Stephen Barkley
This book is a gift to the whole church. With its genesis in the 2019 Acadia Divinity College Hayward Lecture Series, Cherokee theologian Randy S. Woodley brings Western and Indigenous worldviews into contrast, clearly demonstrating the ways Indigenous perspectives more authentically align with the Kingdom of God.
The third chapter, “Decolonizing Western Christian Theology,” was the highlight for me. Woodley shares the results of his PhD project, an expansive grounded theory research study of North American Native communities seeking to identify the components of the Indigenous worldview, “the harmony way” (91). (To be clear, Woodley does not claim to speak for every Indigenous community, but he did study forty-five tribal groups. This study identified ten “core values” (92–4):
- Tangible spirituality/our spirituality must be practiced
- Our lives are governed by harmony
- Community is essential
- Humor is sacred and necessary
- Feeling of cooperation/communality
- Oral communications and traditions
- Present and past time orientation
- Open work ethic
- Great hospitality/generosity
- Natural connectedness to all creation
The titles of these values don’t do the research justice. As Woodley unpacks these core values, it becomes quickly evident that the harmony way aligns closely with the Jewish eschatological vision of shalom. Ironically (and painfully), colonization presented Jesus within a worldview and praxis that undermined the coming kingdom.
This book should be widely read and considered by North American pastors, whether Indigenous or not. We have much to learn.
Woodley, Randy S. Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine. Baker Academic, 2022. Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology.
