Room for Vulnerability: Contributions of Sarah Coakley and M. Shawn Copeland to Christian Feminism

The author argues that a credible Christian feminism, one that will be compelling to scholars and ordinary Christians, requires engagement with both Sarah Coakley and M. Shawn Copeland on vulnerability and power. To advance that contention, she narrates three crucial moments contributing to the development of feminist theology: the initial feminist claim to power over vulnerability, Coakley's call to vulnerability in prayer, and Copeland's call to a vulnerability that leads to solidarity. She claims that if vulnerability, after Coakley and Copeland, is understood as openness to transforming encounter with God, self, and others, it can anchor authentic Christian feminism and offer a better account of the moral life relevant to all Christian believers.