Religion, Neibuhr, and Daly

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how beings seek a greater power to give their lives meaning and purpose and looks at the theology behind the need to make such a connection with God. It shows how, at this point, Mary Daly's feminist theology parts ways from R. Neibuhr's radical monotheism teachings. It explores how Daly has constructed an image of that which is holy in her own image and bowed down to her own idol, while Neibuhr has attempted to clear the entrance to the path of discovering that which is holy outside our own existence, a God in the heavens and, ultimately, a God who came to earth in the form of a man. It examines the wholly uninspiring teachings of Daly and how she draws her definition of a Holy God and then compares her self-centric ideas to the theo-centric writings of Neibuhr.

From the Paper:

"Daly's approach to finding that which is holy is self-centric. Her needs, her ideas, and her interpretation of her experiences limit her ability to seek a loving God outside of her own experiences. It has been said that we become that which we spend the most time thinking about. That which we focus our attention on is the power that has the strongest pull in our life. Daly is still exerting a huge amount of her mental and emotional resources trying to defeat the Roman Catholic churches ideas of women's subjugative roles. Her bitterness is blinding her to the reality of a god who looks beyond sex, and sees a valuable and important person in each one of his human creations."

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