| Summary: | This dissertation presents a theological response to the feminists' challenge to classical christology by means of an explicit feminist retrieval and reconstruction of a theology of the cross. Although the feminist critique of christological doctrines is seen as an indispensable element of contemporary christology, the argument will be made that there is a redemptive message hidden in the cross of Christ which is retrievable for women today. Despite its potential for abuse and indeed its well-documented history of misuse against women in the past, a theology of the cross can also proclaim Jesus as a divine co-sufferer who brings good news to the poor and oppressed, and as such can be a source of healing and empowerment for suffering women. The constructive task of the dissertation will be to show that a theology of the cross can indeed be retrieved as a theology of hope today, offering women meaning and strength from a God who takes human form and enters redemptively into their situations of suffering. The first chapter of this dissertation introduces key elements in the feminist critique of the Christian tradition: (1) the appeal to women's experience, (2) the critique of the patriarchal bias of the tradition, (3) the issue of exclusive male language for God. Turning to the christological question, the second chapter offers a typology of feminist viewpoints on reconstructing the doctrine of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Chapters three and four proceed with a feminist reconstruction of christology by means of a critical retrieval of a theology of the cross. Chapter three lays the groundwork for reconstruction with an exploration of the understanding of God's passibility within the Christian tradition. In the fourth and final chapter, a feminist reconstruction of a theology of the cross is proposed. It is argued that a feminist theology of the cross can serve a dual purpose for feminist christology: it can be used to show the patriarchal distortion of traditional christology, and it can also reveal lost dimensions in the understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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