{"id":716,"date":"2014-04-30T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-30T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/04\/institutions-need-to-be-born-again-a-theology-of-institutional-inclusion.html"},"modified":"2014-04-30T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-30T19:00:00","slug":"institutions-need-to-be-born-again-a-theology-of-institutional-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/04\/institutions-need-to-be-born-again-a-theology-of-institutional-inclusion.html","title":{"rendered":"Institutions need to be Born Again (a theology of institutional inclusion)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
I suppose it\u2019s easier to focus on the \u201cgoodness\u201d and \u201cpreservation\u201d of institutions when they have historically been built for people who look a lot like you. For various reasons, my questions about institutions have mostly revolved around issues of inclusion and incorporation. How do I inhabit institutions that were never constructed with people like me in mind? What does it mean to honor a tradition and simultaneously work to extend it beyond itself?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
There are times when I\u2019m surprised by what I find inside of a theology book. Such was the case with Brian Bantum\u2019s\u00a0Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race and Christian Hybridity<\/em>. Bantum\u2019s work is a creative, interdisciplinary take on Christianity and questions of identity, drawing on literature, history, sociology, church history, and systematic theology. Ultimately, this book is about Christology and identity. Yet, tucked within the book\u2019s chapter on baptism are claims that\u2014in my opinion\u2014have very direct and practical implications for Christian institutions.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Bantum writes:<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\u201c\u2026in this baptismal moment there also lies the profound transformation of the community, for with every new member comes the possibility of transformation, change, and adaptation in its inclusion not only for the one welcomed, but for those who welcome. The body of Christ shifts and moves and learns new languages as it adds new members. Its body becomes new as the person becomes new. This transformation is not without shape or purpose. It is a body that recognizes it exists within that in which all difference is found. The church is that transgression of God\u2019s mercy against humanity\u2019s refusal and disobedience. It is God\u2019s presence in the midst of humanity\u2019s unfaithfulness. The church thus witnesses to the possibility of creation\u2019s transformation in its own transformation and its own incorporation of difference within itself.\u201d (159)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Read the rest here\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I suppose it\u2019s easier to focus on the \u201cgoodness\u201d and \u201cpreservation\u201d of institutions when they have historically been built for people who look a lot like you. For various reasons, my questions about institutions have mostly revolved around issues of inclusion and incorporation. How do I inhabit institutions that were never constructed with people like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nInstitutions need to be Born Again (a theology of institutional inclusion)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I suppose it\u2019s easier to focus on the \u201cgoodness\u201d and \u201cpreservation\u201d of institutions when they have historically been built for people who look a lot like\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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