Thread by @sbawulski

@CAHutch1990 First, it *is* important to have folks read the giants of church history from Africa and Asia: Augustine, the Cappadocians, etc. But that's not enough. These folks were not in the age where we are all racialized; they were not theologizing within a world where race existed.

@CAHutch1990 (N.B.- race is not ethnicity, and race is not reducible to ethnicity. Race was constructed about 600 years ago.)

@CAHutch1990 Second, when reading theology from diverse perspectives, as white Americans we need to be particularly attentive to being open. Not uncritical, of course, but open to the voices of other believers who challenge our paradigms, power, and perspectives. It's work, to do so.

@CAHutch1990 Third, here's a list to get started for a lay church theology reading group:

@CAHutch1990 1. Esau McCaulley- Reading While Black. Esau is a NT prof at Wheaton, an Anglican, and great theologian. Plus, he's a fellow alum of St Andrews, so that makes him even doubly fantastic, in my book. This book will challenge your hermeneutical assumptions. It's really helpful.

@CAHutch1990 2. James Cone- The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Cone is a key voice in Black Liberation theology. This book is not highly technical like his others- it's more towards the popular level. Great book to introduce people to a major strand of the Black Christian experience in America.

@CAHutch1990 3. Randy Woodley- Shalom and the Community of Creation. Woodley's a Cherokee descendant recognized by the Keetoowah Band. This book challenged me in very good ways, particularly on dualisms I inherited as a white Westerner. Also very good about a holistic approach to creation.

@CAHutch1990 4. Beth Felker Jones- Practicing Christian Doctrine. Felker Jones is a great theologian and this book is a strong introduction to Christian theology. It's shorter and very accessible. Don't have your folks read Grudem for ST- instead, start them with this.

@CAHutch1990 5. Justo L. González- Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective. Challenging, but very well done. Chapter 5 is particularly powerful.

@CAHutch1990 6. Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah- Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery

7. Maldonado Pérez, Conde-Frazier, Jones- Latina Evangélicas: A Theological Survey from the Margins

Many others, too, including Womanist Theology.

@CAHutch1990 But if there's only one book you read, I strongly recommend Willie James Jennings- The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race. Read it for yourself, also with a group who aren't beginners. Seriously, this book changed everything for me.