Abuelita Faith

Kat Armas

Description

What if some of our greatest theologians wouldn't be considered theologians at all?Kat Armas, a second-generation Cuban American, grew up on the outskirts of Miami's famed Little Havana neighborhood. Her earliest theological formation came from her grandmother, her abuelita, who fled Cuba during the height of political unrest and raised three children alone after her husband passed away. Combining personal storytelling with biblical reflection, Armas shows us how voices on the margins--those often dismissed, isolated, and oppressed because of their gender, socioeconomic status, or lack of education--have more to teach us about following God than we realize.Abuelita Faith tells the story of unnamed and overlooked theologians in society and in the Bible--mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and daughters--whose survival, strength, resistance, and persistence teach us the true power of faith and love. The author's exploration of abuelita theology will help people of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds reflect on the abuelitas in their lives and ministries and on ways they can live out abuelita faith every day.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 10 août 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493431113
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Endorsements
“ Abuelita Faith offers a master class for those seeking liberation at the intersection of their own stories and Scripture. Many books explore theology, but very few offer such an expansive picture of God told through the eyes and stories of overlooked people. This book invites all of us to greater liberation through finding ourselves in God’s story—the story of our ancestors who showed up and made a way for us.”
— Brandi Miller , host, Reclaiming My Theology podcast
“ Abuelita Faith does something few writings are able to do. It gives us back our memories of God in the places that matter the most: our homes and bodies. Thinking, sensing, doing, and loving in the name of God have become white, male, rational, normative operations in the Western space. But Armas has found God operating powerfully in the underside of academia, the church, and the city—that is, at home, through the wisdom and practice of mujeres luchadoras (women in the struggle) and life givers, true teachers of the Spirit. Armas combines the best of postcolonial theories with biblically informed and ethically reconstructive approaches to everyday life. A must-read for those of us wishing for a different way of doing theology and faith.”
— Oscar García - Johnson , professor, Fuller Theological Seminary; author of Spirit Outside the Gate: Decolonial Pneumatologies of the American Global South
“ Abuelita Faith is a celebration of women as genuine sources of theology. Leading from her experience as the daughter of Cuban immigrants, Armas shows us how the personal and biblical narratives of everyday women are essential to living unfragmented realities of life and faith. This is a book for churches, seminaries, men, and women.”
— Michelle Ami Reyes , vice president, Asian American Christian Collaborative; author of Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead to Lasting Connections across Cultures
“With this stunning debut, Armas makes her mark as one of the most brilliant biblical scholars of her generation. Her beautiful and accessible prose brims with hope as she advocates for the marginalized and oppressed women in the biblical text with nuanced and original interpretations. Readers will encounter the liberative power of wrestling with the biblical text while they plumb the depths of the riches of Latinas’ wisdom traditions. I am deeply grateful for all the ways Armas has offered me gentle encouragement to see my ancestresses anew. Her voice is an important one for our time.”
— Karen González , theologian, immigration advocate, and author of The God Who Sees
“ Abuelita Faith is perfectly named. Armas presents the traumatic history of the spirituality of marginalized women in a tender invitation as gentle as a grandmother setting a table. Like all good food, this book is meant to nourish—not only to open us to the lived experience of ‘others’ but to find in their witness a sustaining grace. Armas’s delicate blend of history, experience, theology, and Scripture offers a rich meal that feeds our decolonization and reconstruction of Christian faith long after the last plate.”
— Emmy Kegler , author of One Coin Found: How God’ s Love Stretches to the Margins
“In inspiring prose of metaphorical flor y canto (flower and song), Armas honors the spiritual dignity of our abuelas, mothers, and aunts, who are the unsung spiritual heroes of our Latine families. In the stories of women from sacred Scripture, she unearths the themes of their lessons and uplifts the abuelita faith that has shaped the Brown church for centuries.”
— Robert Chao Romero , associate professor, César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies, UCLA; author of Brown Church
“The combination of surgical scholarship and poetic storytelling makes this book a treasure and a healing balm for those of us trying to imagine a way forward in our faith.”
— Sandra Maria Van Opstal , executive director, Chasing Justice
“Reading Abuelita Faith is like feasting on a faith prepared by generations. Through incisive cultural commentary, beautifully written memories of family, and the retelling of biblical narratives, Armas invites us into a faith that is relational and embodied.”
— Hillary L. McBride , psychologist, author, speaker, podcaster
“Armas brilliantly weaves together Scripture, theology, history, postcolonial and feminist scholarship, personal experience, and culture to demonstrate that powerful named and unnamed women fill not only the Bible but also our lives. These women, including our abuelitas and other mentors, are theologians, teachers, and activists who embody the wise and loving way of Christ. Overlooking and underappreciating them impoverishes us and the world. Abuelita Faith is compelling, sharp, inspiring. I anxiously look forward to reading whatever else Armas publishes!”
— Marlena Graves , author of The Way Up Is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself
“As Armas tells of her own personal and communal formation under her abuela’s gutsy, loving, and resistant spiritual life, she also carefully analyzes Scripture and evokes a tantalizing humanness in communion with God, family, and the world. Abuelita Faith is not an abstraction, an ideal, or an ideology; it’s a challenging witness to a vigorously embodied hope.”
— Mark Labberton , president, Fuller Theological Seminary
“Sometimes I read and have to tell someone about it. Other times I read, and it makes me sit, feel, think, reread, and pause. Armas’s Abuelita Faith does just that—it’s a theological miracle. Her words dance and sing in ways that made me rethink what it means to dance and sing and write as a theologian. This story, these words, this type of love, is the path to our liberation.”
— Dante Stewart , writer and speaker
“Armas invites us to attend the weekly game of dominoes, sit with her family, hear their stories, and make and create together with familia. She weaves together the wisdom of her ancestors with the stories of women in Scripture, providing insights into how to survive and thrive in one’s faith. Pastors, educators, and those trying to make sense of their own stories in light of the biblical story need this book.”
— Patrick B. Reyes , award-winning Chicano author of The Purpose Gap and Nobody Cries When We Die
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2021 by Kat Armas
Published by Brazos Press
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.brazospress.com
Ebook edition created 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3111-3
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. © Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Some names and details of the people and situations described in this book have been changed or presented in composite form in order to ensure the privacy of those with whom the author has worked.
Published in association with Books & Such Literary Management, www.booksandsuch.com
Dedication
Dedicado a mi abuela, Evelia. Soy todo lo que soy gracias a ti.
Contents
Cover i
Endorsements ii
Title Page v
Copyright Page vi
Dedication v
Acknowledgments xi
1. Research Grief 1
2. Abuelita Theology 19
3. A Sabiduría That Heals 38
4. Mujeres of Exodus 51
5. Telling La Verdad 66
6. Cosiendo and Creating 81
7. Sobreviviendo 95
8. Protesta and Persistence 116
9. Desesperación 130
10. A Divine Baile 146
11. Madre of Exile 159
12. Resolviendo in La Lucha 173
Notes 191
Bibliography 200
Back Cover 213
Acknowledgments
How do I even begin to thank or acknowledge the myriad of people who have floated in and out of my life, who have played decisive roles in the construction of this work even before it was written? I owe this book to a cloud of mujeres (women), ancestors, witnesses, and saints in my past who have paved the way, believing in the liberative love of God and acting in response to that belief.
To the women in my life who formed me from childhood, had faith in me, cared for me: Mom—your unrelenting support has carried me through every moment of my life. Thank you for always believing in me and loving me the best way you could. Ash—your unwavering love has shaped me. Mama and Lela—my childhood would have been incomplete without your care for me. Yetz—your consistent presence grounds me. Amanda—your depth and encouragement has changed me. This work is one about each and every one of us making meaning of life, God, and our existence. I thank you all for playing a pivotal role.
Thank you to other mujeres who have inspired me, have listened to my vision and dream from its inception, and have offered encouragement along the way: Nicole—I literally couldn’t have done this without you. Esther—you’re my rock. Biankha—you’ve always believed in me. Thank you to Ana Estevez, Naty Espinales, Gaby Perez-Julio de Zamora, Natasha Santana, Karen González, Jenn Guerra Aldana, Roslyn Hernandez, Inés Vel