The Theology of Mercy Amba Oduyoye: Ecumenism, Feminism, and Communal Practice

In this book, Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein, an assistant professor in Black religious traditions, constructive theology, and ethics at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, presents a remarkable story of one of the most outstanding woman theologians of our time. Mercy Amba Oduyoye, a renowned Ghanaian Methodist theologian, has written widely on issues concerning African women’s rights as Christians (sometimes referred to as African feminism), poverty and the church, social and gender injustice, and global unrest. This book explores Oduyoye’s life story from childhood and her experience growing up in a Christian family observing both her father’s and mother’s roles in a church that was Eurocentric, colonial, and patriarchal. Oduyoye’s work challenged this kind of theology and in this book, it is emphasized that Christian theology needs to be more inclusive, putting into consideration the experience and wisdom of the African women.Oduyoye’s church experience made her develop interests in women’s equality and African women’s theology, arguing that theological reflection should be broadened by listening to the voices of the marginalized, voices that have been ignored by both Christian and local cultures. Oduyoye’s Akan culture’s understanding of women shaped her own notion of women and also triggered in her a question of how women could be women the way God sees them. She challenged Eurocentric, colonial, and patriarchal theologies, and suggested that African women’s experiences provide a starting point for African theological reflection. Convinced that when culture and religion are unjustly used, they can stunt African women’s potential, Oduyoye desired a place where women of the same mind and experience could share their ideas and experiences and build one another. Through her initiative, the Circle of Concerned African Women—an ecumenical body—came to be, and continues to promote the voice of African Christian women in theological discourse.In addition to African Christian women’s rights, Oredein makes a strong analysis of Oduyoye’s theological thought in areas of the doctrine of God, Christology, theological anthropology, and ecclesiology, each of which is explored through Oduyoye’s life story. The story emphasizes the importance of inclusivity in theological discourse, without which the church in Africa falls short of its purpose in society.Oduyoye claims that ‘Christianity’s doctrine of God has been rigidly aligned with its European messengers and those in the African church invested in keeping this alignment as the standard’ (68). She argues that God-talk should be contextual, where everyone (not only men) can share their understanding of God based on their experience—who they are. That would allow the doctrinal tongue to be multilingual, not monolingual. African women have had to contend with too many barriers in the name of Christian doctrine. Religious diversity is necessary, and the understanding of God cannot be solely one-sided. God of life, as he is understood in the African context, is expressed through symbols, myths, proverbs, oral stories, and sayings. Christology is also defined from African women’s experience of marginalization, being unheard/ignored, and invisibility. African women connect with Jesus in his experience of being marginalized and oppressed (90) and this liberates and gives them hope. He related to women as human beings, not as men’s subordinates.On theological anthropology, Olayinka explores Oduyoye’s understanding, which has been shaped by Akan culture and Christian identity. Oduyoye reiterates that African women have not had a chance to express themselves in the story of existence, which forms the story of humanity’s relationship with God. Thus, the need for a liberative theological anthropology that is inclusive of all of God’s creation. Oduyoye’s ecclesiology is one that recognizes human beings, including women, as a crucial part of the Christian Church. Oduyoye argues that a Christian church that is basically patriarchal should be deemed incomplete for failing to recognize women and allow them to be part of the church’s decision-making mechanism.