Theology from the Margins

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Jesus' primary audience was the first century Galilean peasantry. He spoke from the margins to the marginalized. The Christian churches have not always followed this example, opting to speak from and on behalf of the centers of power. There is, consequently, an inbuilt and ongoing tension - often fraught, yet sometimes fruitful - within Christian communities that share a common faith but experience God from different social and cultural locations. As a consequence of Western European expansion, conquest, and colonialism, Christianity in modernity has become a truly global religion, further complicating this long-standing tension. However, as Pope Francis has said, "Great changes in history were realized when reality was seen not from the center but rather from the periphery. . .Truly to understand reality we need to move away from the central position of calmness and peacefulness and direct ourselves to the peripheral areas." These peripheral areas are "the margins." Therefore, taking our cue from both Jesus and Pope Francis, this course will examine several fundamental Christian doctrines (e.g. sin, salvation, mercy, and Christ) as they have been articulated among peoples who have been marginalized and oppressed in modernity. Engaging these often overlooked (but no less Christian) theological traditions from the margins is important for any Christian self-understanding within the world today.