Douglas Hall's Theology of the Cross as Contextual Theology in the Postcolonial Context

Abstract

[Figure: see text] In this paper I will examine the theology of Douglas J. Hall in light of the development of liberation and contextual theologies to see the similarities and differences between his approach and that of the larger movement of liberation theologies of the majority world. I will argue that Hall represents a particular Protestant Canadian form of contextual theology that establishes a methodological hybrid between theologies from the majority world and theologies with deep roots in the the European Reformation. To make this argument I will discuss the emergence of liberation and contextual theologies from the majority world and will draw on the work of Peter Phan and Clodovis Boff to discern some key elements of liberation theologies. I will then compare his theology of the cross within the Canadian context, a theology that he opposes to the theology of glory, to some of the key elements of liberation theologies. I will show how Hall's particular contextual theology of the cross intersects methodologically with liberation theology. However, his theology also represents some different assumptions about the horizon of theology and redemption than liberation theology. Hall's ultimate insistence on privileging an existential horizon for Christian redemption, rooted in his own middle-class status in Canadian society, risks obscuring the poor, the marginalized, and those who suffer most in the Canadian context. Yet in a creative twist in his argument, he re-engages such marginalities through the lens of compassion.