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

This illuminating study explores African theologian Mercy Amba Oduyoyes constructive initiative to include African womens experiences and voices within Christian theological discourse.

Mercy Amba Oduyoye, a renowned Ghanaian Methodist theologian, has worked for decades to address issues of poverty, womens rights, and global unrest. She is one of the founders of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, a pan-African ecumenical organization that mentors the next generation of African women theologians to counter the dearth of academic theological literature written by African women. This book offers an in-depth analysis of Oduyoyes life and work, providing a much-needed corrective to Eurocentric, colonial, and patriarchal theologies by centering the experiences of African women as a starting point from which theological reflection might begin.

Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredeins study begins by narrating the story of Mercy Oduyoyes life, focusing on her early years, which led to her eventual interest in womens equality and African womens theology. At the heart of the book is a close analysis of Oduyoyes theological thought, exploring her unique approach to four issues: the doctrine of God, Christology, theological anthropology, and ecclesiology. Through the course of these examinations, Oredein shows how Oduyoyes life story and theological output are intimately intertwined. Stories of gender formation, racial ideas, and cultural foundations teem throughout Oduyoyes construction of a Christian theological story. Oduyoye shows that ones theology does not leave particularity behind but rather becomes the locus in which the fullness of divinity might be known.