1998 Re-Imagining Revival

St. Paul, Minn. (EP) - Nearly 1,000 women gathered in St. Paul in mid-April for the "RE-Imagining Revival," a controversial gathering that seeks to recast traditional Christianity in feminist terms.

Many of the participants in the four-day conference were at the first "reimagining" meeting held five years ago in Minneapolis. That meeting drew widespread criticism for mixing paganism and radical feminist thought with Christian symbols. A number of congregations responded by withholding funds from denominations which supported the conference, and some denominational officials lost their jobs in the controversy.

Participants shared milk and honey in a communion-like ritual affirming the sensuality of women. They spoke of savoring "the live-giving juices of our bodies and the planet." Participants prayed to "Sophia," who was identified as the Goddess of Wisdom - a portrayal of God for which conference organizers claimed Old Testament roots.

>Participants in the most recent meeting began in a darkened room with primal fires and beating drums to summon "First Woman." The Re-Imaginers prayed, "We call upon spirits; we call upon you from the past."

Theologian Rita Nakashima Brock gave examples of women she called "lights of the world," including a Zimbabwe woman who is an advocate for homosexuals.

Several critics of the movement attended the conference as observers. Diane L. Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, said, "The Re-Imagining Community is the vanguard institution for the widespread radical feminist 'fundamentalism' that has been fomenting in seminaries, women's movements, denominational agencies, and among some clergy circles for over a decade. Many of their activities - Sophia and goddess worship, erotic ceremonies and celebrations of women's bodies and bodily functions - are an affront to Christians and the God we worship."

Janice Shaw Crouse, director of the Ecumenical Coalition on Women and Society, added, "It's not a revival; it's a rebellion - a rebellion against orthodox Christian beliefs and practice. We cannot remain quiet while radical feminists undermine the traditional Judeo-Christian teachings that form the moral foundation of our society. When everyone is free to 'imagine' their own theology, the question 'What's God got to do with it?' becomes moot, the church becomes irrelevant, and the religious bias of culture disintegrates."

The idea of "re-imagining" Christianity suggests that the Christian faith is the product of imagination, rather than a religion based on historical fact, noted Donna F.G. Hailson, a clergywoman in the American Baptist Churches USA. "When the God of the Bible is considered a human invention, a mere social construct, it is only a short step to the denial of the uniqueness and deity of Christ, the rejection of the cross, and a repudiation of every foundational principle of the faith," she concluded.