Embracing the Other: The Transformative Spirit of Love
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4.43 · Rating details · 14 ratings · 4 reviews
An innovative Asian feminist perspective on God's Spirit
We live in a time of great racial strife and global conflict. How do we work toward healing, reconciliation, and justice among all people, regardless of race or gender? In Embracing the Other Grace Ji-Sun Kim demonstrates that it is possible only through God's Spirit.
Working from a feminist Asian perspective, Kim develops a new constructive global pneumatology that works toward gender and racial-ethnic justice. She draws on concepts from Asian and indigenous cultures to reimagine the divine as "Spirit God" who is restoring shalom in the world. Through the power of Spirit God, Kim says, our brokenness is healed and we can truly love and embrace the Other. (less)
We live in a time of great racial strife and global conflict. How do we work toward healing, reconciliation, and justice among all people, regardless of race or gender? In Embracing the Other Grace Ji-Sun Kim demonstrates that it is possible only through God's Spirit.
Working from a feminist Asian perspective, Kim develops a new constructive global pneumatology that works toward gender and racial-ethnic justice. She draws on concepts from Asian and indigenous cultures to reimagine the divine as "Spirit God" who is restoring shalom in the world. Through the power of Spirit God, Kim says, our brokenness is healed and we can truly love and embrace the Other. (less)
Paperback, 192 pages
Published October 21st 2015 by Eerdmans (first published September 30th 2015)
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Dec 04, 2015Robert D. Cornwall rated it it was amazing
Shelves: holy-spirit, religion, social-justice, spirituality, theology
After the #BlackLivesMatter movement was born, a counter movement was created titled #AllLivesMatter. Of course, all lives matter, but the point of the #BlackLivesMatter movement is that too often the majority culture fails to recognize this to be true. Too often Christianity is understood to be a Euro-American religion, in which whiteness is a defining characteristic. We see this in the way Jesus has been traditionally portrayed -- a white man with northern European features. As a white male Christian theologian/pastor, I continue to be sensitized to the fact that over the course of centuries my gender and my ethnicity have defined what it means to be Christian. As the Christian world becomes increasingly diverse (or rather we recognize that diversity), it can be difficult to accept changing realities.
I read Grace Ji-Sun Kims book "Embracing the Other," recognizing my own situation in life. It wasn't always easy or pleasant reading. This book is a challenging read because calls into question many of our sacrosanct beliefs and practices. The book is part of a larger series of books on prophetic Christianity. She writes as a Korean-American immigrant Christian theologian. From that vantage point she challenges the patriarchialism of her own culture and both the patriarchalism of American Christianity and the idea of white superiority. That is, her intent is to challenge those forces that oppress both women and people of color.
In doing this, she lifts up the doctrine of the Spirit, drawing not only from Scripture but also from the Korean concept of "chi." She believes that introducing the importance of the Spirit of God into the conversation, we can address the problem of the other. Early in the book she brings into the conversation the presence of foreign women in the biblical story. Foreign women are rarely portrayed positively. They are usually seen as seducers of the people of God. With that background she brings into the story Asian immigrant women, reminding us that the story of Asian immigrants is very different from that of White immigrants. She speaks of the development of feminist theology, and how the perspectives of white feminist theologians ultimately is different.
As noted the doctrine of the Spirit is important here, for it helps bring into the conversation the other. While she embraces a Trinitarian theology, she places the center in pneumatology rather than Christology. She writes in the introduction that "perhaps embracing the Spirit will also help us to move beyond Christianity and open the door for further dialogue with and acceptance of people of different faith traditions and those who are different from us" (p. 9).
This is a work of theology with a strong vision of social justice. With that in mind, she brings into the conversation the concept of Eros (Love). Whereas we often talk of love in terms of the Greek word Agape, she believes with Rita Nakashima Brock, that Eros is the more appropriate term. She writes of Eros that "filled with the power of the erotic, we can reject all that makes us numb to the suffering, apathy, and hate of others" (p. 141). In other words, the kind of love needed here is passionate. It is the kind of love that connects us with each other, and enables us to embrace the cause of justice.
This is a very powerful and challenging book. I was tempted to set it aside several times. It pushed me to recognize my own desire to stay within my own theological comfort zones. She helped me understand the specific dilemma of the Asian immigrant community, who are so often deemed the "model minority," a designation that divides Asians from other people of color and reinforces the premise of white superiority. That is, if you want to be a good minority, then act white. Isn't that what we mean by assimilation?
Yes, it is time for the church to pay attention to the often unnoticed voices, so that we might be fully the church. Therefore, we must be grateful for the voice of Grace Ji-Sun Kim.
(less)
I read Grace Ji-Sun Kims book "Embracing the Other," recognizing my own situation in life. It wasn't always easy or pleasant reading. This book is a challenging read because calls into question many of our sacrosanct beliefs and practices. The book is part of a larger series of books on prophetic Christianity. She writes as a Korean-American immigrant Christian theologian. From that vantage point she challenges the patriarchialism of her own culture and both the patriarchalism of American Christianity and the idea of white superiority. That is, her intent is to challenge those forces that oppress both women and people of color.
In doing this, she lifts up the doctrine of the Spirit, drawing not only from Scripture but also from the Korean concept of "chi." She believes that introducing the importance of the Spirit of God into the conversation, we can address the problem of the other. Early in the book she brings into the conversation the presence of foreign women in the biblical story. Foreign women are rarely portrayed positively. They are usually seen as seducers of the people of God. With that background she brings into the story Asian immigrant women, reminding us that the story of Asian immigrants is very different from that of White immigrants. She speaks of the development of feminist theology, and how the perspectives of white feminist theologians ultimately is different.
As noted the doctrine of the Spirit is important here, for it helps bring into the conversation the other. While she embraces a Trinitarian theology, she places the center in pneumatology rather than Christology. She writes in the introduction that "perhaps embracing the Spirit will also help us to move beyond Christianity and open the door for further dialogue with and acceptance of people of different faith traditions and those who are different from us" (p. 9).
This is a work of theology with a strong vision of social justice. With that in mind, she brings into the conversation the concept of Eros (Love). Whereas we often talk of love in terms of the Greek word Agape, she believes with Rita Nakashima Brock, that Eros is the more appropriate term. She writes of Eros that "filled with the power of the erotic, we can reject all that makes us numb to the suffering, apathy, and hate of others" (p. 141). In other words, the kind of love needed here is passionate. It is the kind of love that connects us with each other, and enables us to embrace the cause of justice.
This is a very powerful and challenging book. I was tempted to set it aside several times. It pushed me to recognize my own desire to stay within my own theological comfort zones. She helped me understand the specific dilemma of the Asian immigrant community, who are so often deemed the "model minority," a designation that divides Asians from other people of color and reinforces the premise of white superiority. That is, if you want to be a good minority, then act white. Isn't that what we mean by assimilation?
Yes, it is time for the church to pay attention to the often unnoticed voices, so that we might be fully the church. Therefore, we must be grateful for the voice of Grace Ji-Sun Kim.
(less)
Grace Kim begins this book by analyzing what marginalization looks like, with a focus on Asian Americans and more specifically, Asian American women. After looking at some of the groundwork laid by feminist theologians, the book all comes together in chapters five and six. These two chapters are worth the prince of the book itself. Here she speaks of what it looks like to embrace the other, how a focus on God as Spirit helps in this and the power of God's love (eros) in transforming the world.
Two wonderful quotes illustrate where she is going:
"God meets us in the margins. Since God dwells among the disinherited and dispossessed, we need to follow God's Spirit to the places of darkness and despair. The same Spirit that anointed the Hebrew prophets and JEsus who cared for the marginalized anoints us to be Spirit-filled prophets today. It is God the Spirit who gives the marginalized life and the moral courage to follow Jesus, to push against the constraints of marginalization, moving toward spaces of deep solidarity in a horizon of hope" (115)
"Embracing the Other entails talking about the issues with nonviolent, empathetic listening, mutual understanding and heartfelt prayer. Spirit God connects us to each other, opens us up for an exchange of what is in our hearts, heals the curse between men and women that goes back to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:14-19), and is a source of perpetual soul repair and bodily renewal as we move into a deep and disciplined spirituality that can sustain the movement to incarnate God's justice and shalom, on earth as it is in heaven" (153)
I appreciate Grace Kim's heart and mind. Full disclosure: I had the opportunity to work at the church she was a part of for a time and consider her a friend. Through conversations over lunch as well as her books and blogs, she has helped me see perspectives that I, as a white male, would not otherwise have seen. All of us need to read books by people different from us (i.e. my fellow white male pastors/theologians need to read writers who are not white male pastors/theologians). The body of Christ is large and diverse and we benefit from exposure to all of it.
A few points came up where I, as a history nerd, was not tracking. She attempts to trace the negative stereotypes of Asians the whole back to the Greeks in their encounters with the Persians. This seems anachronistic to me. I guess if the point is more broadly that later Europeans who wanted to draw negative stereotypes found resources in the Greek writing, then maybe. But the Persians, circa 400 BC, were definitely not marginalized victims. If anything, they were the power dominating and the Greeks were the underdogs. I would love to say more, but I'll just point to Dan Carlin's recent Hardcore History series on the battles between Greece and Persia.
Overall, I think her points are right, I just think where she uses history to support them it seems off. She also notes it is significant that the Statue of Liberty faces east, towards Europe, rather than towards Asia. The implication is there is white supremacy here. The simple historical truth is that the colonists on the east coast asked France for help during the Revolution. I imagine they would have been open to help from anyone, though China and other Asian nations were a good bit further away.
In the end though, that's just me being a history nerd. Again, I think this is the sort of book that should be read and deeply thought through. (less)
Two wonderful quotes illustrate where she is going:
"God meets us in the margins. Since God dwells among the disinherited and dispossessed, we need to follow God's Spirit to the places of darkness and despair. The same Spirit that anointed the Hebrew prophets and JEsus who cared for the marginalized anoints us to be Spirit-filled prophets today. It is God the Spirit who gives the marginalized life and the moral courage to follow Jesus, to push against the constraints of marginalization, moving toward spaces of deep solidarity in a horizon of hope" (115)
"Embracing the Other entails talking about the issues with nonviolent, empathetic listening, mutual understanding and heartfelt prayer. Spirit God connects us to each other, opens us up for an exchange of what is in our hearts, heals the curse between men and women that goes back to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:14-19), and is a source of perpetual soul repair and bodily renewal as we move into a deep and disciplined spirituality that can sustain the movement to incarnate God's justice and shalom, on earth as it is in heaven" (153)
I appreciate Grace Kim's heart and mind. Full disclosure: I had the opportunity to work at the church she was a part of for a time and consider her a friend. Through conversations over lunch as well as her books and blogs, she has helped me see perspectives that I, as a white male, would not otherwise have seen. All of us need to read books by people different from us (i.e. my fellow white male pastors/theologians need to read writers who are not white male pastors/theologians). The body of Christ is large and diverse and we benefit from exposure to all of it.
A few points came up where I, as a history nerd, was not tracking. She attempts to trace the negative stereotypes of Asians the whole back to the Greeks in their encounters with the Persians. This seems anachronistic to me. I guess if the point is more broadly that later Europeans who wanted to draw negative stereotypes found resources in the Greek writing, then maybe. But the Persians, circa 400 BC, were definitely not marginalized victims. If anything, they were the power dominating and the Greeks were the underdogs. I would love to say more, but I'll just point to Dan Carlin's recent Hardcore History series on the battles between Greece and Persia.
Overall, I think her points are right, I just think where she uses history to support them it seems off. She also notes it is significant that the Statue of Liberty faces east, towards Europe, rather than towards Asia. The implication is there is white supremacy here. The simple historical truth is that the colonists on the east coast asked France for help during the Revolution. I imagine they would have been open to help from anyone, though China and other Asian nations were a good bit further away.
In the end though, that's just me being a history nerd. Again, I think this is the sort of book that should be read and deeply thought through. (less)
Summary: Explores the multiple oppressions experienced by women who are Asian-American (or other) immigrants of color, and how the "Spirit-Chi" of God enables the embrace of others across ethnic and gender boundaries.
Grace Ji-Sun Kim writes about the experience of immigrants and women from a first person perspective. As a child, her family emigrated to Canada where she experienced racism as she was mocked and treated as the other because she was from Korea. She also experienced sexism in the strongly patriarchal church her family became a part of in their conversion to Christianity. In the introduction of this book addressing the embrace of the other, and how a re-imagined understanding of the Spirit of God can speak powerfully to the marginalization of the other, she begins with her own painful experience, and then widens the scope.
First, she turns to the foreign women of the Bible, and particularly to the foreign wives of Ezra and Nehemiah, who were "put away," expelled as unclean so the Jewish community could purify itself, and then to Hosea as a word of hope for the importance of all women. She then considers the racial experience of Asian Americans, the "almost white" or "model minority" who are nevertheless, always "foreign," even if they have been citizens for generations. The experience of women compounds this marginalization as they are often subordinated in both home and in ethnic congregations. Kim goes back and traces this experience through western imperialism and colonial experience down to the present. She then outlines the history of feminism, from the outliers of Rahab and Ruth in scripture, to both white feminist and global feminist theologians. It is in this context that she introduces the appeal of the spiritual experience of God to ethnic minority women that allows approaches to God that are relational, life- and other-affirming, and not shaped by Western patriarchal and discriminatory structures.
All of this lays the groundwork for Kim's own pneumatological proposal of the Spirit-Chi of God. This at once draws on the Spirit of Shalom in scripture that sets things right and brings wholeness and connection, and the concept of "Chi" in many cultures--the life energy or spirit that inhabits us all. She believes this connection of Spirit with Chi enables a conversation across cultures and faith that allows for fundamental human connection, or embrace as we tap into the enabling power of the Spirit. She also relates this work of the Spirit to erotic live, the powerful connection between human beings, hence the subtitle of "The Transformative Spirit of Love." For women who struggle with the "male" persons of the Trinity (although beyond gender in human terms), Spirit can be a powerful and transforming means both of engaging God and pursuing the shalom of God in the world.
Kim's description of the experiences of racism and sexism, particularly among Asian-American women, speaks out against how both church and society oppress. To address how our pneumatology (theology of the Spirit) empowers the embrace of the other is a vital and needed area of theological work in moving beyond sentimental expressions of being "One in the Spirit" to substantive talk about oneness with the other.
The most controversial elements of this work are the association of Spirit with Chi, and the discussion of erotic love. I personally did not have difficulty with the latter, believing that the redemptive work of God extends to our most basic loves and restores them to God's creation intent. The power of the Spirit of God to work through even our most primal and embodied affections to forge strong human bonds is not to be looked down upon, but may be foundational in many instances in growth into agape love. More troublesome was the idea of Chi-Spirit. I think there definitely is a point of contact between the biblical idea of the human spirit and concepts of "spirit" or "life force" or "energy" that is worth exploring in inter-religious conversation. It is the equation of this and the Spirit of God in singular, rather than distinctive or even complementary terms that was troubling, and could be construed as a form of pantheism. I find myself wondering whether the transformation of which she speaks need involve the regenerative and sanctifying work of the Spirit resulting from faith in the redemptive work of Christ, or simply by increasing one's chi.
I'm hesitant in raising this as a white male, given the framing of this discussion in terms of race and gender. I think it can be reductionistic and dismissive to consign much of the church's historic discussion of the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity to white, male, hegemonic discourse (my words, not Kim's) without argument. This is particularly so given the involvement of Near Eastern and African Christians in the early church councils, including the Cappadocian Basil the Great who wrote one of the earliest formulations of Christian teaching on the Holy Spirit. Also, one of the most potent forces in global Christianity is Pentecostalism, where the empowering fullness of the Holy Spirit energizes mission across cultural boundaries. I was surprised that a book on the transformative work of the Spirit, empowering love for the other, does not address this vibrant movement.
In fairness, Kim has written elsewhere in greater depth on these subjects including her reimagining project relating the Spirit and Chi (visit her website for a list of her publications). I have not read those works, which may justify the assertions presented in briefer form here and answer some of the questions this book raises for me. I cannot help wondering if much of what Kim seeks to affirm in this re-imagining may be done without importing the conception of Chi into the conversation, which seems to me to blur the distinctions of Christianity and other religious beliefs. Nevertheless, I do want to affirm both her important focus on pneumatology and its importance in bringing liberation and transformation for the oppressed and power for all of us to love the other.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
(less)
Grace Ji-Sun Kim writes about the experience of immigrants and women from a first person perspective. As a child, her family emigrated to Canada where she experienced racism as she was mocked and treated as the other because she was from Korea. She also experienced sexism in the strongly patriarchal church her family became a part of in their conversion to Christianity. In the introduction of this book addressing the embrace of the other, and how a re-imagined understanding of the Spirit of God can speak powerfully to the marginalization of the other, she begins with her own painful experience, and then widens the scope.
First, she turns to the foreign women of the Bible, and particularly to the foreign wives of Ezra and Nehemiah, who were "put away," expelled as unclean so the Jewish community could purify itself, and then to Hosea as a word of hope for the importance of all women. She then considers the racial experience of Asian Americans, the "almost white" or "model minority" who are nevertheless, always "foreign," even if they have been citizens for generations. The experience of women compounds this marginalization as they are often subordinated in both home and in ethnic congregations. Kim goes back and traces this experience through western imperialism and colonial experience down to the present. She then outlines the history of feminism, from the outliers of Rahab and Ruth in scripture, to both white feminist and global feminist theologians. It is in this context that she introduces the appeal of the spiritual experience of God to ethnic minority women that allows approaches to God that are relational, life- and other-affirming, and not shaped by Western patriarchal and discriminatory structures.
All of this lays the groundwork for Kim's own pneumatological proposal of the Spirit-Chi of God. This at once draws on the Spirit of Shalom in scripture that sets things right and brings wholeness and connection, and the concept of "Chi" in many cultures--the life energy or spirit that inhabits us all. She believes this connection of Spirit with Chi enables a conversation across cultures and faith that allows for fundamental human connection, or embrace as we tap into the enabling power of the Spirit. She also relates this work of the Spirit to erotic live, the powerful connection between human beings, hence the subtitle of "The Transformative Spirit of Love." For women who struggle with the "male" persons of the Trinity (although beyond gender in human terms), Spirit can be a powerful and transforming means both of engaging God and pursuing the shalom of God in the world.
Kim's description of the experiences of racism and sexism, particularly among Asian-American women, speaks out against how both church and society oppress. To address how our pneumatology (theology of the Spirit) empowers the embrace of the other is a vital and needed area of theological work in moving beyond sentimental expressions of being "One in the Spirit" to substantive talk about oneness with the other.
The most controversial elements of this work are the association of Spirit with Chi, and the discussion of erotic love. I personally did not have difficulty with the latter, believing that the redemptive work of God extends to our most basic loves and restores them to God's creation intent. The power of the Spirit of God to work through even our most primal and embodied affections to forge strong human bonds is not to be looked down upon, but may be foundational in many instances in growth into agape love. More troublesome was the idea of Chi-Spirit. I think there definitely is a point of contact between the biblical idea of the human spirit and concepts of "spirit" or "life force" or "energy" that is worth exploring in inter-religious conversation. It is the equation of this and the Spirit of God in singular, rather than distinctive or even complementary terms that was troubling, and could be construed as a form of pantheism. I find myself wondering whether the transformation of which she speaks need involve the regenerative and sanctifying work of the Spirit resulting from faith in the redemptive work of Christ, or simply by increasing one's chi.
I'm hesitant in raising this as a white male, given the framing of this discussion in terms of race and gender. I think it can be reductionistic and dismissive to consign much of the church's historic discussion of the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity to white, male, hegemonic discourse (my words, not Kim's) without argument. This is particularly so given the involvement of Near Eastern and African Christians in the early church councils, including the Cappadocian Basil the Great who wrote one of the earliest formulations of Christian teaching on the Holy Spirit. Also, one of the most potent forces in global Christianity is Pentecostalism, where the empowering fullness of the Holy Spirit energizes mission across cultural boundaries. I was surprised that a book on the transformative work of the Spirit, empowering love for the other, does not address this vibrant movement.
In fairness, Kim has written elsewhere in greater depth on these subjects including her reimagining project relating the Spirit and Chi (visit her website for a list of her publications). I have not read those works, which may justify the assertions presented in briefer form here and answer some of the questions this book raises for me. I cannot help wondering if much of what Kim seeks to affirm in this re-imagining may be done without importing the conception of Chi into the conversation, which seems to me to blur the distinctions of Christianity and other religious beliefs. Nevertheless, I do want to affirm both her important focus on pneumatology and its importance in bringing liberation and transformation for the oppressed and power for all of us to love the other.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
(less)
