Learning About Theology From The Third World

An overview of the main trends and contributions to Christian thought of Third World theologies.

In 1988 Virginia Fabella from the Philippines and Mercy Amba Oduyoye from Ghana coedited With Passion and Compassion: Third world Women Doing Theology, based on the work of the Women's Commission of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT). The book has been widely used as an important resource for understanding women's liberation theologies, in Africa, Asia, and Latin America emerging out of women's struggles for justice in church and society. More than twenty years have passed and it is time to bring out a new collection of essays to signal newer developments and to include emerging voices. Divided into four partsContext and Theology; Scripture; Christology; and Body, Sexuality, and Spiritualitythese carefully selected essays paint a vivid picture of theological developments among indigenous women and other women living in the global South who face poverty, violence, and war and yet find abundant hope through their faith.

Designed to introduce Western Christians to discussions about theology going on in the Third World, this book gives major overviews of the theology of Africa, Latin America and Asia.

This major new collection of readings demonstrates the range and vitality of feminist theology and its increasing influence on Christian women and men throughout the world. Here are thirty-eight key texts, representing the voices of women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as well as those working among minorities in places such as Israel, the US, and the Pacific. The readings are grouped under five headings: --Doing Theology from Third World Women's Perspective --Women's Oppression and Cries of Pain --The Bible as a Source of Empowerment for Women --Challenging Traditional Theological Thinking --A Newly Emerging Spirituality All texts are placed in context by brief introductory comments, while the main introduction to the whole book provides a helpful overview of the major issues and developments in Christian-feminist thinking throughout the Third World and beyond. Among the contributors are Chung Hyun Kyung (Korea), Ivone Gebara (Brazil), Kwok Pui-lan (Hong Kong), Mercy Amba Oduyoye (Ghana), Delores S. Williams (USA).

The Third General Assembly of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, meeting in Nairobi in 1992, took a fresh look at the changing context of the Third World. Theologians in Nairobi firmly declared that third-world theology should be decisively shaped by the spirituality of the marginalized--indigenous people, women, minjung, dalits, and other minorities. Their creative and life-affirming spirituality is at the very center of their lives and struggles. 'Spirituality of the Third World' explores the meaning of spirituality, its biblical roots, its relation to human existence, how it patterns a vision and enriches faith, and how it celebrates life. This spirituality is formed of faith, struggle, and hope--the cry for life from the poor of all continents. Part I describes the changing context of the Third World, with a special focus on North-South relationships. Part II elaborates different forms of Third World spiritualities with origins in South and North America, Africa, and Asia. Part III roots these spiritualities biblically and explores how they enrich theological understanding and sustain Christian life. Contributors: Elizabeth Amoah, Frank Chikane, Virgil Elizondo, Ivone Gebara, Jacquelyn Grant, Franz J. Hinkelammert, Dwight N. Hopkins, Jose Miguez Bonino, Takatso Mofokeng, Pablo Richard, Rosa Adela O. Sierra, George Soares Prabhu, Lawrence Surendra, Ana Maria Tepedino, George E. Tinker, Sergio Torres, Mary John Mananzan, and Maria Vidale.

This title offers over 150 entries on themes from Christian theology and religious studies. It is devoted specifically to countries of the "third" - or "developing" - world.

An outstanding collection of original essays, most published here for the first time, With Passion and Compassion provides the outlines of the common struggle of Third World women to forge their own, liberative theology. Protestant and Catholic, these women from Asia, Africa, and Latin America explore the question of what it means to be a Christian, and a woman, in the Third World. The contributors to With Passion and Compassion address traditional theological topics: christology, spirituality, the Bible. But they do so from the perspective that comes out of a struggle to overcome social and economic oppression. Their reflections constitute a powerful statement of faith as well as a challenge to existing structures and thinking, political and patriarchal.

Third World theology has grown and developed in recent decades - largely due to the efforts and activities of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT). The present volume, arising from their Second General Assembly, is an ideal introduction to this emerging movement, exploring both the common bonds that unite Third World theologies and the distinctive elements and concerns that distinguish them from one another. Bringing together reflections and evaluations from world-renowned theologians, 'Third World Theologies' offers an overview of the state of theology - and its political, economic, and social context - in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and among minorities in the United States. It then addresses the specific commonalities and divergences of these theologies, exploring the interplay of concern for issues of class, race, sex, and culture. 'Third World Theologies' concludes with an evaluation of the development (past and future) of EATWOT itself, which represents in its own history the development of Third World theology.