Theories of Mary Daly and Rhetorical Studies - Essay Example

? REASONS WHY MARY DALY MERITS MORE ATTENTION THAN THE TEXTBOOK RHETORICAL THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION BY TIMOTHY BORCHERS HAS ALREADY GIVEN HER Introduction This paper considers some ideas about rhetorical theory and practice, as well as highlighting the reasons why Mary Daly’s theories deserve more attention within rhetorical studies than what is covered in the textbook Rhetorical Theory: An Introduction by Timothy Borchers. I believe Mary Daly merits more attention than Borchers gives her. Daly was able to single handedly create her own theological anthropology on the basis of the context of her understanding of womanhood. She invented a dualistic thought-praxis dividing society into two; a world of communion in true being and a world of false images which enable oppression. (Ritchie, J. and Kathleen Boardman 1999). Mary Daly also published many written works, and her second book, Beyond God the Father is of real interest, as this scholar really considers God as a substantive subject. Theoretical perspective In the book Beyond God the Father, Mary Daly lays out a systematic theology that is in line with the example set by theologian Paul Tillich. Daly’s work in the book Beyond God the Father is usually regarded as a foundational work in feminist theology. (Hoagland, S. L. and Marilyn Frye, 2000). She tries to explain and overcome andro-centrism regarding Western religion in this book, and utilizes a more playful writing style. She also attempts to rehabilitate discussions about God by emphasizing and critically building on the writings of existentialist theologians like Martin Buber and Paul Tillich in an effort to rehabilitate the liberation movement for women. Mary Daly’s response to the argument that Jesus was a feminist that this was fine and wonderful merits more attention, as any religion or gospel that fails to promote the full humanity of women is questionable, unworthy of public assent. This one legitimate point that must be made in the issue of how the gospel connects with feminist theology. It is notable that the claim that it can help in unmasking a form of oppression that seems, knowingly or unknowingly to have been built into the very fabric of every society that we know much about is the reason why feminism and feminist theology is so significant. Although the publication of some of Daly’s ideas were greeted with considerable furor and she was threatened with losing her job at Boston College, she was finally granted tenure after several months during which students protested vigorously and with widespread media publicity. This experience somewhat radicalized her views about the oppressiveness of prevalent patriarchal structures, led to her being transformed from a reformist Catholic into what can be considered post-Christian radical femininism. Daly also challenged the whole edifice of patriarchal religion. As she notes, the theological constructs and myths of patriarchal religion tend oppress one half of the human race and foster social structures that lead to racism, as well as , as ways of thinking that bring about war and genocide through the legitimization of male superiority and displacement of evil towards females as the proto-typical other. (Daly, M. 1973) Daly rejects the concept of God as a Supreme Being (static noun) rather than a Be-ing (active verb) and also argues against the general gender identification of God as a male. As she notes, “to objectify God as a being, to hypostatize transcendence, is to envisage transcendent reality as finite. God then functions to legitimate the existing status quo.” (Daly, M. 1973) Mary Daly put a lot of effort into breaking down some well known boundaries of critical theological thought. She was instrumental setting the stage for subsequent feminist theologians like Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenze and Rosemary Radford Ruether, who later began to come up with critiques of theology that helped in reshaping current Christian thought. Although many feminists are reluctant to speak of women or the experiences of women as a universal or uniform category there seems to be a component of the lives of women tends to be nearly universal. It has been noted that it may be impossible to find a single, easily identifiable, trans-historical thread called patriarchy that winds through all periods, and the forces that oppress women are institutionally mediated and historically variant, but they are not the product of a great, universal conspiracy of men against women as suggested by the term ‘patriarchy’ (Butler, J. 1990). Having said that, it is still true that women’s domination by men goes far back for many decades, and some men have intentionally oppressed women for their own benefits. It is thus noteworthy that “in the past several decades women have found their own voices in spite of the scripts they have inherited. Something unprecedented is at work here that promises (or threatens) to reconfigure radically practically every established way of doing things.” (Thistlethwaite, S. B. 2010). This should not be viewed as a threat, but a promise, a resource for enriching and deepening religion and the gospel. For Christians, this reconfiguration means looking much more critically and suspiciously at the Christian heritage, even the Scripture itself. Since most of these traditions involve a high level of patriarchal construct, even so much that many feminists believe that they are not dependable, Christian feminists, as well as other Christians who are believe in liberation, have responded that these are the same traditions that have provided the most powerful tools for critiquing not only themselves, but any tradition, for centuries. Thus, I believe that the coverage of Mary Daly in Borchers’ book is insufficient, as she is unique and quite particularly important in issues of feminist theology, as her works are regarded as the foundation of feminist theology. Conclusion Mary Daly merits more attention than Borchers gives her in the textbook Rhetorical Theory: An Introduction. The coverage of Mary Daly’s theories in Borchers’ book is insufficient, as she is unique and quite particularly important in issues of feminist theology. tries to explain and overcome andro-centrism regarding Western religion, as well as trying to rehabilitate discussions about God by emphasizing and critically building on the writings of existentialist theologians like Martin Buber and Paul Tillich in an effort to rehabilitate the liberation movement for women. Daly challenged the whole edifice of patriarchal religion. As she notes, the theological constructs and myths of patriarchal religion tend oppress one half of the human race and foster social structures that lead to racism. She also put a lot of effort into breaking down some well known boundaries of critical theological thought. Thus, Mary Daly merits more attention than Borchers gives her. Daly was able to single handedly create her own theological anthropology on the basis of the context of her understanding of womanhood and she put a lot of effort into breaking down some well known boundaries of critical theological thought. Works cited Butler, Judith. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge. Daly, M (1973) Beyond God the Father. Boston: Beacon Press. Hoagland, Sarah Lucia and Marilyn Frye (2000), Feminist interpretations of Mary Daly. Penn State Press. Ritchie, Joy and Kathleen Boardman. (1999) Feminism in Composition: Inclusion, Metonymy, and Disruption. College Composition and Communication. 50.4. 585- 606. Thistlethwaite, Susan Brooks (2010). Mary Daly's 'Courage to Sin Big'. The Washington Post. Read More