Decolonizing Theology in Revolution


Book Description

Drawing on decolonial perspective, this book provides a critical retrieval of Sergio Arce’s theological thought, and proposes it as a source of inspiration to continue renewing liberation theologies in Cuba and in Latin America. In light of current social contexts in Cuba and abroad, this volume examines the relevance of Arce’s theological legacy, identifying significant contributions and also key limitations. It presents a panoramic view of the historical contexts previous to Arce’s articulation of his theology, and also reconstructs the various stages of the development of his theology by reviewing his major writings from the early 1960s to the late 1990s. Bringing Arce into a conversation with other recognized Latin American liberation theologians, this book delivers a reconstruction of his major theological insights related to discourses and practices of liberation, highlighting important similarities and differences between their approaches.




Decolonizing Christianity


Book Description

“How curiously different is this white God from the one preached by Jesus who understood faithfulness by how we treat the hungry and thirsty, the naked and alien, the incarcerated and infirm. This white God of empire may be appropriate for global conquerors who benefit from all that has been stolen and through the labor of all those defined as inferior; but such a deity can never be the God of the conquered.” Echoing James Cone’s 1970 assertion that white Christianity is a satanic heresy, Miguel De La Torre argues that whiteness has desecrated the message of Jesus. In a scathing indictment, he describes how white American Christians have aligned themselves with the oppressors who subjugate the “least of these”—those who have been systemically marginalized because of their race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status—and, in overwhelming numbers, elected and supported an antichrist as president who has brought the bigotry ingrained in American society out into the open. With this follow-up to his earlier Burying White Privilege, De La Torre prophetically outlines how we need to decolonize Christianity and reclaim its revolutionary, badass message. Timid white liberalism is not the answer for De La Torre—only another form of complicity. Working from the parable of the sheep and the goats in the Gospel of Matthew, he calls for unapologetic solidarity with the sheep and an unequivocal rejection of the false, idolatrous Christianity of whiteness.




Decolonizing Christianity


Book Description

This book traces Christianity's change from European imperialism's moral foundation to a voice of political and social change during decolonization.




Africa and the Fourth Industrial Revolution


Book Description

This book examines the epistemological, political, and socio-economic consequences of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for Africa. Presenting various case studies on epistemic freedom, theology, race and robotics, tertiary education, political and economic transformation, human capital, and governance, it debates whether the 4IR will be part of the solution to the African problem, namely that of coloniality in its various forms. Solving the African problem using the 4IR requires ethical, just and epistemologically independent leadership. However, the lack of ICT infrastructure militates against Africa’s endeavours to make the 4IR a problem-solving moment. To its credit, Africa possesses some of the major capital needed (human, mineral, and social), and it constitutes a huge market comprising a young population eager to participate in the 4IR as problem-solvers and not as a problem to be solved—as equal citizens and not as the marginalized other.




Emerging Theologies from the Global South


Book Description

In recent decades there has been a seismic shift in world Christianity. Whereas formerly Christianity existed as a Caucasian Euro-American phenomenon, the majority of Christians today reside in the Southern Hemisphere, or the Global South. And what is true for the demographics of Christianity has followed lockstep for its theological developments. The era of German theologians setting the tone for global church are gone. Today, some of the loudest and most creative voices in theology speak from the emerging contingencies of the Global South, for example, promoting Latinx, Black, Caribbean, and Asian theologies and their influence often influences the conversation in the United States and Europe. In addition, just as the center of Christianity has moved geographically from north to south, so with theological seminaries in the west, which have declined as training centers for clergy. These events coincide with new theological centers are opening in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. The bottom line is--contemporary Christianity today looks significantly different than it did a century ago, and publications have been slow to acknowledge, let alone describe and elaborate upon, this major shift to the largest religion in the world. These shifts guide our intentions in this book. Such a reference book, which could also be used as a textbook, therefore is very much needed. In fact, there is nothing like the contents of this single-volume book in the publishing market which allows for high-quality, interdisciplinary, and international dialogue.




Decolonial Horizons


Book Description

This is the second of two volumes of essays from the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network's 14th International Conference focused on decolonizing churches and theology, addressing oppressions based on gender, racial, and ethnic identities; economic inequality; social vulnerabilities; climate change and global challenges such as pandemics, neoliberalism, and the role of information technology in modern society, all connected with the topic of decolonization. The essays in this volume focus on decoloniality in empire, family, and mission, written from historical, dogmatic, social scientific, and liturgical perspectives.




Abuelita Faith


Book Description

Christianity Today 2022 Book Award Finalist (Christian Living & Discipleship) Outreach 2022 Recommended Resource (Christian Living) "[A] powerful debut. . . . This persuasive testament will appeal to Christians interested in the lesser-known women of the Bible."--Publishers Weekly "Armas expertly weaves her own abuelita's history of personal faith and resistance into each chapter and intersects it with biblical text, creating an approachable work."--Library Journal What if some of our greatest theologians wouldn't be considered theologians at all? Kat Armas, a second-generation Cuban American, grew up on the outskirts of Miami's famed Little Havana neighborhood. Her earliest theological formation came from her grandmother, her abuelita, who fled Cuba during the height of political unrest and raised three children alone after her husband passed away. Combining personal storytelling with biblical reflection, Armas shows us how voices on the margins--those often dismissed, isolated, and oppressed because of their gender, socioeconomic status, or lack of education--have more to teach us about following God than we realize. Abuelita Faith tells the story of unnamed and overlooked theologians in society and in the Bible--mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and daughters--whose survival, strength, resistance, and persistence teach us the true power of faith and love. The author's exploration of abuelita theology will help people of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds reflect on the abuelitas in their lives and ministries and on ways they can live out abuelita faith every day.




Abuelita fe


Book Description

¿Qué pasaría si algunos de nuestros más grandes teólogos no fueran considerados como tales, en absoluto? Kat Armas es una cubanoamericana de segunda generación que creció en las cercanías del famoso vecindario La Pequeña Habana de Miami. Su temprana formación teológica provino de su abuela, que huyó de Cuba durante el apogeo de los disturbios políticos y crio a sus tres hijos sola tras la muerte de su esposo. Combinando la narración personal con la reflexión bíblica, Armas nos muestra el modo en que las voces marginadas --las que a menudo son rechazadas, aisladas y oprimidas debido a su género, estatus socioeconómico o falta de educación--, tienen más que enseñarnos en cuanto a seguir a Dios que lo que nos damos cuenta. Abuelita fe cuenta la historia de teólogas anónimas e ignoradas en la sociedad y en la Biblia --madres, abuelas, hermanas e hijas-- cuya supervivencia, fuerza, resistencia y perseverancia nos enseñan el verdadero poder de la fe y el amor. La exploración de la autora en cuanto a la teología de abuelita ayudará a personas de todos los orígenes culturales y étnicos a reflexionar sobre las abuelitas en sus vidas y sus ministerios, y sobre las formas en que pueden vivir la fe de abuelita cada día. Kat Armas (magíster en Divinidades y en Teología del Seminario Teológico Fuller) es una escritora y oradora cubanoamericana, que presenta el podcast The Protagonistas, en el que destaca historias de mujeres de color comunes y corrientes, incluidas escritoras, pastoras, lideresas de iglesias y teólogas. Ha escrito para Christianity Today, Sojourners, Relevant, Christians for Biblical Equality, Fuller Youth Institute, la revista Fathom y Missio Alliance. Armas también trabaja en el proyecto Living a Better Story en el Fuller Youth Institute y habla periódicamente en conferencias sobre asuntos raciales y de justicia. Vive en Nashville, Tennessee.




Reformed Public Theology


Book Description

The Reformed tradition in the twenty-first century is increasingly diverse, dynamic, and deeply engaged in a wide variety of global and public issues, from the arts and business to immigration and race to poetry and politics. This book brings together the insights of a diverse group of leading Reformed thinkers--including Nicholas Wolterstorff, Makoto Fujimura, Bruce Ashford, John Witvliet, Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, and James K. A. Smith--to offer a contemporary vision of the depth and diversity of the Reformed faith and its global public impact.




Theologising Brexit


Book Description

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the theological challenge presented by the new post-Brexit epoch. The referendum vote for Britain to leave the European Union has led to a seismic shift in the ways in which parts of the British population view and judge their compatriots. The subsequent rise in the reported number of racially motivated incidents and the climate of vilification and negativity directed at anyone not viewed as ‘authentically’ British should be a matter of concern for all people. The book is comprised of a series of essays that address varying aspects of what it means to be British and the ways in which churches in Britain and the Christian faith could and should respond to a rising tide of White English nationalism. It is a provocative challenge to the all too often tolerated xenophobia, as well as the paucity of response from many church leaders in the UK. This critique is offered via the means of a prophetic, postcolonial model of Black theology that challenges the incipient sense of White entitlement and parochial ‘nativism’ that pervaded much of the referendum debate. The essays in this book challenge the church and wider society to ensure justice and equity for all, not just a privileged sense of entitlement for some. It will be of keen interest to any scholar of Black, political and liberation theology as well as those involved in cultural studies from a postcolonial perspective.