other professors, Sheila Davaney, Jean Miller Schmidt, and Delwin Brown of the
Iliff School of Theology; Jay McDaniel and John Farthing of Hendrix College; and
Rose Margaret Summers, Mary Ewing, Francis Sturdy, and many other excellent
teachers in the Arkansas public schools. Under their care, I came to appreciate
Aquinas's claim that teaching is an "act of mercy."1
I am grateful for the encouragement of colleagues at Brite Divinity School,
Texas Christian University, where I worked while writing this manuscript and re-
vising it for publication. Deans Leo Perdue and Mark Toulouse offered patient as-
sistance and an occasional swift kick. Terry Inman, Sharlie Tomlinson, Margaret
Wintersole, Pam Rose-Beeler, Melanie Moore, Carolyn Herring, Jason Vickers,
and Sherry Willis helped with editing. I am thankful for new colleagues at Perkins
School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Dean Robin Lovin, Provost
Ross Murfin, and Associate Deans Jouette Bassler and Marjorie Procter-Smith
have given generous support. Thanks also go to Carole Myscofski of the American
Academy of Religion's Academy Series and Cynthia Read of Oxford University
Press.
My friends delivered me through this process. I owe thanks to Susan Simon-
aitis, Lois Malcolm, Chung Wook "Maggie" Kim, Brad Stull, Susan St.Ville, Todd
Whitmore, Charlene Garlarneau, Sarita Tamayo, Joy McDougall, Mary Doak,
Heather Miles, and Lisa and Paul Motz-Storey. Aquinas claimed that "likeness" or
similarity was the cause of the love between friends; he had evidently never met
mine.2 On the contrary, I say that the love of friends springs from gracious dis-
viii Acknowledgments
agreement and amiable conflict. Such conflict is the source not only of these
friendships but also of the arghuments presented in this book. When I insist that I
take full responsibility for all the ideas presented in this text, some of these friends
will sigh with relief and say "amen."
My family, the Mileses, Delonys, Rudows, and Vibhakars, offered lively encour-
agement. I am grateful to my sister Deborah, brother John, and Uncle Warren
who tried their best to make sure that this work is feminist (Deborah), orthodox
(John), and done (Warren). I dedicate this work to my parents, Jo Ann and John
Miles, who have given their lives in ministry to their family and the church. I
thank God for the love they have shared with me and so many others. The power-
ful bonds they nourished in our family allowed us to learn to be free and then to
enact that freedom in the world. I am also grateful to the Little Rock Conference
of the United Methodist Church which has supported them and now supports me
in ministry. My husband, Len Delony, helped in a thousand ways. He listened, ed-
ited, cooked, cleaned, danced, prayed, juggled, comforted, cajoled, and reminded
me to "rest in the shade of mercy."3 In the final steps of manuscript preparation,
he gave himself in care not only for me but also for our delightful little daughters,
Anna and Katherine. For all that and much more, I give thanks.
Finally, I am grateful to you for reading this book. One of the hard truths of
writing academic manuscripts is that, in most cases, so few people read them. I
have often remembered the sweet, "mad" Dickens character, Mr. Dick, who built
kites out of his never completed manuscripts. He explained himself to young
David Copperfield. " 'There's plenty of string,' said Mr. Dick, 'and when it flies
high it takes the facts a long way. That's my manner of diffusin' 'em. I don't know
where they may come down. It's according to circumstances, and the wind, and so
forth; but I take my chance of that.' "4 Both kite flyers and academic writers take
their chances. While academic books may be slightly more effective at diffusing
ideas, they are surely not as much fun. Given that sobering fact, I thank you for
taking a chance and reading this book.
Contents
1 Freedom and Boundedness
A Feminist Christian Realist Account 3
2 What's So Bad about Reinhold Niebuhr?
Feminist Criticisms of Niebuhr 28
3 Freedom for the World
Reinhold Niebuhr's Christian Realism 57
4 The Evolution of Cooperation and Consciousness
Rosemary Ruether's Naturalist Moral Realism 90
5 Battling for Truth in the Beloved Community
Sharon Welch's Relativist Political Realism 120
6 Dueling Realisms
Ruether, Welch, Niebuhr, and a Feminist Christian Realism 147
Afterword 157
Notes 159
Bibliography 191
Index 201