>> Could
>> women prophesy as well as men?
>
>Why would this have been a question when there were women, say, Miriam, who
>prophesy in the OT?
I may have been a little too cute in using "as well as" in two senses. It
was never doubted that women *could* prophesy (Hulda and Anna the daughter
of Phanuel are other Scriptural examples), but there was some concern about
whether or not they *should,* and whether their prophecies were more
subject to error or deception than those of men.
Jean Gerson probably develops this theme to its greatest extent in late
medieval writings about prophecy. His arguments in _De probatione
spirituum_ and _De examinatione doctrinarum_ put forward just about every
possible reason to distrust female prophets. Women, Gerson pointed out,
are more susceptible than men to carnal impulses, demonic deception, mental
or physical illnesses, excessive zeal, and improper relationships with a
confessor. They are also terminally curious, and their teachings should be
suspect until and unless they have been approved by male examiners.
Finally, they have no business teaching their visions publically, given the
Pauline injunction against women speaking out and claiming authority over
men (I Timothy 2:11-12).
In case there might be any question about the aim of these polemics, Gerson
blames Pope Gregory XI for listening to the visions of women _sub specie
religionibus_ and thus bringing the Church into schism in _De examinatione
doctrinarum_. He also complains about women who call priests "son," which
has been seen as a possible jab at Catherine of Siena. _De probatione
spirituum_ was actually written at the Council of Constance in apparent
response to the proposed canonization of individuals associated with
Bridget of Sweden. (Bridget's own canonization had already been affirmed
at Constance, but Gerson's remarks suggest that he had agreed to this
mostly because her writings had already been disseminated and withdrawing
them would cause scandal to the faithful.)
On the other hand, Gerson wrote elsewhere in support of the visionary widow
Ermine of Rheims and her better-known compatriot Joan of Arc, and he
invoked plenty of Old Testament parallels on Joan's behalf. Obviously,
nobody was arguing that women were incapable of divinely inspired prophecy;
they just had to meet a much higher standard of proof -- witness how well
Joan's prophecies went over with the Burgundians and the English!
Wendy Love Anderson home phone: (773)924-0553
The Divinity School e-mail: [log in to unmask]
The University of Chicago URL: http://home.uchicago.edu/~wlanders/
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