I’m not a fan of the term “white theology”, for several reasons.
1. It makes the criteria for a theology its *origin* not its *object*. A theology is neither good nor bad based on where it come from, but rather on what it focuses on or espouses.
1. It makes the criteria for a theology its *origin* not its *object*. A theology is neither good nor bad based on where it come from, but rather on what it focuses on or espouses.
Origin is not an irrelevant category when evaluating a theology, but it is not the defining category. Historical orthodoxy & biblical fidelity, are two examples of more relevant criteria.
2. The term “white theology” implies a sense of collusion among a diverse set of theologians over many geographic areas & eras to systematically oppress minorities on the basis on skin color— an implication that is sloppy at best.
3. Origin and context of a particular theology *do* matter— and it is because they matter that things cannot be collapsed into “white”. French, German, British, Roman...are very different contexts...and theologians from these regions emerge over very different eras.
It is much better to think in the 4 terms the Bible uses for diversity— ethnicity, language, geography, & culture. It is helpful to evaluate the ethnic, linguistic, geographical, & cultural context from which a theology emerges. It is not helpful to designate “white theology”.
