With weary eyes, wretched souls, and wounded hearts, people pray to God for deliverance. Throughout salvation history, in times of suffering, grief, and strife, fear motivates people to seek refuge in God. Simultaneously, love inspires people to remain steadfast in God, trusting that, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well” (Julian 80). Both fear and love dynamically shape the Christian search for God. The following essay will, firstly, examine how Israel’s state of fear and oppression in Exodus, in contrast with John’s assurance of love, shapes understandings of God; secondly, explore how fear “pushes” and love “pulls” Augustine closer to God; thirdly, discuss the respective comfort and liberation theologies of Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, and Elizabeth Johnson as remedies for fear and advocations for love; and ultimately show that fear motivates people, pushing them towards God’s sanctuary, and love inspires people, pulling them towards God’s salvation.
Fear steals the spotlight in Exodus where suffering besets the Hebrews slaving away as the dregs of life under cruel Pharaoh. Hebrew servitude to the Egyptian Pharaoh eliminates any essence of Israel’s identity. Constant suffering drives the Hebrews to demand deliverance from oppression. From their fear, they cry out to God in anguish. They beg God to save them from affliction and believe the Egyptians should equally suffer to atone for the brutal treatment of Hebrew slaves. Therefore, the Hebrews shade God with wrathful wonder, both powerfully and vengefully, to invigorate the desolate state of Israelite morale. To provide security from fear, the Hebrews anthropomorphize God with a “mighty hand” which will strike Egypt (Exodus 3:...
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...d future uncertainties, because love will always remain the guiding force in their lives, God’s divine love that moves the sun and stars.
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...escribes two different aspects of God’s Love. The first is that God’s love can be very commanding, resulting in a sovereign relationship between man and God. The second being that God’s love is everything, all around and forever present. There is nothing that was not made by God, and without his love nothing would continue to exist. Julian implies that it is humanity’s duty to observe these “sixteen showings” and to make it their goal to work towards that oneness with God. Once man is able to obtain this ultimate unity with God, he will be able to understand the true passion of God.
A large wave of pro women centric thinking has arisen in the form of feminist theology. This line of thought draws from Genesis and the idea that men and women were created equally. I think that this effort to open the door to feminist theology is a welcome and necessary change from the historically male dominated ideas of theology. I have not read too many theological works, but I am sure that if I were to read more, my opinions and thoughts of what I currently view as God could be altered. I am interested in learning more about past feminist theology. I would like to know the thoughts of women in Christianity back when they were actively being excluded. It is interesting to see the thoughts of minorities about the majority in order to piece together where changes can be made in order to make a more cohesive functioning
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A large wave of pro women thinking has arisen in the form of feminist theology. This line of thought draws from Genesis and the idea that men and women were created equally. I think that this effort to open the door to feminist theology I 'd a welcome and necessary change from the historically male dominated ideas of theology. I have not read too many theological works, but I am sure that if I were to read more, my options and thoughts of what I currently view as God could be altered. I am interested in learning more about past feminist theology. I would like to know the thoughts of women on Christianity back when they were actively being excluded. It is interesting to see the thoughts of minorities about the majority in order to price together where changes can be made in order to make a more cohesive functioning
“Today I appeal to the whole Church community to be willing to foster feminine participation in every way in its internal life. This is certainly not a new commitment, since it is inspired by the example of Christ himself….nevertheless, he also involved women in the cause of his kingdom; indeed he wanted them to be the first witnesses and heralds of his resurrection. In fact, there are many women who have distinguished themselves in the Church’s history by their holiness and hardworking ingenuity.”