The submissive figure of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, has influenced the Church's attitude to women for 2000 years. Yet Mary, in the Gospels, has a radical and challenging message to convey, of central importance for feminist and other liberation theologians. This is a book which caused a furore in the Roman Catholic Church and the excommunication of its author.
Here is the first thorough reflection on the importance of Mary by women writing from the perspective of Latin American liberation theology. Gebara and Bingemer offer a vision of Mary in sharp contrast to the traditional. This is the Mary of the Magnificat: a figure who challenges male-centrism, dualism, idealism, and one-dimensionalism. The authors focus on the idea of Mary as one who lives in God, on the feminine element of the divine, and on the personal factors which color their own perspectives. By delving into the Scriptures, they place Mary in her social, political, and economic context. Reviewing both the Old and New Testaments, they point to Mary as both heir and one who begins something new. In dealing with the traditions of the Church, Gebara and Bingemer rethink Marian dogmas - an area not only ecumenically controversial but also morally challenging. Beginning in the 16th century, the authors survey the history of Marian devotion, exploring the initial appearance of Mary to the Indian Juan Diego (Guadalupe), and reflecting on all the phenomena connected to the figure of Mary. The mystery of Mary brings a new word about God, they note. Her humanity entirely open ... and her full participation in the enterprise of this Kingdom help us perceive who the God of the Kingdom is: God the Creator, who does not cease to perform wonders on behalf of the poor.
'Certainly one of the most promising theological statements of our time.' --The Christian Century 'Not for the timid, this brilliant book calls for nothing short of the overthrow of patriarchy itself.' --The Village Voice
Psychologies of liberation are emerging on every continent in response to the collective traumas inflicted by colonialism and globalization. The authors present the theoretical foundation and participatory methodologies that unite these radical interdisciplinary approaches to creating individual and community well-being. They move from a description of the psychological and community wounds that are common to unjust and violent contexts to engaging examples of innovative community projects from around the world that seek to heal these wounds. The creation of public homeplaces, and the work of liberation arts, critical participatory action research, public dialogue, and reconciliation are highlighted as embodying the values and hopes of liberation psychology. Drawing on psychoanalysis, trauma studies, liberation arts, participatory research, and contemporary cultural work, this book nourishes our understanding of and imagination about the kinds of healing that are necessary to the creation of more just and peaceful communities. In dialogue with cultural workers, writers, and visionaries from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States, and the Pacific Islands, Toward Psychologies of Liberation quickens a dialogical convergence of liberatory psychological theories and practices that will seed individual and community transformation.
Sr. Kathleen searches for and develops a Marian theology very much in tune with today's issues and attitudes. She reflects on Marian symbols and traditional images hoping the Church can reclaim Mary as a woman of faith, a model disciple, proclaiming a song of liberation for the poor and oppressed of our world today.
The achievement of our humanity comes about only through immersion in concrete, visceral, embodied relational experience, yet for many human beings, that achievement is stamped by the struggle against oppression in history, society, and religion. In this incisive and important work, distinguished theologian M. Shawn Copeland demonstrates with rare insight and conviction how Black women's historical experience and oppression cast a completely different light on our theological ideas about being human. Copeland argues that race, embodiment, and relations of power reframe not only theological anthropology but also our notions of discipleship, church, Eucharist, and Christ. Enfleshing Freedom is a work of deep moral seriousness, rigorous speculative skill, and sharp theological reasoning. This new edition incorporates recent theological, philosophical, historical, political, and sociological scholarship; engages with current social movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo; and presents a new chapter on the body.
The Eucharist is at the heart of individual Christian devotion and at the center of every Christian community. Tissa Balasuriya challenges us to see the relation between the spiritual Bread of Life and the staff of life, food for the physically hungry, who make up one-third of the world. This is disturbing but dynamic reading for all who gather at the Table of the Lord's Supper.
Tissa Balasuriya, a Sri Lankan theologian already well known to English readers from his The Eucharist and Human Liberation, argues that over the past few centuries a world systeMof unjust relationships has been set up, to which the churches have contributed, not least as a result of some unexamined aspects of their theology. Traditional theology indeed still has many features which prevent its helping Christianity to play a liberating role in modern human life. It is culture-bound, church-centred, male- and age-dominated, pro-capitalist, anti-communist, over-theoretical and unrelated to the social contexts in which it is developed.To replace much that is now outdated and damaging, Fr Balasuriya puts forward the outline of a planetary theology which takes account of the spiritual needs of the whole world, seen in terms of north and south as well as east and west. He looks at the background to this theology, particularly in his native Asia, and then outlines the 'radical conversion' to which the churches are called, in worship, teaching, mission and social action. Not perhaps since John Taylor's Enough is Enough has there been such a clearly written, simple and demanding challenge to Western Christian churches, their priorities and their life-style.
Ten lectures in Mariology. Topics include: Catholic and Orthodox liturgical and theological traditions; the story and image of Mary at Guadalupe and meaning among Protestant Christians; early biography of Mary written in Old Georgian and attributed to Maximus the Confessor; the doctrine of Mary's Immaculate Conception and its reception; the meaningfulness of Mary examined through four Marian lyrics; the title "Omnipotent by Grace" that was given to Mary; Mary as ""Wisdom"" and the ""Lady of the Temple"" who enabled the Israelites to experience God; Mary's significance in the 21st century; the history of devotion to Mary in Latin America during the conquest period and challenges to Mariological thought that remain; the postconciliar decline in interest in Marion piety and Mariology as a field of theological study, and todays renewed interest.
This volume puts Barth and liberation theologies in critical and constructive conversation. With incisive essays from a range of noted scholars, it forges new connections between Barth's expansive corpus and the multifaceted world of Christian liberation theology. It shows how Barth and liberation theologians can help us to make sense of – and perhaps even to respond to – some of the most pressing issues of our day: race and racism in the United States; changing understandings of sex, gender, and sexuality; the ongoing degradation of the ecosphere; the relationship between faith, theological reflection, and the arts; the challenge of decolonizing Christian thought; and ecclesial and political life in the Global South.
