Dancing with God: The Trinity from a Womanist Perspective

by Karen Baker-Fletcher

Dancing With God is an exploration of the divine gifts of courage and grace in the face of evil. Moreover, it is a doctrine of God as the source of that courage. Baker-Fletcher presents an understanding of the work of the Trinity with regard to the problem of crucifixion, a metaphor she uses for unnecessary violence. She develops a process of relational, womanist theology that considers the empathetic omnipresence of God in the midst of unnecessary suffering and the healing power of God in movement of the Holy Spirit. She engages the contributions of a diversity of theologians like Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, Gordon Kaufman, John Cobb, Jr., Majorie Suchocki, Charles Hartshorne, Andrew Sung Park, and Katie Cannon in her discussion of the dance of the Trinity in creation, and the problem of sin, evil, and suffering. Through creative works like that of Alice Walker's The Color Purple and journalist Joyce King's account of the James Byrd, Jr. murder in Jasper County, Texas, Baker-Fletcher reveals the healing, encouraging power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of survivors of unnecessary violence.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Christian, Faith, Nonfiction

212 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Karen Baker-Fletcher is Professor of Systematic Theology at Southern Methodist University's Perkin's School of Theology.

Reviews

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me a lot of food for thought. At times I found it too orthodox, almost dogmatic in upholding teachings of the dry and dusty church fathers but it ran a careful and scholarly criticism over them and I guess I couldn't expect a real theologian working inside a church to be as post-church as I mostly am.

Baker-Fletcher looks at the problem of evil in the world, she touches on natural disasters and such but mainly focuses on the intentional evil caused by humans, zooming in particular on racist crimes in the US (probably because she is from there). I found a lot of her problematisation around the idea of human cruelty and hate quite useful in the context of what is currently happening in Australia (and some other places) with refugees. She uses words like "sin" and "evil" a lot and talks about punishment, and calling to account more than I am comfortable with.

On the other hand she is talking about people who commit hate crimes.

I found Baker-Fletcher's careful discussion and conclusions useful. There were no easy answers, there is no convenient, easy theology of comfort there. She speaks out of a black womanist's experience of great suffering and hope-against-hope but to the almost despairing at times soul it is compelling (if orthodox) stuff.

I found it very interesting and helpful that Baker-Fletcher integrated her own Protestant thinking with Catholic currents of thought as well. But there is not much room for agnostic or rationalist streams of thought here.

If you "do church" and wonder about evil in the world I strongly recommend this courageous and hard-talking book. And no it doesn't throw around guilt!

[Cana · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read. Baker-Fletcher really shows off her interpretive and theological talents in this work on the Trinity. I used this as the basis for a paper I wrote, and her efforts allowed me to do way more theological work because of how well she gathered, cited, structured, and constructed her book.

[John Lussier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fletcher writes about the presence of the Triune God in a world full of suffering and crucifixion. From a number of perspectives (Christians Orthodoxy first and foremost) she writes that the Triune God is present everywhere as a dance of healing in this world of evil. It is this divine communal dance that is the source of courage and overcoming of evil through healing and forgiveness that the world needs. God redeems suffering *by* overcoming it in his divine presence that heals and resurrects. The world is invited to join in this dance of healing and overcoming evil.

[Luke Hillier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book held a number of surprises for me, the most significant of which was that, in many ways, this book isn't actually an examination of the Trinity, or at least that's not how I would describe its core focus. Instead it reads more as an exploration of what it means to endure in a world marked by suffering and the ways that God, through the unique gifts of each person of the Trinity, equip followers of Jesus to do so. She engages broadly with a wide cast of theologians, artists, and activists, from Paul Tillich and Monica Coleman to Augustine and Athanasius to Alice Walker and Sojourner Truth. From a distinctly womanist perspective, she draws compelling comparisons of lynching to crucifixion (and this was published 5 years before The Cross and the Lynching Tree) and articulates the powerful ways that God enables Black women in particular to receive a resurrected life of healing and freedom that empowers Christians to offer that to others.

However, the first surprise was discovering that it was categorized within the realm of Process/Relational theology. Given that I've been cultivating a growing interest in that stream of thought, this was really exciting at first, however I was then surprised again to see the careful ways that Baker-Fletcher distinguishes herself against and apart from those theological approaches. And, true to form, unlike some others from that camp that I've read, Baker-Fletcher employs a meticulous use of Scripture as the foundation for her theological exploration and the conclusions she arrives at, as well as a dedicated loyalty to tradition within the church and canon. At times, then, it felt like she was trying to have her cake and eat it too, or jumping through so many hoops just to argue she was still within the realm of "historical orthodoxy." With that said, I actually came to really appreciate her unwillingness to pledge loyalty to Whiteheadian thought in total and in reality am much, much more represented by her integrative relational approach than that as well (something this helped me to understand and articulate, for sure!). For example, she spends a good bit of time wrestling with the notion of God's "omnipotence" and "impassibility." Like most relational/process theologians, she takes issue with the idea of God's capability to intervene and halt injustice and evil and refusal to do so, as well as the idea that God is an "immovable mover" who isn't able to be affected by the experiences of God's creation. However, she's also unwilling to disregard these notions outright, and instead utilizes Scripture to build a compelling argument against both notions, ultimately arguing that God -is- omnipotent and impassible in that the Creator is incapable of being destroyed by creation and that God does posses that level of power and impassibility, but not to the aggrandized level that a contemporary (neo-)Calvinist would suggest.

The writing could be especially dense and academic at times, especially when Baker-Fletcher is parsing about her opinions and ideas in contrast to others and you have to read so closely to follow the unique stream she is carving out for herself. I also found a certain level of repetitiveness and even redundancy at times; there are many repeated "catchphrases" that she employs which offer a sense of consistency but also led to a reading that at times felt clunky, jumbled, and heavy-handed. With that said, I'm definitely grateful to have read it, especially for the final two chapters which felt like a real climax or her ideas and arguments. Some important takeaways that I really appreciated:

1. Her engagement with previous womanist arguments or stances and the integrative approach she took to bridge them towards more orthodox understandings. For example, she isn't afraid to criticize Alice Walker's pantheistic views (acknowledging that Walker herself identified as a pagan) while bouncing off her ideas to argue for a panentheistic theology of God's omnipresence. Even more impressively, I was deeply moved by her engagement with Delores Williams in rejecting her dismissal of the crucifixion as a fundamentally oppressive staple of Christianity that endorses redemptive suffering to instead argue that the crucifixion is crucial as a "once and for all" event that demands "redemptive overcoming" from all Christians. Relatedly, she also has a lively detour into the Christus Victor atonement theory over and against the Ransom and Penal Substitution theories that was really robust.
2. The final chapter includes one of the most amazing and impactful articulations of the Holy Spirit that I've encountered! Truly just a really stunning, beautiful, and powerful understanding of the Holy Spirit as a uniquely significant member of the Trinity who equips us to "live in the land of the living" by offering resurrection and healing in the face of evil and suffering. It's likely a chapter I'll revisit for more contemplative and devotional reflection, which certainly isn't always the case in academic texts like this.

[Chris Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baker-Fletcher does an amazing job taking some classical theological doctrines and putting a womanist, relational theological spin on them. As someone who works in the church with people who are often so shaped by classical Christian theology - sometimes unhelpful, unhealthy, or even harmful - I found so much helpful in her writing to rethink or reimagine such doctrines of the Trinity in more open-relational ways.

[5greenway · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Never less than interesting, although the 'interesting' bits could be a slog, but really hits home when the author, rather than her sources, takes centre stage. The sixth chapter ("The Pulse of God") is one of the best things I've read this year. Lots of bibliographic pointers to further reading.

[Steve Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baker-Fletcher writes constructive theology that integrates womanist sensibilities and process philosophy with orthodox, historical Christian faith.

Her work is an example and model of what I'm trying to do theologically, for which I'm grateful.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rating has as much to do with me as with the book itself, as a lot of the references to existing theology were over my head. There were many aspects of the book I liked a lot, including the thoughts on evil in the world and how we should respond to suffering. I felt that her beliefs about the Trinity, which were ostensibly the focus of the book, were never made entirely clear, as her explanations were bogged down with lots of descriptions of what other people believed, sometimes with cutting criticism about why they were wrong, but without a lot of straightforward explanation of what she believed was right. When she did explain her own thoughts, such as on evil and suffering, they were well done, so I wish her thoughts on the Trinity had been less scattered (again, this might just be me).

One thing that bothered me was the incorporation of Baker-Fletcher's two main examples, which were Vanessa Baker's choreography and Mamie Till-Mobley's response to her son's death. Rather than setting them up as two possible examples of living out what she was talking about, it came across as, "This person did this thing, therefore my entire theology is right." I was also bothered by the plethora of typographical errors throughout the book — mostly missing end quotation marks.

I would be open to reading more about womanist theology. I appreciate the idea that traditional theologies must necessarily fall short when they cannot incorporate the lived experiences of people of color and other historically oppressed groups. I would guess that this book, though, is a better introduction for those who already have a solid grasp on traditional theology.

[Rev. Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A text for one of my Brite courses in Fall 2016: "Theology I"-- From the publisher: Dancing With God is an exploration of the divine gifts of courage and grace in the face of evil. Moreover, it is a doctrine of God as the source of that courage. Baker-Fletcher presents an understanding of the work of the Trinity with regard to the problem of crucifixion, a metaphor she uses for unnecessary violence. She develops a process of relational, womanist theology that considers the empathetic omnipresence of God in the midst of unnecessary suffering and the healing power of God in movement of the Holy Spirit. She engages the contributions of a diversity of theologians like Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, Gordon Kaufman, John Cobb, Jr., Majorie Suchocki, Charles Hartshorne, Andrew Sung Park, and Katie Cannon in her discussion of the dance of the Trinity in creation, and the problem of sin, evil, and suffering. Through creative works like that of Alice Walker's The Color Purple and journalist Joyce King's account of the James Byrd, Jr. murder in Jasper County, Texas, Baker-Fletcher reveals the healing, encouraging power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of survivors of unnecessary violence.