A Living God?
When Sr. Elizabeth Johnson published her book “Quest for the
Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God”, who, other than
theologians knew about it. Then the
conservative Catholic Bishops, in their infinite wisdom, began to have fits about
the book as not being Catholic. So of
course I had to buy it, as did many others.
You’d think they would learn one of these days.
I’m sure the Bishops didn’t know what they were doing, but
their not quite complete condemnation of the book was the best free
advertisement possible. For anyone out
there who is interested at all in religion, this is by far the very best book
on the subject I have ever read. I quote
Elizabeth Johnson from the back cover of the book, “Since the middle of the
twentieth century there has been a renaissance of new insights into God in the
Christian tradition. On different
continents, under pressure from historical events and social conditions, people
of faith have glimpsed the living God in fresh ways. It is not that a wholly different God is
discovered from the One believed in by previous generations. Christian faith does not believe in a new God
but, finding itself in new situations, seeks the presence of God there. Aspects long-forgotten are brought into new
relationships with current events, and the depths of divine compassion are
appreciated in ways not previously imagined.”
The back cover page continues, “This book sets out the fruit
of these discoveries. The first chapter
describes Johnson’s point of departure and the rules of engagement, with each
succeeding chapter distilling a discrete idea of God. Featured are transcendental, political,
liberation, feminist, black, Hispanic, interreligious and ecological
theologies, ending with the particular Christian idea of the one God as
Trinity.”
As I read the book I think I realized why the Bishops were
so opposed to it. For one thing, there
is one whole chapter, “God Acting Womanish” which discusses theology from a
feminine perspective. I did not mistype
feminine rather than feminist. There is
a difference. For the conservative
Bishops to even think that God could be feminine would pierce their totally misogynistic
hearts to the very core.
So many people, including conservative Bishops, are stuck in
the theologies of the 1950’s and before that this book is like the fresh air
that blew through the Church after Vatican II, blowing away the accumulated cobwebs
of centuries. The conservative Bishops
would like to bring those cobwebs back. For some reason the cobwebs make the Bishops
feel really comfortable, but there is so much more to see and feel than those
dusty old cobwebs.
I have to warn the reader though. This is not a really easy read. It is college level, but well worth the
effort. And I’m not getting a penny for
this endorsement, either!
(The
Continuum International Publishing Group
80
maiden Lane, New York, NY, 10038)
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