Reflections on African Women's Theology - On Mercy Amba Oduyoye 1

Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy

by Mercy Amba Oduyoye   Part One 

In Daughters of Anowa, Mercy Oduyoye says “Myths and folktales shaped and continue to shape social relations, even under modern political systems” (19). Oduyoye names these important works “religio-cultural corpus” and claims not only does it provide the social history and collective memory of Africa, it also serves as a source of authority for decision making to this day (20). Oduyoye reviews different origin myths throughout African cultures, lifting up the role of the feminine and female in the stories. She also contrasts these stories with stories of the feats of male human being glorified and praised. She traces threads of assumptions about women’s power and sees that often the power of life-giving, life-affirming is reinforced and valued, where as any power used to destroy life is judged as evil (29). While this ideal sounds pretty, it reinforces not just the submission of women to male power, it condemns women who resist being sacrificed or taken advantage of. She concludes the chapter stressing the value of these stories, but also the value of asking who benefits from the moral conclusion of the story as well.

 “We cannot overestimate the power of folktales as vehicles for the transmission of norms” (37). From there, Oduyoye reflects on the language used to describe women within folktales. Reading these folktales reminded me of reflections I had about Disney princesses and gender roles. I wrote a blog reflecting upon viewing of the 2012 Hollywood movie “Snow White and the Huntsman” (http://jadedmystic42.blogspot.com/2012/11/choice-c-neither-evil-queen-or-innocent.html ). It was advertised as portraying a more independent and liberated Snow White and more complicated villain in the Queen. However, as I said in my blog “The most basic theme to draw from this movie is that the only power females have are purity and beauty. And the ultimate power is to have both. Purity and beauty is the inspiration for men to war, for people to unite, and the only way hope transcends despair….However, the impure Queen has an insatiable appetite for strength over men and being in control,  while Snow White is the epitome of purity suffering through darkness and wins the hearts of men through selfless acts of sacrifice and goodness… Snow White's more acceptable journey into queendom is through maintaining her innocence despite temptations and exposure to reality. She woos men of all kinds with her innocence and beauty, the power she holds with these  traits conquers the evil of an empowered decisive woman destroying the kingdom.”

I see similar themes within the work Oduyoye does reflecting on African folktales. There is power within the way women are portrayed within these stories. We hear them from the time we are born and it influences us. As I wrote in my blog, as a young girl, even though I was told I could “save” myself, I was told it was not only easier to be saved by Prince Charming, it also affirmed my value as a human being to be rescued by a man. What does this do to the minds of little girls and boys to be imprinted with these values and how can we resist and challenge it? Consumerism and capitalism in the Global North and colonial infiltration everywhere sells sex, but to little boys and girls, it is about acceptance… which means as we age acceptance translates into sexual identity. It is a long and twisted journey.

In African Women, Letty Russell tells a story of who Mercy Oduyoye is through images of their time together as well as through images within scripture. So many rich and descriptive statements about Oduyoye, but by far, my favorite is “Into the cracks of colonial theology she has poured creative understandings of the church and mission, and become the mother of African women’s theology (46). Russell goes on to claim “They reach out to a compassionate God and work to transform Africa ‘from a hostile space into a nurturing womb and cradle provided by God’” (55). I see Oduyoye challenging the perspectives of woman’s values only relevant to her role as mother to a son, questioning the assumption of devaluation of women who bear no children. This is important to me personally and academically. In reflecting on how shame and judgment are used to limit and oppress women’s influence on community, how can we, as critically conscious citizens, respond? Where does the metaphor/image of woman empowered as a mother figure fit into the mindset of women who choose to not have children, but most importantly women who are infertile. To desire children but to be unable to, raises significant questions of worth and value within the minds of women raised to believe motherhood is a primary role of women. As a pastoral care scholar and chaplain, these questions affect the type of care I teach and give.

1980s Transitions in Pastoral Care: Smith and the Relational Self

Reflections upon 

The Relational Self: Ethics & therapy from a Black church perspective by Archie Smith (1982)

Dr. Smith is a retired professor of pastoral psychology and counseling from PSR. While his training began in theology and ministry, his studies and work expanded to include psychology. He shares much of his context in Chapter 1. The way he shares shows signs of the self-reflexive exercises of his clinical training. He focuses on parental relationships and experiences within his ministry and work. But he also treads into interesting territory as he shares just a glimpse of the social and historical context of his experiences, which is the point of the book, but I imagine is also breaking into new territory in 1982. Smith identifies himself as neorothodox theology and pastoral care in 1966, but also informed of psychological perspectives that enhanced such a view (35).

Question 2: Pastoral Identity within the Text

Smith argues for several identities for the Black Church, and thus the Black pastor, arguing these identities are relevant to all forms of church and ministers. As he names them, I imagine these are the ideals to which he aspires and desires for his students.

One way he organizes his thoughts about pastoral identity is through the idea of Paradigms I, II, and III. Paradigm I encourages the individualized, privatized, personal salvation of most of contemporary American Christian groups (41). This leads pastors and churches to focus on internal sins, struggles, without complex analysis of social systems. (Smith quotes Ruether on page 49). Paradigm II makes ministry politically aware, socially active, and oriented to changing the systems; it is often expressed by rescuing the victims of social oppression (43). The role of church and pastor becomes one of a mediating structure between society and personal experience. Paradigm III ministry emphasizes the interconnectedness of the web of life, recognizes the social-intentional character of the agent, all aiming toward justice in relation to one another (53). Within the discussion of the three paradigms, Smith names multiple identities for Black churches. Some highlights are:

Mediating structure between individual and society (44)

Psychic support to people while advocating social change

Prophetic voice to injustice (46)

Supporting moral vision of people

Empowering them to transform social structures

Source for transcendent values.

In Chapter 2, Smith lists the historical role of the Black preacher as “bringer of glad tidings, a spiritual and psychological healer, the interpreter of the Unknown, the comforter in times of sorrow, the one who gives voice and picturesquely expresses the longings, disappointments, and resentments of a stolen and oppressed people” (76).

In Chapter 4, Smith posits that Black therapists must be intentional to include social and historical context within their reflexive practice. “The context is operative whether the black therapist or client chooses to recognize it or not” (98). The combined effect of race, gender, class, and other oppressions within social experience should be acknowledged. He also suggests that therapy of “black consciousness selfhood includes acceptance of one’s self and others, respect and self-determination, self-initiation, and responsibility for one’s own life. This implies affirmation, integration, and transformation of the symbol “blackness” (105). While not directly stating so, Smith’s description can be applied as a goal for Black churches, as they continue to fulfill the role of a therapeutic institution. A minister’s role, therefore, as trained in both theology and therapy, would be to empower and foster identity development that challenges and transcends societal norms.

I feel the book would benefit from further extrapolation about Smith’s view of a Christian Black liberation ethic. I found myself left with lots of questions about the practical application of such an ethic. While I skimmed Chapter 8 to see if he applied it in the Jonestown case study, I wonder if more could have been done. It seems that a model of care based on therapy and ethics should describe more clearly how the moral objective of freedom is enacted. I also am struggling to pinpoint the places of departure between his theology and my own. I sense that Smith is or similar to an Open Theist or Free Will Theist, which shares many aspects of process thought, but maintains an all-powerful supernatural (or perhaps 19th century natural) God. This thought of God is often used within neoorthodox liberation theologies and helps many connect their modern scientific understanding and postmodern relativism with more traditional theological language. It is not convincing for my own theological ponderings, as I feel there is still a layer of false consciousness, or perhaps cognitive dissonance, within such a model. But the science education most people obtain within dominant structural systems does not encourage expansion beyond a modernist perspective. I find it interesting that liberation theologies use Marx, or in this case, Mead, who were raised theists, but whose philosophies were not. It seems inserting assumptions about God’s nature into a philosophy without God can produce many points of tension. Those tensions, however, do provoke intriguing questions and do disrupt/disturb/push the oppressive structural systems.

Upon further digging, George Herbert Mead, his primary source for the development of the relational self, is a contemporary of Whitehead and they influenced each other’s thoughts and language in compelling ways. What is interesting to me about Mead and Smith’s use of him is the focus on psychological and social behavior. I’m also curious about how the development of thought in the 1930s contributed to the social/academic atmosphere of later decades. Did the work of these philosophers reflect the work within society’s thought process that eventually led to the civil rights movement and feminist activism of the 60s/70s… or perhaps did their contributions pave the way for more serious reflection and openness to include silenced voices at the table? I’m not claiming that the path to today’s academia was premeditated or that there wasn’t open hostility towards those who pushed us towards it. However, these minds were poking holes all over modernity… before World War Two, before the Holocaust. If time travel ever becomes possible, I’d love to listen to the conversations brewing. 

Reading a A History of Pastoral Care in America by Holifield

A History of Pastoral Care in America : From Salvation to Self-Realization by E. Brooks Holifield 

I found myself entranced by Holifield’s book, so much so that I read the first 4 chapters in addition to the 3 assigned. The thematic focus of how pastoral care shifted over time from self-denial and salvation to self-realization and acceptance added clarity to my understanding of history and how we can have such diverse factions within Christian theology and practice today. I want to focus on the height of colonial power and the influences towards pastoral care and justice.

Holifield traces the social and economic changes happening during the 1890s to 1910s. While he gives genuine thought into the arrogance of the educated and elite of the time, there is plenty to expand upon. Holifield lists 5 influences to perceptions of self and pastoral care: shifting to interest in biology, increasing language and perception of technology as power, post Civil War’s cult of masculinity (and reverting to efficiency, realism, individualism), economic consequences of technology, and a popular cultural mindset of physical fitness and strength (165-168). The predominant theological perspective that existence is naturally organized and patterned by God, reinforces and is reinforced by these cultural perspectives (ref. Bacon, Thomas Reid). Also within this list, I see the consequences of colonialism and patriarchy.

The shift to biological sciences was still rooted in “inductive rational science” (i.e. phrenology), producing conclusions about race, gender, and sexuality that still haunt us today. It seems as if the consequences of the Enlightenment and the Second Great Awakening happening during (or because of?) radical shifts in social structure (like factory capitalism and shift to urban centers) led to religion and psychology playing perpetual catch up. The same inductive rational thinking applied to race, gender, and sexuality that still exist today are also applied to the bible to justify fundamentalist worldviews. It continues to be very problematic towards achieving both personal and social justice.

I find the intersections of technology, economy, and the cult of masculinity and virility fascinating. I wonder how much of the imperial colonial mindset is a part of this as well. Americans colonized through territories, but it is essentially the same concept. Wrapped within it all is a hierarchy of oppositional binaries that places men, civilization, technology, success and power on one side and women, savagery, affective experience, deprecation and powerlessness on the other. While reading about the expectations of pastors to be virile and physically fit and strong, I kept thinking of Marcus Borg’s reflection on the Superman myth and Jesus. From Wikipedia, I learned Superman was created in 1933 and published in 1938. That means the creators of Superman were children during this transformative period emphasizing masculinity, virility, and power. Holifield demonstrates how over time the tension between reason and sentiment expresses itself.

Mission work and social work were also infected by these perceptions of self and the world. The mission societies allowed women to find a place to express their value that did not step on male virility. The biological justification of the patriarchal colonial hierarchy allowed acts of charity and conversion to appear as religious expressions of faith. As long as those being helped are inferior, whether by race, gender, or culture, then the hierarchy of power remains intact.

Reading this view of theological history, the stance that Tillich and Niebuhr brothers took makes much more sense. My primary awareness being the discussions within feminist theology challenging Niebuhr’s concept of the sin of pride makes sense coming from the end of colonial era and post-WWII. It also makes Saiving’s argument for women’s sin of self-deprecation even more poignant. Women, as part of the negative side of the oppositional binary can easily internalize with all that is powerless. As these thoughts develop, then we see that the experience of white educated women also contained elements of power and privilege. This reading has pieced together how important the heuristic development of theology and philosophy is. Holifield demonstrates in some ways how theological and psychological thought transformed and grew to the point that constructive postmodern perspectives became possible as part of social construction.