In feminist theology the theoretical subject of method is a relatively recent enterprise. Because of the multiplicity of approaches, the variety of sources, and the complexity of norms, a viable schema is needed to consider the pluriformity and particularity of the mystery of God and the God-world relationship in dialogue with the unity and diversity of women's experiences. A kaleidoscopic model may prove responsive to the challenge of feminist theology and applicable to the broader enterprise.] S OME FIFTEEN YEARS AGO Mary Daly articulated her well-known critique of method: "One of the false gods of theologians, philosophers, and other academics is called Method. It commonly happens that the choice of a problem is determined by method, instead of method being determined by the problem. . . . The tyranny of methodolatry hinders new discoveries. It prevents us from raising questions never asked before and from being illumined by ideas that do not fit into pre-established boxes and forms." 1 Notwithstanding this conviction, the history of feminist theological methodology reveals that it is precisely the problems being addressed and the questions being asked that have determined the methods of feminist theological investigation. Nevertheless, the theoretical subject of method is a relatively recent enterprise of feminist theology. Rather than determining an a priori model for research, the feminist theological movement in its first decades yielded a substantial body of material through a variety of approaches, assessed on the basis of their results. 2 A consideration of those approaches reveals that feminist theology has been guided by methodological principles and processes, albeit in shift and flux, and that these have GLORIA L. SCHAAB, a member of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, is pursuing doctoral studies in theology at Fordham University, New York. She obtained her M.A. in religious studies at LaSalle University, Philadelphia. Besides her interest in feminist theological methodology, she has also concentrated on metaphorical theology, religious language, the use of models of God. Downloaded from been applied effectively to the variety of endeavors in the field of feminist theology. Engaging a discussion of feminist theological methodology, however, is a task of vast proportions. In reflection upon a means by which to organize this undertaking, the image of the kaleidoscope emerged as a viable metaphor. It will provide the schema to consider the complexity of the subject, the multiplicity of approaches, the variety of sources, and the diversity of norms through which the mystery of God and the God-world relationship are studied, understood, and articulated in dialogue with the unity and diversity of women's experiences. 3 Furthermore, it will be proposed that this organizational schema may also serve as a functional model for feminist theological methodology. Therefore, a brief introduction to this metaphorical framework is in order.The kaleidoscope (Greek: "beautiful-form-to-see") is a contoured structure that, t...
The question of right speech about the mystery of God in suffering has moved many to discuss theodicy and human freedom, and has persuaded many others to rethink the understanding of God in relation to the world itself. The article focuses on two key concepts in Arthur Peacocke's evolutionary theology to propose a new understanding of the creative suffering of the triune God. It considers this proposal in three particular contexts: feminist theology, ecological praxis, and pastoral ministry.I N HIS EXPLORATION of the influence of evolutionary science on Christian theology, Arthur Peacocke, Anglican theologian and biochemist, divides his evolutionary insights concerning creation into cosmic "being" or "what there is" in the cosmos, and cosmic "becoming" or "what is going on" in the cosmos. According to Peacocke, this distinction between cosmic being and becoming impels theologians "to reckon with their one God's relation to a continuously developing world," which implies "a continuously changing relation of God to the world . . . and to the further possibility that God is not unchanging in certain respects." 1 To demonstrate this possibility, he applies the distinction between cosmic being and becoming analogously to distinctions in the nature and attributes of God. He proposes that one consider God not solely in terms of being (defined by
Scientific perspectives are often perceived to challenge biblically-based cosmologies and theologies. Arthur Peacocke, biochemist and theologian, recognized that this challenge actually represents an opportunity for Christian theology to re-envision and reinterpret its traditions in ways that take into account scientific theories of evolution. In the course of his career, Peacocke offered a new paradigm for the dialogue between theology and science. This paper explores his proposals, in particular his theories of language, the God-world relation, and the nature of God, and exemplifies the impact these proposals has on his theological insights.
In the present climate of debate surrounding United States immigration, both legal and illegal, the call to be neighbour and to exercise hospitality that echoes throughout the biblical tradition provides valid and unequivocal dimensions of a Christian spirituality within the horizon of the immigration discussion. Th is article traces the development of such a spirituality beginning with the Jewish scriptures, the ministry of Jesus in the gospels and Catholic social teaching. It concludes with a spirituality rooted in the American memory that offers promise and hope and proclaims the best of the American spirit.
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