Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview (Randy S. Woodley) -- A Review
INDIGENOUS THEOLOGY AND THE WESTERN WORLDVIEW: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine. By Randy S. Woodley. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022. Xiii + 141 pages.
All
theology is contextual whether we recognize it or not. As a Euro-American
Protestant Christian, I bring a certain context or background to my theology.
The theologians who have helped form me are largely European and especially
German (Barth, Bonhoeffer, Moltmann). I’m grateful for that inheritance, but over
time I've come to realize that the world is a lot larger than Europe (read
white). Unfortunately, as Christianity spread across the world too often
missionaries equated the gospel with European or North American culture. That
has led to horrific results as cultures have been destroyed and people
exterminated in the name of Jesus. Pope Francis, during a visit to Canada,
acknowledged what has to be considered genocide, and apologized for the
Catholic Church’s complicity. There are also efforts underway in the United
States by church bodies to come to grips with this heritage of oppression,
which led to the deaths of thousands of indigenous children. As this truth
emerges, we can no longer hide from the realities that transpired as part of a
colonialist version of Christianity. It’s time to listen to the voices of those
who have been ignored for too long.
The book Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview is Randy Woodley’s attempt to bring to light one of
those voices, the voices of indigenous peoples in North America (Native
Americans). Woodley is a Native American missiologist/theologian who teaches in
the area of faith and culture at Portland Seminary. He is also the director of
Intercultural and Indigenous Studies at the seminary. In this particular book, Woodley
asks the reader, especially non-indigenous readers like me, to consider the
differences between an indigenous worldview and a western worldview and how
that influences the way we do theology or envision God and each other. The book
at hand is based on the Hayward Lectures hosted by Acadia Divinity School in
Nova Scotia. The lectures are accompanied by an interview/conversation that allows
Woodley further develop the ideas he presents in the lectures.
For those who are not familiar with
an indigenous/Native American vision of Christianity, Woodley offers us a
helpful introduction. He contrasts the propositional, linear, vision that
undergirds much of western theology, with an indigenous theology that is rooted
in stories. He's concerned here with a western worldview rooted in Plato's
dualistic distinction between spirit and material worlds. For the indigenous,
there is no separation, and thus truth is conveyed not in doctrines but
stories. The concern for the indigenous people is not on whether the story is
factual (a very Enlightenment view) but the truth inherent in the story itself.
He reminds us that narrative theology has essentially always been a primary
form of communication among indigenous people, therefore traditions are passed
on orally and develop over time. How stories function in this setting is very
different from western propositional teaching, in which stories illustrate, but
aren’t the primary conveyors of truth.
I read Woodley’s book after having
read or used two other books that speak to how Native American Christianity is
understood and practiced. The first book is Kaitlin Curtice’s book Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God, (Brazos, 2020), which offers a
very personal narrative of coming to understand one’s faith and cultural
context. The other book is a new translation of the New Testament that reflects
a Native American worldview—First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament, (IVP, 2021). Regarding the First Nations Version, it
is interesting that Woodley isn't sure that a written translation of the Bible is
useful for Indigenous folk, who find that a more oral presentation is better
and more trustworthy. While I do not know how Woodley feels about this new
translation, each of these recent books, from Curtice to Woodley, reminds us
that narrative and biography are important components of understanding what it
means to be a person of faith. Woodley focuses here on narrative serves as a helpful
corrective to the western worldview that seeks to offer a more ordered and
linear presentation of the faith. In some ways, this fits with the
postmodernist vision, but that vision remains largely rooted in European and
North American (read white) concerns.
The book is rooted in a set of
lectures, which, as Woodley acknowledges, reflect a western modality, but he
has found a way of bending the format to bring to light important concerns. The
book begins (after a preface) with an interview in which he introduces himself.
In this interview identifies himself as being the son of assimilated
mixed-blood Cherokees. As such he has lived in both worlds, struggling to make
sense of his identity (we see this also present in Kaitlin Curtice’s book). As
an academic figure, he identifies as a missiologist with an interest in church
history. As for his theological perspective, he notes that “I think the way
that my theology may be different from other people’s is that, for me,
everything begins with the earth and then we go from there” (p. 7). In other
words, this is a theology from below.
The book is structured around the
three Hayward Lectures given at Arcadia Divinity School. Each lecture is
accompanied by a Question and Response. The first chapter/lecture is titled
“The Myths of History and Progressive Civilizations.” The focus here is white
privilege, though he begins by acknowledging his privileges as being male,
straight, educated, light-skinned, and what he describes as “copious body size,
so I take up a little space in the room” (pp. 13-14). He notes he’s
able-bodied, middle-class, and a legal descendant of the United Keetoowah Band of
the Cherokees of Oklahoma. He was also able to earn a Ph.D. So, he reminds us
that privilege comes in many forms, something that those who resist
acknowledging white privilege need to recognize. This opening chapter deals
with the nature of history and how we understand our place in it. It is also a
recognition of the effects of the “Doctrine of Discovery” that led to the
destruction of much of the indigenous population after European discovery that
involved the introduction of disease and then the cultural destruction and
genocide that accompanied colonization and Christian mission. Those of us who
have lived in California know the complicated story of the California missions.
The question then becomes whether Christianity is a white religion. In answer to
that question, having introduced us to the challenges presented by colonization
and mission, he contrasts Christianity as a religion with following Jesus. The
latter is compatible with Indigenous values, while the former is problematic.
The Second Lecture, titled
“Comparing Western and Indigenous Worldviews,” begins with a story of creation,
which sets the tone for the contrast. He notes in the story the integral
relationship between humanity and the rest of creation, which is quite
different from western thinking that sets humanity above the rest of creation. This
comparison invites us to consider the question of God’s identity. He notes that
indigenous folk tend to understand themselves to be part of the land. They see
themselves communally, and that includes the land. As for western folks (like
me), we tend to see ourselves as distinct from the land and as individuals.
Rather than focusing on narrative and story, westerners tend to understand
truth in terms of propositions and facts. There is a desire to see things
objectively. So, is it any surprise that indigenous folks see all of life as
spiritual? The focus is not on beliefs but practices, whereas for westerners
religion is understood in terms of doctrine and thus orthodoxy. Thus, western
theology tends to be dualistic, while there is a more unitive vision among the
indigenous. We could ask who gets to decide what is correct here, but the point
to me is to learn how different cultural contexts envision faith and the
implications of that faith not just for the individual but for all of creation.
While indigenous folk will wrestle with how to respond to Jesus, those outside
that community might hear a word of warning regarding the way we look at a
creation that is under duress. Witness the drought and heat waves that have
dominated the western United States and floods in places like Kentucky. Has our western vision of dominating creation
led to destructive tendencies?
The third and final lecture focuses
on “Decolonizing Western Christian Theology.” Having laid out the differences
between the two worldviews, Woodley tackles the western version of Christian
theology, seeking to free it from its colonizing tendencies. Part of that
effort is to encourage others to discern their own indigeneity. This is a challenge
posed by others as well since the moniker white is not rooted in ethnicity but in
social constructs. Thus, it has changed over time, such that the Irish and
Italians were at one time not considered white, that is because white was
understood hierarchically, especially concerning immigration policies. The goal
is shalom, harmony. This, of course, requires systemic change, something many
resist (as we’re seeing in the political sphere today, which has leached into
the religious sphere as well).
In part,
the lectures deal with the contrast between worldviews, but Woodley is not only
interested in an academic analysis of the differences such that we agree to
look at things differently. He is deeply concerned with how western
perspectives have affected the lives of Indigenous folk, not only in North
America but elsewhere. One of the words he has for those of us who are white is
that we need to both recognize that we have an indigenous foundation and that
we can benefit from acknowledging it and building on it to better understand
the challenges faced by those who have been colonized. If we can do this, then
we will not only better understand the challenges facing indigenous people but
find harmony.
Woodley’s book IndigenousTheology and the Western Worldview should prove to be a challenge for white
Christians, especially if we respond with defensiveness.
Western/White/European/American/male theology has tended to dominate the
conversation, sucking up all the air in the building, such that other voices
don’t get heard or considered. That is to our detriment. I needn’t throw away
Barth and Moltmann to benefit from other voices. With the emphasis on each
community has its own indigeneity, we might embrace his suggestion that,
following the word of the Jerusalem Council, the trust shown by the Council
leadership to gentile believers might guide us, so that missionally, “as we go
to our local communities and our local tribes and different people. Let’s tell
them the stories and let them do the theologizing” (p. 127).
I’m grateful that there are voices like Woodley’s out there that push on the system so we can move toward a better world. In doing so we can experience the Christian faith anew in ways that are egalitarian and supportive of the common good. Thus, in a deeply polarized world, that is important. So, we can be thankful for Woodley's contribution to our theological conversation, that we might find harmony in our world as followers of Jesus.
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