Divine Incarnation Research Articles

God as both Hierarchical and Egalitarian: A Kierkegaardian Proposal Based on Philosophical Fragments

After highlighting Søren Kierkegaard's emphasis on the absolute difference between God and humans, this article presents his explanation of why we can readily embrace our inferior position to God, which appeals to his understanding of love as involving the desire to be the guilty party. But this argument can be turned around to make a case that God would desire to be the guilty party in relation to us. This fits well with the story of God's love in Kierkegaard's pseudonymous writing Philosophical Fragments, in which divine incarnation is interpreted as God's descent in history to establish equality with humans. After arguing that such a kenotic Christology is not incompatible with the absolute God-human difference because it accentuates the fact that only God can cross the divide, the author points out its similarity with Marilyn Adams’ view that God became the curse in Jesus to cancel out the power of the curse of sin. He finishes by dealing with the worry that, despite divine descent, some humans may be unable to stand boldly confident before God because of their memory of what their sinfulness has caused. One way to alleviate this worry is to adopt the Irenaean affirmation of God's ultimate responsibility, and the author claims that this would complete Kierkegaard's Philosophical Fragments by adding an interpretation of the crucifixion in line with its story of divine descent.

Embodied grace: The implications of the incarnation to public practical theology in Sub-Saharan Africa

Christian incarnation, illustrated through the example of Jesus Christ, involves the embodiment of God, the guardian of all creation and the manifestation of Christian beliefs. This divine incarnation operates through boundless love and concern, as demonstrated in God’s choice to intimately connect with humanity, as noted in John 3:16. Although global challenges abound, it is evident that sub-Saharan Africa faces unique difficulties, hindering its inhabitants from experiencing the fullness of life intended by God. There is a need to find solutions to the challenges faced by the African continent. In the context of sub-Saharan Africa, the question is: How can practical public theology, informed by the incarnation, be practised in tackling the challenges people face in Africa? The study addresses this inquiry, presenting the implications of the incarnation doctrine as a means to tackle African challenges. It posits incarnation as a foundation for comprehending God’s love for Africans and proposes practical ways for resiliently confronting their adversities. The article draws upon existing literature in the field of public practical theology to underpin the core argument of its thesis.Contribution: This article contributes to the discussion on how theology should be used to address people’s concrete challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. The doctrine of incarnation is a unique example whose implications can help the enhancement of addressing people’s challenges in Africa.

The Spiritual Prodigy, the Reluctant Guru, and the Saint: Mirabai and Collaborative Leadership at Hari Krishna Mandir

This article explores the life and influence of Indira Devi Niloy (1920–1997) who in 1949 began to encounter the sixteenth-century saint–poet Mirabai during her meditative trance states. She would recount songs, stories, and teachings that the saint gave to her as well as scenes from Mirabai’s life that she witnessed as an observer and at other times experienced directly as a participant. Their ongoing relationship would have a tremendous influence on Indira Devi as well as her guru Dilip Kumar Roy (1897–1980) and the increasingly international community that grew up around them. Their interactions and Indira Devi’s reports in turn would also significantly influence the reception and perceived continuing relevance of Mirabai as both inspiration and authorization for women’s self-realization. Additionally, Indira Devi’s own story reveals a mode of female guruhood, with a distinct absence of identification with shakti or divine incarnation, a more egalitarian model for the guru–disciple relationship, and an alternate bhakti mode of male–female collaborative leadership with Roy. Further their experiences with Mirabai offer insight into the ongoing engagement of women and men with such influential women of the past, the intersubjective nature of the traditions that surround them, and what Mirabai’s message might be for women (and men) today.

Christian Neoplatonism and Deep Incarnation: Nicholas of Cusa and Giordano Bruno as Inspirations for Contemporary Ecotheology

In response to the specter of looming anthropogenic ecological catastrophe, many Christian thinkers have begun to rethink the God/world relationship and reimagine the ontic cleavage between divinity and creation. The idea of “deep incarnation”, which expands the scope of divine incarnation in an attempt to draw God and creation into closer relation, is a prevalent framework for such reimagination. Two historic, underutilized thinkers that might help deep incarnation theologians expand their own theologies and make sense of the conceptual and ethical differences among them are Neo-Platonist philosopher–theologians Nicholas of Cusa and Giordano Bruno. Working within an ecofeminist framework, this article argues that while both Cusanus and Bruno provide significant philosophical grounds for contemporary ecotheologies of deep incarnation, a Brunist perspective is preferable because of its more expansive anthropology and its more inclusive understanding of divinity.

Inkarnationsdeutung bei Johannes von Damaskus in Auseinandersetzung mit der „koranischen“ Bewegung

Abstract John of Damascus (ca. 650/660 – 754 AD) is one of the first contemporary witnesses to critically examine the emergence of Islam and its holy scripture, the Qur’an. John came from a distinguished Melkite family that held political offices in state finance for generations. Like his father, he was initially a civil servant under the Arab rule of Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik (685 – 705). The anti-Christian movement that began in that time forced him to withdraw from public life and enter the Mar Saba monastery near Jerusalem. While at the monastery, John grappled with the text of the “new” religion and defended the Christian position. In this milieu, the interpretation of the divine incarnation occupied a central position. By demonstrating the divine incarnation in Jesus Christ, John makes convergences with the Qur’anic movement of the new rulers. In doing so, he highlights the Qur’ans high esteem of the Virgin Mary as well as the birth and humanity of her Son, Jesus Christ. In this way, he seeks to bring Christianity into agreement with the Qur’an and to break down theological barriers.

Krishna’s Crucial Role in the Mahabharata: A Divine Catalyst

This paper explores the dominant role Shri Krishna played in the epic Mahabharata, shedding light on his divine incarnation, teachings, and influence. Being a manifestation of divinity himself, Shri Krishna served as a central figure within the Mahabharata narrative— guiding the Pandavas and imparting timeless wisdom through his discourse, the Bhagavad Gita. This exposition immerses itself in exploring the many dimensions that compose the character portrayal of Shri Krishna. Through a thorough examination of his inherent traits, varied involvements, and extraordinary divine playings, this work seeks to shed light on what makes him a captivating figure. It particularly emphasizes his strategic acumen, which enabled him to navigate complexities threading throughout Mahabharata’s storyline, ensuring righteous support offered towards Pandava’s camp and thereby fostering Dharma’s preservation. Lessons surrounding responsibilities, ethics, and virtuousness sent forth from verses contained within the Bhagavad Gita continue inspiring generations. Shri Krishna’s relationships, mainly his bond with Arjuna and the devotion of Radha, exemplify the intense connections he forms with individuals. The paper also explores the legacy and impact of Shri Krishna, emphasizing his influence on Indian philosophy and spirituality. His teachings continue to inspire millions, promoting universal love, harmony, and selfless service. The enduring worship of Shri Krishna reflects the timeless appeal and significance of his character in contemporary times.

Антропологическая традиция: византийское православие и ислам

The article examines the formation of religious-anthropological traditions formed within the framework of Byzantine Christianity and medieval Arab-Muslim philosophy. The views of the Greek-Byzantine theologian and thinker Maximus the Confessor (580–662) regarding man in the Church Fathers’ theo­logical development of the main Christian dogma of the Divine Incarnation of Jesus Christ are presented. In terms of philosophical comparativism, the an­thropological concepts of St. Maximus and the most outstanding representative of Islam, the founder of the Sufi philosophical-theological system of the Middle Ages, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111) are compared. Both the common fea­tures of the theology and philosophy of these thinkers and the differences in their anthropological doctrines are demonstrated. One point of intersection is the philosophical idea of the perfect man, which was formed by the Greek-Byzantine Church Fathers and al-Ghazali and based on which they created a broader philosophical-theological understanding of man in his relationship to the Creator. The authors indicate how the idea of human perfection was real­ized in the relation God-man-world ontologically and epistemologically from the perspectives of Eastern Patristics and Sufism. The integrity of the spiritual-bodily man in the orthodox doctrine of Byzantine Christianity is shown. Al-Ghazali’s doctrine of man is substantiated as a conceptual comprehension of man’s place as a caliph – the deputy of God on earth – in the world’s system created by the deity.

Kenosis in Catastrophe

Kenosis has long been a controversial Christian theological topic for those concerned with the flourishing of oppressed or marginalized people. Feminist theologians in particular have asked: Is self-emptying a harmful ethic when starting from an oppressed stance? This article revisits the challenges of kenosis from a feminist perspective and advocates for kenosis, despite the risks of doing so, for people in marginalized and oppressed social positions, even and especially in the catastrophic conditions that have characterized the 2020s thus far in so much of the world. Even in catastrophe, kenosis may offer power for the self made new, power for communities restored to health, and power for divine incarnation ongoing in our suffering world.

Incarnation and Divine Essence in Daesoon Thought: A Comparative Study between Daesoon thought and Christianity

This article compares the concepts of divine incarnation as expounded in Daesoon Thought and in Christianity and questions the essence of the divinity in both traditions. In Daesoon Thought, The Supreme God, Sangje, saw major disorganization leading to extreme violence and doom and decided to incarnate on earth under the human form of Kang Jeungsan (1871–1909). Then the living God taught the solution to human suffering through the revelations he sent in 1917 to Jo Cheol-Je, or Jo Jeongsan (1895–1958) and the revelations were passed on to Dojeon Park Wudang who in 1969 founded Daesoon Thought. In Christianity, God incarnated in his son, Jesus Christ, who allowed for the radical transformation of the condition of man through his physical sacrifice. Daesoon differs in that Sangje did not offer himself as sacrifice when he came on earth but reorganized the world and taught how to apply benevolence to establish the Earthly Paradise. The affirmation that Daesoon Jinrihoe is both monotheistic and polytheistic is then analyzed. If the concept of monotheism seems to differ vastly between the two traditions, it appears that biblical monotheism is itself relatively young in the history of world religions so that Christianity has ancient roots germane to those of Daesoon Jinrihoe. The article concludes on the originality of this religion: though it is built on Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, it has transformed their vision of the deity and of its message in a most convincing manner.

Becoming a Genuine Muslim: Kierkegaard and Muhammad Iqbal by Sevcan Ozturk

Reviewed by: Becoming a Genuine Muslim: Kierkegaard and Muhammad Iqbal by Sevcan Ozturk Ronald F. Marshall Becoming a Genuine Muslim: Kierkegaard and Muhammad Iqbal. By Sevcan Ozturk. London and New York: Routledge, 2020. ix + 145 pp. Professor Ozturk, University of Ankara, Turkey, argues in her book that the thought of Søren Kierkegaard can help Muslims become more devout. She focuses on the Pakistani poet and philosopher, Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), for her understanding of Islam. She argues that Iqbal, while deftly identifying "the problems of the Muslim world of his day, … does not provide his readers with a clear idea of how to become a Muslim despite the fact that it is perhaps the core of his philosophical thought" (vi). Kierkegaard can help with this because what he found to be wrong with Christianity in his day—that Christians were "merely nominal" believers (46), having transformed the faith from "a way of life into merely a teaching and a doctrine" (25)—also was Iqbal's problem. Iqbal thought the lightning of God's wrath had fallen on "the hapless Muslims" (57) because of this failure. So whatever Kierkegaard can do to help, Ozturk believes Iqbal would have gladly welcomed. Ozturk argues that Kierkegaard's solution applies in Iqbal's case because they both faced "a parallel challenge" (46). His solution also works for Iqbal because Ozturk sees them both as "conservative religious personalities" (8). Kierkegaard can help Iqbal move from a too abstract viewpoint to a more concrete one. That concrete approach emphasizes prayer and love (100, 127, 132–33) as essential ingredients in transforming Muslims into more devout followers of Allah. For Kierkegaard, however, love and prayer only transform Christians because of the passion generated by their faith [End Page 80] in the paradox of the divine incarnation (128–29). Ozturk knows that Muslims cannot accept this paradox (129), but she still thinks Kierkegaard's solution is valuable. He can still "provide the basis of a hermeneutic that can be employed to identify and articulate the distinctive features of Iqbal's development of … his view of becoming a genuine Muslim" (46). But when the paradox is taken out of Kierkegaard's understanding of Christian transformation, it falters because it no longer crushes us in order to transform us. Ozturk knows this and rejects the idea that Muslim transformation needs to "negate" the self (66, 90). But Kierkegaard, contrary to Ozturk, insists that this attack on us is needed—which is "the deadliest danger" and hits us "like a sunstroke directly on the brain" (Journals, trans. Hongs, §4:4903). "Venture unconditionally to break with everything," Kierkegaard goes on to say, "in order to get a clear idea of what Christianity is, and you will find out that you yourself will become a Christian; … even though you were not one from the outset" (Journals, §4:4934). That is because "the less a person thinks of himself … with regard to [the increase of the acknowledgement of] his guilt, the more manifest God becomes to him" (Kierkegaard, Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions, 1845, trans. Hongs, p. 29). But this bumpy ride to authenticity is not for Ozturk. Not even the majority of Christians favor it. Kierkegaard probably learned it from Martin Luther—who stressed that "many tribulations" are needed if anyone is to make it into heaven (Luther's Works 31:33). Thinking our way into heaven will not work, says Luther, because reason is "wicked, blind, and foolish" (LW 27:57). But for Ozturk, Islam "stands in greater need of a rational foundation of its ultimate principles than even the dogmas of science" (102, 138). Ozturk's study is valuable for identifying the problem of personal transformation and the need for "extra effort" in bringing it about (126, 128). Would that she had extended this transformation to the negation of the self. By not doing so, she risks turning Kierkegaard's solution into its opposite, just as he warned (Journals, §4:4490). [End Page 81] Ronald F. Marshall First Lutheran Church of West Seattle Seattle, Washington Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.

Pengakuan Dosa Dalam Pandangan Agama Kristen Protestan dan Kristen Katolik

Cristianity teaches that Adam and Eve have sinned. Therefore their children and grandchildren are sinners because they are the offspring of sinner. Every child in the womb and the mother is born in a state of sin. Sin is called intherited sin and inherited sin or original sin namely sin inherited from Adam. The issue of hereditary sins is a core problem in Christian belief, without the existence of hereditary sins, of course there will be no stories about the lord jesus who redeemed human sins. There will be no need for a divine incarnation in the form of a human being to save humans, the belief in the trinity cross and so on, the main source is hereditary sin. The method used in this research is quantitative method, by using a comparative study approach is to compare to find the similarities of the two or more concepts. As for the results achieved, the same secession of confession of sins of protestant Christians has the same baptismal procedures, while the difference of confession of sins between prostestant Christians and catholic Christians in protestant religions is that only two sacraments are recognized. The goal is to know what are the differences and similarities in the remission of sins in the view of catholic and protestant Christians.

The Ambivalence of the Hindus: The Buddha as Avatāra of Viṣṇu in the Mahāpurāṇas and Beyond

Abstract This article examines the formation of Vaiṣṇava theology’s conception of the Buddha as an avatāra or ‘divine incarnation’ of their Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, with a focus on the mahāpurāṇas. My aim is to move beyond the synthetic kinds of treatment that have typified most of the scholarly investigations of this phenomenon, by attending more closely to the dynamic historical development of the Buddhāvatāra idea than previous efforts appear to have done. Contrary to conclusions drawn by earlier studies, which assert that this concept followed decidedly unidirectional and unvarying patterns of development, the thesis that I will support maintains that great variety and ambivalence is evident in this idea’s creation and articulation in these vitally central Hindu scriptures.

Kierkegaard and Religion: Personality, Character, and Virtue by Sylvia Walsh

Reviewed by: Kierkegaard and Religion: Personality, Character, and Virtue by Sylvia Walsh Ronald F. Marshall Kierkegaard and Religion: Personality, Character, and Virtue. By Sylvia Walsh. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018. xiii + 245 pp. Sylvia Walsh wants to do more than conceptual analyses of Kierkegaard's key ideas. She also wants to show how Kierkegaard cared about "becoming the truth rather than knowing the truth in an objective manner" (5). That truth is that God is "the measure of what it means to be a human self, concrete personality, and person of character in Christianity, the model for which is given in the [End Page 348] divine incarnation of the deity in Jesus Christ, who constitutes a living prototype of the infinite reality the human self essentially has in likeness to God and ideally can become through the imitation of Christ's lowliness, suffering, and boundless love for others" (15). At the end, Walsh explores the possibility of becoming a person of character in Christianity. "Like Luther," she writes, "Kierkegaard affirms the possibility of progress and sanctification in the Christian life, but in accordance with the inverse dialectic that governs everything in his thought, the road to perfection for him is paved by hardship and suffering in the recognition that the highest perfection of a human being consists in one's need of God inasmuch as we are capable of doing nothing without God and are indebted to him for everything." So whatever progress we make, it will not be based on "the perfection of our striving" (177–78). But will we succeed—even with God's help? There is reason to wonder—since our "prototypes for self-improvement are sports heroes, entertainment stars, gun-toting Rambos, and corporate CEOs, not Jesus of Nazareth. We are sympathetic toward others, especially in times of crisis, but only to a certain degree. Violence plagues our cities, schools, and homes, while corporate and personal greed and the discrepancy between the haves and havenots, the affluent one percent versus the millions of people living below the poverty line, grow worse in our country and around the world" (178–79). But if we "obey the Christian command to love our neighbors as ourselves through the power of the eternal or divine working within us," then it can happen (179). But is this likely to happen? Walsh closes by quoting Kierkegaard that this "can happen often and it can happen to every human being." She adds that "many if not most persons will lack the courage" to do so, because of the "self-denial it surely entails" (179). The fuller passage from which she draws says, "Rarely, indeed, will it in our day be the case that a person truthfully dares to say that he suffers for Christ's sake. . . . But even though this were to become a greater rarity, it nevertheless can happen often, and it can happen to every human being, provided he does not want to 'shrink back to his own destruction' [Hebrews [End Page 349] 10:39], that he can come to suffer for a conviction. But it is impossible to fight this battle of conviction in the right way without the assistance of bold confidence. . . . Therefore, whoever you are, if you . . . are required to fight for it, do not seek aid of the world or of people" (Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits, trans. Hongs, 340). Luther comments that the shrinking blocking the suffering for Christ noted in Hebrews 10:39 goes on until we "divest [our] affection for temporal things" (Luther's Works 29:231). The provisions and qualifications in the fuller passage make it look like Kierkegaard is not as sanguine as Walsh suggests, and that it is far less likely that anyone will ever move beyond the worship of sports heroes and the violence in our cities. Maybe these words from the end of Kierkegaard's authorship are more suitable: "Water is something that can be obtained in the hard way by fetching it from the pump, but it also can be obtained in the convenient way by high pressure; naturally I prefer the convenient way. But the eternal is not something like that, indifferent to the...

A Critique of John Hick’s Multiple Incarnation: Theology and Christian Approach to Religious Dialogue

Abstract The question of Christ’s divine nature is one issue that has caused ripples among the religions of the world. While it is the ground of Christian beliefs and explained as the doctrine of the divine incarnation of God’s only Son into the world, for some people it is faith taken too far. As intellectual ink is being spilt on Christ’s divine incarnation, John Hick, a theologian of great repute, argues of a multiple metaphorical incarnations that include Jesus Christ and other prophetic voices in the religious circle. This has heightened the question and the need to investigate this theological issue. Hence, this paper aims at not only denying the possibility of multiple incarnations, which would distort the entire Christian teaching but also demonstrates how Christ’s incarnation is a witnessed non-metaphoric belief. For this purpose, the paper adopts descriptive phenomenology in its methodology.

Incorruptible Bodies: Christology, Society, and Authority in Late Antiquity. By Yonatan Moss

Dr Moss has written a learned book (152 pages of text, 87 of notes and bibliography), thoughtful with an intriguing idea. His theme is the controversy between Severus and Julian of Halicarnassus, the point at issue being the incorruptibility of Christ’s body. For Julian it was the incorruptibility of paradisal man constituted as such from the moment of divine incarnation; for Severus that of the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Lord. The controversy was conducted intemperately at least on Severus’ part. Julian’s words have largely to be deduced from Severus’ repetition of them. Here Dr Moss does a convincing job and I am willing to follow him for the most part when he inevitably fills in the gaps. His intriguing idea is to treat the notion of Christ’s body under three aspects: as church, as eucharistic, and as inspired patristic teaching. As church, for Severus, the body of Christ is the imperial church, now infected by heresy it is true, but still in principle Catholic. Departure from its canonical discipline is error. Dr Moss makes the point well and is surely right in emphasizing that Severus had no intention of instituting a separate body. Christ’s ecclesial body is corruptible but capable of cure. Julian seems (there is only faint evidence) to have belonged to the group who were pressing for separation from Chalcedon and its accursed and contaminating falsehood, the pseudo-body of Christ. The church for Severus as interpreted by Dr Moss is a mixed body, the faithfulness of the anti-Chalcedonians somehow more than compensating for presence of the Chalcedonians. As for the eucharistic body of Christ, its incorruptibility is not compromised (so Severus believes) by diptychs commemorating heretics. Julian believed the opposite. If it is a novelty here to describe the corpus of patristic teaching as ‘Christ’s body’ tout court, the metaphor of ‘body’ as applied to the Fathers’ teaching conceived of as a unified whole is a commonplace of the period and the inspiration of its textual embodiment a thing unquestioned. Dr Moss finds different approaches here. You would have expected Julian, by Dr Moss’s scheme, to assert the inspiration of the Fathers ad litteram but instead he is found to have been more ‘liberal’ (if that is the right word), allowing for variation in their wording.

Taking Away Sin

The Atonement effected by Jesus Christ remains puzzling. It becomes compatible with human reason, and especially with our sense of justice, if we suppose that the divine Incarnation in Christ manifests our Creator’s acknowledgment of His responsibility with us for our sins. We cannot know the extent of divine or human responsibility for sin, so this acknowledgment relieves the burden of sole human responsibility without removing human accountability. This supposition seems to accord with reason, Scripture and the writings of Christian theologians.

« L’Incarnation change tout » : corps et imago Dei chez Edith Stein. Confrontation avec saint Augustin

From the very first centuries of the Christian era, Christian faith in the divine incarnation and the resurrection of the flesh recast the representations of man, largely inherited from Platonism and Neoplatonism, which tend to devalue the body. Augustine thus endeavours to elaborate an anthropology which integrates the dignity of the body, considering it no longer to be a prison of the soul, but to be constitutive, for eternity, of subjective identity. He nonetheless fails to achieve a true integration of the bodily dimension into his thought on the imago Trinitatis. Edith Stein, on her part, claims, in support of her own phenomenology of the body, that the triad body, soul and spirit can be regarded as a trinitarian unity, thus positing “the whole human being”, not only the soul (mens), as an image of the Trinity. Stein thus boldly prolongs Augustine’s thought, itself very daring, in its time. Confrontation of these two philosophies shows that although the “incarnation is the turning point”, as Merleau-Ponty asserts, this assertion has not yet been fully thought through; it can and indeed must be considered further.

Speak Like Christ, Adorn Like Plaskow: Embodied Theologies

Speak Like Christ, Adorn Like PlaskowEmbodied Theologies Monica A. Coleman (bio) Keywords embodiment, multiple religious belonging, process theology, theology, womanist The notion of embodied theology is that our theologies are not simply or primarily rational constructions but rather rooted in the totality of our lives. In Goddess and God in the World, Carol Christ and Judith Plaskow offer up their lives and the theology that has emerged from their experiences. They model, as have so many other womanist and feminist theologians, a theology rooted deeply in faith and experience. My embodied theology emerges from four sources. One is the radical incarnation of a progressive Christianity that sees the divine in a Palestinian teacher-healer and the faith communities of early Christianity and ancient Israel. Second, my embodied theology is also sourced from traditional Yoruba religion that honors divinity in women, men, twin babies, storms, plants, other elements of nature, and dance. For these reasons, I value the role of divine incarnation, ancestors, and forging faith in an imperial context. There is a scriptural sacrality in the way one asks a question of a great teacher who then responds by telling a story. This is true of both Jesus's parables and the Odu of Ifa (traditional Yoruba religion). A third source of my embodied theology, like Christ and Plaskow, emerges from my own embodied experience. I am a cisgendered woman sometimes queer, sex-positive, light-skinned African American with dreadlocks and a blood disease, dislocating kneecaps, and an often-invisible sometimes-disabling mental health challenge. I occupy places of both privilege and disadvantage. My embodied experiences affect how I live in the world and my spiritual practices, as well as how I know and relate to God. I draw from feminist, womanist, queer, black, and disability theologies in my own [End Page 105] theological constructions. A final important source for my embodied theology is my experience as a mother who has birthed and extended-nursed a girl child. Nurturing another body within and with my own body and radical mothering significantly expands and deepens my understanding of the divine as creator, nurturer, teacher, and parent. When my body became my daughter's world, I better understood Sallie McFague's assertion that the world can be understood as God's body.1 Unlike Christ and Plaskow, my embodied theology emerges as a given. Whereas they are pioneers in their respective fields, I am an heir. I am the beneficiary of the ground that Christ, Plaskow, McFague, Renita Weems, Delores williams, Marjorie hewitt Suchocki, and many others broke. They are my writers, teachers, and mentors. I encountered and took for granted feminist and womanist theologies when I began to think intentionally and constructively about my own theology. That said, my experience as a victim and survivor of sexual violence and as a minister-activist-advocate against sexual violence pushed me toward a process theological worldview. Deep grappling for an adequate theodicy sent me hurling toward a worldview that embraces change and understands loss and agency without wholly blaming God, humanity, or a devil for suffering. When I read the curated narrative experiences of Christ and Plaskow, I see the great distance between us shaped primarily through our generational and racial differences. Amid their challenges as women, as non-Christian, and within the shifting boundaries of ethnicity-race-religion in the United States, I still feel the whiteness dripping off the pages. We are foreigners. Our experiences of education and oppression are radically dissonant. Nevertheless, their theological conclusions of feminism, Goddess, earthiness, and panentheism feel like shoes in which my feet still fit.2 I see how their theologies emerge from their personal experiences and the experiences of their communities just as much as my theology emerges from mine. I hope and find that the theology that emerges from my experiences is meaningful to those with whom I share similar embodiment and those with whom I largely do not. That there is still consonance between Christ and Plaskow's theological conclusions and my own suggests that there is something transcendent, perhaps even an element of truth, in the progressive, multireligious beliefs we espouse. As a process theologian with multireligious practices and commitments...

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