Feminist Theologies and the Trinity

The title of James Alison’s publication Undergoing God: Dispatches from the Scene of a Break-in provides one way of thinking about the significance of feminist theologies within the recent widespread revival of the doctrine of the Trinity. The image of a “break-in– communicates something of the disruptive and unexpected. At times the effects of a break-in are immediate and obvious, at other times they are only discovered gradually. A break-in can also cause dismay and anger, which need to be dealt with as quickly as possible so that life can proceed as before. However, in terms of the spiritual life, a break-in has a positive connotation: an in-breaking of the Spirit heralds conversion and transformation. The systematic theologian Anne Carr uses the term “transforming grace— to describe the gift of feminist theology to the church. ² It is in this sense that I will use “break-in" in this chapter. In order to explore the contribution of feminist theologies to the evolving reception of the mystery of God as Trinity, I have taken account of the work of feminist theologians from various cultures and perspectives, including womanist, mujerista, and Asian theologians, and then examined the mosaic that came to light. To communicate the essential elements of the patterns that emerged, I will use Alison’s evocative image and describe dispatches from five scenes of a feminist break-in on trinitarian discourse. These dispatches will use the theologians' own voices as directly as possible. I will then summarize the various strands of the collective picture.