Fading Christian Relevancy Exposed by Sallie McFague Essay -- Religion

My first encounter with Sallie McFague’s article was jarring: her eco-feminist metaphorical approach to theology is somewhat unexpected to those unfamiliar with Religious Studies. Yet I suppose I have misjudged much of this field of study by unfairly coming to expect either wholly traditional or wholly radical claims. McFague’s approach, however, seems relatively moderate and reasonable in all its assertions, and its neo-Derridian deconstruction had my inner cultural analyst bursting with excitement. Aching to break away from the patriarchical tyranny of classical Christian theology, she is committed to a drastic reconstruction of traditional Christian dogma. At first I wondered as to her motives: was this deconstruction fueled by a second-wave feminist desire to overthrow patriarchy, or the wishes of a tree-hugging ecologist on a mission to save the natural world (as suggested by her book’s title, Theology for an Ecological, Nuclear Age)? Apparently neither. It is after the first few paragraphs that McFague brings clear relevancy to her writing. She argues that the common interpretation of Jesus’ resurrection serves to negate God’s omnipresence. Traditionally it is understood that the resurrection represents a â€Å"personal, bodily translation into another world† (259) though which one can join the Savior. Thus while awaiting a later holistic reunion with God, one’s earthly, bodily present is in â€Å"between-time†, in limbo, lacking God in space and time. Thus McFague fears such an interpretation for its indirect implications: God, then, is not ‘omnipresent’ – He is only par tially, selectively present. (260) She proposes, then, that the resurrection tale no longer be held as a mythology of transcendence, but rather as a â€Å"promise of G... ...e need for metaphorical theology. The particular appeal of McFague’s style is, then, not necessarily her argument nor her logic: rather it is her open-minded approach to such controversial matters. For as McFague herself would openly admit, â€Å"there are, of course, different understandings on what is ‘better’† (265). Notes: [1] I particular enjoyed McFague’s observation that â€Å"a model is a metaphor with ‘staying power’† (278) as I have often wondered at what point a religious metaphor, such as ‘God as Father’, becomes accepted enough that it becomes used in the vernacular. [2] McFague’s ‘metaphorical theology’ very much reminds me of George Carlin’s attempts to rejuvenate an outdated Jesus in Dogma. McFague, like Carlin’s Cardinal Glick, is trying to ‘re-package’ and ‘sell’ faith (or rather, The â€Å"Buddy Jesus†) by preventing a need, and relevancy, for religion.