CAN OUR CREEDS SPEAK A GENDERED TRUTH? A FEMINIST READING OF THE NICENE CREED AND THE BELHAR CONFESSION

• Piet Naude Christian Studies and Ethics University of Port Elizabeth

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7833/86-0-949

Abstract

In a short methodological note on the complex array of feminist theological viewpoints, it is argued that the focus on language (metaphors) and its relation to reality is a common concern for most feminists. Whereas much creative reinterpretation or the biblical text has been accomplished by feminist scholars, very little attention has been given to the liberation potential of secondary texts such as the creeds and confessions. An feminist reading of the Nicene creed and the Belhar confession shows the ambiguity of both texts: they share the dominant androcentric metaphors of the canon and tradition, but are at the same time open to surprisingly inclusivist meaning. Further work needs to be done, but these texts challenge the church to address the question of inclusivist liturgical practices. The aim of this paper is to explore the potential of the Nicene Creed (381 AD) and the Belhar Confession (1986AD) “to speak a gendered truth”1 i.e. their openness toward a feminist hermeneutic and re-reading. I will proceed in two parts: The first is a short methodological orientation on feminist scholarship, and the second is an actual attempt at a feminist interpretation of the two texts under discussion.