144 - Freeing Theology: The Essentials of Theology in Feminist Perspective

Freeing Theology: The Essentials of Theology in Feminist Perspective
By Catherine Mowry LaCugna
San Francisco, HarperCollins, 1993. 266 pp. $18.00.

Here is a book of collected essays in feminist theology that represents the very best that feminist theology has to offer in current theological discourse. Each of the contributors locates herself within the Roman Catholic tradition; thus, the book frequently focuses on concerns that arise specifically from the Catholic tradition. Yet, Freeing Theology is helpful for anyone interested in "freeing theology" from accretions in the tradition that limit God in God's freedom and human persons in their rightful freedom.

As the goal of the book states, the task for theology informed by feminist perspectives is "to recover, challenge, and, indeed, create tradition through reinterpretation." The ten subsequent chapters explore such theological themes as revelation, christology, theological anthropology, ethics, ecclesiology, sacraments, spirituality, and Trinity.

Chapters of particular note include Elizabeth Johnson's "Redeeming the Name of Christ," a judicious, yet vigorous recommendation of Sophia christology. Grounding her exploration of Sophia christology in the wisdom tradition of Scripture, Johnson makes the claim that a christology of divine Sophia promotes a theology more explicitly supportive of freedom, equality, ecological concerns, and women's experience. She says that Sophia christology "has profound implications for reshaping ecclesial theory and practice in the direction of a community of the discipleship and ministry of equals," Her creative and constructive approach to christology deserves careful consideration.

Another chapter of special worth is Mary Aquin O'Neill's "The Mystery of Being Human Together." This treatment of theological anthropology from a feminist perspective calls traditional Christianity back to a true orthodoxy, a reclaiming of the liberating and redeeming message of the Christian gospel for human persons, men and women. She lifts up for consideration such vintage theological issues as the imago Dei, sin and fallenness, and the meaning of redemption and its impact on the redeemed community. O'Neill sees clearly that the Christian faith calls for an anthropology of mutuality, affirmation, respect, and equality. Yet, the

146 - Freeing Theology: The Essentials of Theology in Feminist Perspective

Christian traditions have so often tragically failed to embody that goal of "being human together." For a Catholic woman theologian, the failure of the Church to develop and live up to a truly Christian anthropology is acutely painful. Yet O'Neill does not reject the Catholic tradition and its resources. Part of her chapter is a careful examination of selected essays of Pope John Paul 11 on theological anthropology.

Freeing Theology is a book of many impressive virtues. It represents a tradition of high-quality feminist scholarship that places itself firmly within the Roman Catholic tradition. For both Protestant and Catholic women, it is instructive and deeply encouraging to encounter in this book feminist theologians who confess their faith in God as revealed in Jesus Christ even as they struggle for change in the church. Freeing Theology would make a very fine choice for the seminary curriculum-not only for courses in feminist theology, but as part of the readings for a basic core course in systematic theology.

Leanne Van Dyk
San Francisco Theological Seminary
San Anselmo, CA