Cover image for Untouchable bodies and divine possessions :  a comparative theology of liberation.
Untouchable bodies and divine possessions : a comparative theology of liberation.
Title:
Untouchable bodies and divine possessions : a comparative theology of liberation.
Author:
Samuel, Joshua.
ISBN:
9781369763782
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2017
Physical Description:
1 online resource (304 p.)
General Note:
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 78-10(E), Section: A.
Adviser: John J. Thatamanil.
Abstract:
Comparative theology is a young and promising discipline where texts from different religious traditions are carefully studied, critically compared and systematically theologized. Through its commitment for deep, dynamic and respectful interreligious learning and engagement, comparative theology has certainly initiated and modelled new and exciting ways of doing theology. However, as promising as it is, as a Dalit theologian, I find that comparative theology's prioritization of texts, over-compartmentalization of religious traditions for the sake of comparison and indifference to issues of structural injustice---especially caste injustice---to be problematic. And looking at Dalit theology as a comparative theologian, its Christian-centrism is a concern that cannot be overlooked. It is in this sense I suggest that a critical dialogue between comparative theology and Dalit theology can help and enhance the commitments and relevance of both the disciplines. Therefore, by integrating and interweaving the salient features of both comparative theology and Dalit liberation theology, I suggest and argue for a comparative theology of liberation that is people centric, interreligious and committed to the liberation of the oppressed. Building on this foundation, I study and compare divine possessions, i.e. embodiment of the divine in the bodies of the Dalit devotees and believers, using ethnographic research and drawing upon religious and anthropological scholarship, and interpret them as moments of resistance against caste oppression. Based on this comparison and interpretation, I construct a comparative theology of liberation, theologizing divine possessions as moments of kairos when God's liberative presence and power become visible in untouchable bodies.
Local Note:
School code: 0238.
Electronic Access:
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Thesis Note:
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Union Theological Seminary, 2017.
Field 805:
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