Books by Rosemary Radford Ruether

This study on the life and thought of St. Gregory of Nazianzus was written by feminist theologian and Patristic scholar, Rosemary Radford Ruether, as her doctoral dissertation and originally published by Oxford University Press in 1969. The focus of the study is the tension and conflict in the life of Gregory of Nazianzus and his contemporary Christian companions, such as Basil the Great and Gregory Nyssa, between rhetoric and philosophy.This is a conflict that has deep roots in Greek culture, going back to the time of Isocrates and Plato. It reflects two major streams of Greek culture, the literary tradition of classical education and public argumentation, with its often specious use of language, and the philosophical search for truth which saw itself as culminating in spiritual communion with the Good, the True and the Beautiful. In the Christian context of the fourth century A.D. this conflict had been translated into a tension between classical literary education, which still shaped the socialization of Christian leaders such as Gregory and informed the patterns of their preaching, and their search for contemplative union with God. Gregory and others spoke of the ascetic life of emerging Christian monasticism as "the philosophical life," thus incorporating this tension between rhetoric and philosophy into their own lives.For Gregory and other Christian leader of his time, Christians should renounce worldly ambition and even Christian positions of power, such as episcopacy, to pursue the separated life of monastic discipline, yet even in this ascetic retirement they found it difficult not to continue to employ the much-loved literary culture of their youthful education. This book shows how this tension played out in Gregory's own life, including his relation with his friend and school companion, Basil the Great, who shared the quest for the monastic life with Gregory, but later became a bishop and sought to secure his power against church rivals by forcing episcopacy upon both Gregory Nazianzus and his own brother, Gregory Nyssa.The volume also studies the way in which Gregory of Nazianzus employs rhetorical conventions to shape his own literary style in his sermons and treatises. It then focuses on the anthropology and cosmology that underlay Gregory's understanding of the "philosophical life" as a journey of communion with God. In the final chapter it reviews Gregory's own struggles to find a modus vivendi between the two cultures of classical literary education and the ascetic, contemplative life. This is a struggle that did not end with the fourth century, but continued to shape a Christian culture that adopted classical Greek literature as the basis of its educational curriculum and yet also taught the ideals of the soul's quest for God.Rosemary Radford Ruether has been a pioneer Christian feminist theologian for over three decades and is among the most widely read theologians in the world. Her book, Sexism and God-Talk, a classic in the field of theology, remains the only systematic feminist treatment of the Christian symbols to date. With wide-ranging scholarship, Dr. Ruether has written and edited over thirty books and hundreds of articles and reviews.

This book is an autobiography tracing Rosemary Radford Ruether's intellectual development and writing career. Ruether examines the influence of her mother and family on her development and particularly her interactions with the Roman Catholic religious tradition. She delves into her exploration of interfaith relations with Judaism and Islam as well. Her educational formation at Scripps College and the importance of historical theology is also a major emphasis. Mental illness has also affected Ruether's nuclear family in the person of her son, and she details the family's struggle with this issue. Finally in this intellectual autobiography, Ruether explores her long concern and involvement with ecology, feminism, and the quest for a spirituality and practice for a livable planet.

"Provocative. . . . [Ruether's] impressive scholarship, interweaving social history with religious history, puts the family in a fascinating historical context."-Marilyn Gardner, The Christian Science MonitorHow did a religion whose founding proponents advocated a shocking disregard of earthly ties come to extol the virtues of the "traditional" family? In this richly textured history of the relationship between Christianity and the family, Rosemary Radford Ruether traces the development of these centerpieces of modern life to reveal the misconceptions at the heart of the "family values" debate."Though a new reading of history, [Ruether] leads us to the question, Is there a new way of reading family, sex, and procreation theologically that can support a more just and sustainable vision of family, home, and work?"-Rosemary Keller, editor of In Our Own Voices: Four Centuries of American Women's Religious Writing"Well-researched, insightfully honest and engaging. . . . The appeal of Ruether's book is wide. [Christianity and the Making of the Modern Family] forces the reader to assess his or her own understanding of family and family systems. Ruether's book is long overdue."-Nancy Hawkins, America"A highly readable and important political stab at timely theological and cultural questions."-Sandra Collins, Library JournalRosemary Radford Ruether, one of the world's leading feminist theologians, is the Georgia Harkness Professor of Applied Theology at the Garrett-Evangelical Seminary. She is author of over thirty books, including Sexism and God-Talk and Womanguides, and lives in Evanston, Illinois.

How did a religion whose founding proponents advocated a shocking disregard of earthly ties come to extol the virtues of the "traditional" family? In this richly textured history of the relationship between Christianity and the family Rosemary Radford Ruether traces the development of these centerpieces of modern life to reveal the misconceptions at the heart of the "family values" debate.

How did a religion founded on the loosening of earthly ties come to extol the virtues of the traditional family? In this history of the relationship between Christianity and the family, Ruether reveals the misconceptions in the family values debate.

Mary Radford Ruether's book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Mary's role in the vital doctrine of the contemporary church. In this unique study, she brings together much hard-to-find material. Her careful biblical scholarship enables us to reclaim a long-ignored part of our religious tradition. Useful for women's and...

Internationally acclaimed author and teacher Rosemary Radford Ruether presents a sweeping ecofeminist theology that illuminates a path toward "earth-healing"--a whole relationship between men and women, communities and nations. "This is theology that really matters."--Harvey Cox

Here, Ruether uses feminist theology as a tool to expose the male-centred bias of classical theology, examining the ways in which the female has been (uncomfortably) accommodated within the Christian tradition. She then articulates a faith which encorporates both genders in their totality.

Traces the historical and ideological patterns of the US American view of themselves as an elect nation inhabiting a "promised land" and enjoying a uniquely favored relation with God and a mission to spread "redemption" qua "democracy" throughout the world.

The wrenching situation in the Middle East, recent events have shown, is as complex as it is volatile. In this immensely learned and clarifying volume-here updated and issued in paper for the first time-the Ruethers trace the tortured and contested history of Israel/Palestine from biblical times through the Diaspora, the development of Zionism, the creation of the modern state of Israel, and the subsequent conflict with Arab and Palestinian nationalism. Magisterial in its grasp of the historical, political, economic, and religious roots of the conflict, The Wrath of Jonah also offers convincing analysis of the moral and political dilemmas facing Israelis and Palestinians today. Though they see possibilities for peace, the Ruethers are forthright about what they and others see as Israel''s betrayal of its own original mandate. Their purpose, state the Ruethers, "continues to be to make a modest contribution to truthful historical accountability that must underlie the quest for justice, without which there can be no ''peace.''"