Reinterpreting Eve and Mary

Abstract

Abstract One model of theological anthropology investigates the imago Dei through a lens of relationality to discover what it means to be human. Historically, this model has been dominated by male voices and arrives at conclusions that perpetuate patriarchy. Therefore, the present article responds by appealing to Eve and Mary to formulate a gynocentric theological anthropology wherein women are know-ers, be-ers and name-rs. These terms signify that women remain autonomous persons who can know God without male mediation, who have being in their particularities and historical situatedness aside from associations with male figures, and who can name the world around them, acting as prophetic voices who see the world rightly and define the world for themselves. Furthermore, each category correlates to an element of the relational imago Dei, namely, relationship to God, relationship to oneself, and relationship to others/world. The aim of redeeming Eve and Mary for theological anthropology arises from a conviction that rejecting dehistoricized and polarized interpretations of each woman reminds readers that they, too, are human. They are humans within the same metanarrative of cosmic redemption of which women today are a part. Thus, to reinterpret Eve and Mary empowers a shared history and progresses eschatological realization as each woman acts in her own particularities as one who knows, possesses unqualified being, and names.