This study is positioned in a context where the ideologies of communities, creeds and genders are marked in violent ways on women’s bodies. It is also located in a context where Christian women, by and large, internalize their subordinate status as Godordained and accept the violence perpetrated on them as normal and natural. In such a context, the christological understanding of Jesus as the “Suffering Servant” serves to reinforce the submissive, docile and subordinate position of women and legitimize the various forms of suffering that are inscribed on them as normal and even as ways to salvation. This study analyses the experiences of women who, in the midst of oppressive regimes, structures and forces, have refused to accept the inscriptions of gender, power and violence thrust on them. They have created an alternate way of speaking with their bodies in order to challenge gender stereotypes, oppressive powers and the denial of life and subjectivity imposed on them and their communities. Using the analysis of women’s resisting bodies, this study argues for an interpretation of christology that is centered on the motifs of struggle, resistance and protest, as evidenced in women’s resisting bodies and in the story of Jesus. Women’s resisting bodies and Jesus’ resistance are paralleled to reconstruct christology as resistance and protest and the resurrection as the continued and ongoing struggle for life amidst continued violence and oppression. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Concordia Seminary, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-106).

Thesis (M.A.)--Southern California College, Costa Mesa, Calif., 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-131).

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed July 27, 2010) Kathryn McClymond, committee chair; Michael Galchinsky, Timothy Renick, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-76).

No description available.

Thesis advisor: John Makransky / The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to Christian theological anthropology by bringing in the "interruption" of another religious tradition, Buddhism, in order to see how key Buddhist doctrines such as emptiness and practices of meditation may inform aspects of the Christian feminist discussions of kenosis in the spiritual life, and the search for a relational self. It also seeks to enhance Buddhist-Christian dialogue by bringing the "interruption" of feminist voices from both the Buddhist and Christian traditions into conversation with each other in order to see what they might offer, not only towards the search for "right relationship," but also towards bringing about the re-integration of doctrine and spiritual practices for more effective action in the world today. In the first part of the dissertation, I lay out the background of these two concepts of kenosis and emptiness within their respective religious traditions including the Buddhist-Christian dialogues around these two concepts. I then look at how Christian feminists (Sarah Coakley and Mary Grey) as well as Buddhist feminists (Anne Klein and Rita Gross) critique the traditional interpretations of these concepts and how they reconstruct such concepts in their articulation of a relational self and in their argument for the importance of practice and its relationship with doctrine. In the second part of this dissertation, I focus on the comparison between these Buddhist and Christian feminists and how they can mutually learn from each other. I argue that Buddhist feminist discussions on emptiness and meditation enhances and deepens the Christian feminist articulations of kenosis and how an empowered self can be found through a kenotic spirituality. I also demonstrate how such a dialogue can bring us back to the rich resources within the Christian tradition, such as the image of Mary and Marian devotions. Furthermore, I show how this feminist comparison contributes back to Buddhist-Christian dialogue by including the voices of women and their concern for suffering and the importance of praxis in our interreligious encounters today. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis (MArts(ReligionStudies))--University of South Australia, 2001.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-270).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [121]-129).