Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside

Rating:
Summary: A good chorus
Review: I first read 'Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside' for my first theology class in seminary, and it has remained a book I've returned to again and again throughout my seminary career. One of the most impressive features of this text, articulated in the very title, is the diversity of voices contributing to the collection. The contributors include men and women, Asians, Africans, African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics and Native Americans. The contributors list reads like a who's who of modern liberation theology.

The contributors are Steven Charleston, James Cone, Mary Potter Engel, Robert Fukada, Bonganjalo Goba, Jacquelyn Grant, Carter Heyward, Anita Hill, Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Kwok Pui-lan, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Mary Pellauer, Sharon Ringe, Young-chan Ro, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Andrea Smith, C.S. Song, Susan Brooke Thistlethwaite, Leo Treadway, and Victor Westhelle. Just a reading of this list should compel most persons interested in modern theology to want to explore this volume. One of the key elements in the approach to theology from these writers is that they intentionally seek not to speak to or for particular communities (or, even less, the whole of humanity) but rather with and on behalf, clearly identifying their own specific and eccentric starting points.

The theologies herein presented are very contextual, as indeed all are, whether they admit to that or not. They are intentionally communal and praxis oriented, intended not for 'mere' thought and speculation, but to be put into concrete action in the world. The theologies are prophetic and constructive, viewing any and all sources with a critical suspicion that lessens the likelihood of oppression. They are open for revision and growth, and frequently not afraid to admit to not knowing.

One thing obvious from this text is that there is no monolithic liberation theology -- rather, there are many theologies that fall under the heading of liberation, that look for the preferential option for the poor and oppressed of different character. However, all have significant elements in common, such that they can fit well together into the overall systematic framework Thistlethwaite and Engel provide here. The 'classic' categories of traditional systematics are employed, but with new emphasis. The doctrine of God is not a metaphysical examination, but rather a questioning in a more practical sense of who God is for us. The editors move the section on eschatology, traditionally consider 'end things', forward, to show that we are always living in the midst of eschatology, and that we must concentrate on things now, not just a distant, ambiguous future.

The editors combine the rest of the sections under the broader heading of 'Grace' -- creation, sin, Christology, community, healing, scripture. All these fall under the broad definition or influence of grace from God. There are more chapters devoted to dealing with scripture than any other topic; looking at the biblical texts from particular contexts (both the mujerista and the feminist perspectives) as well as the approach by Kwok Pui-lan of the Bible in non-biblical worlds. We in the Western world seem to forget how intrinsic the biblical text is to us, and how foreign it can be to non-Western readers.

This is an important volume, an accessible and interesting collection of essays that provide a good introduction and a good overview of liberation theology for beginners and for more advanced readers.