Customer Reviews

Longing for Running Water: Ecofeminism and Liberation (Biblical Reflections on Ministry)

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I read Longing for Running Water by Gebara several years ago. This book threatens some individuals and inspires others. A good friend, a Benedictine monk, described it as devoid of any Christology; yet, another friend overhearing this, a woman, commented, "Since when do you know anything about a woman's point of view on Christ?" To me, as a lifelong Catholic and a theology student, Gebara upset the apple cart of my naive, male-centered beliefs. Her emphasis on understanding "how we know what we know" (epistemology) and her introduction of these concepts to poor Brazilian women made me reexamine the experience of how I came to think what I thought I knew. If liberation theology called us to perceive the world from the underside of history, namely the poor, Gebara inspires us to understand the perspective of the underside of the underside, the poor women of the world, who are oppressed by the oppressed, the poor male, who can only kick down. Ivone Gebara may not be extensively read, undoubtedly because of Rome's silencing, but she deserves to be.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet Ivone Gebara and discuss dimensions of this book with her in an ethics classroom setting. Gebara distinguishes herself from other well known eco-feminists like Sallie McFague in her liberationist perspective on eco-feminist theology. Eco-feminist theology is a range (often described as shades of green) of positions and as a Catholic Gebara firmly holds to a trinitarian doctrine of God unlike some eco-feminist positions. The format of this book in one of the later chapters (5?) addresses typical objections to eco-feminist positions (like accusations of pantheism). Readers who feel particularly challenged by eco-feminist perspectives may want to read this chapter first before reading the earlier sections.

The joy of Gebara's book lives in her solidarity with her neighborhood and her deep connection to the soil that neighborhood occupies. She begins most of her reflections (even if not stated explicitly in the text) with concrete situations from her neighborhood and reflects theologically toward creative responses to various situations (like frequency of trash removal). Eco-feminism will challenge male-dominated, human centered theological perspectives. Gebara's liberationist reading will further challenge these androcentric and economically privileged opinions about God and creation.

Brilliant marriage of eco-feminism and liberation theology, from one of Latin America's greatest theologians. A must-read for any serious student of theology, or lay person with an interest in these critical issues.

In the 1970s and 1980s, feminist theologians offered some necessary and powerful critiques of both the patriarchal nature of the Bible and of historical Christianity, especially of the Roman Catholic Church. While grappling with the tradition, each needed to determine whether to "retrieve" the tradition (e.g., Elisabeth Schussler-Fiorenza) or to move "beyond" it (e.g., Mary Daly).

Gebara, although a member of a Catholic religious community in Brazil, clearly places herself in the latter category. Sadly, she does this not with a clear and strong critique, but with a weak form of pantheism that flows out of the "new universe" movement of people like Thomas Berry and Brian Schwimme. Sad, because both the ancient Israelites and Jesus of Nazareth had great reverence for Creation, but expressed it by recognizing the Presence and power of the Creator, intimately available as Father/Mother. Gebara would substitute "the Sacred Body" of earth and proclaim "we must save one another."

If you are interested in New Age self-help, you might enjoy this book. But if you're looking for theology in a woman's voice that engages the Christian tradition on behalf of the world's poor, look somewhere else, like to the now classic writings of Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day.

This book was horrible. There was no organization to it. The author speaks of Christianity through an ecofeminist perspective. The book would have been better off just focusing on women and the environment, without the addition of her "new age" Christianity.

This book and others like it have lead to the stale intellectualism that is dominant in much of the West's theology departments today. It was, by far, the worst book I've had to read on way to getting my education. Flawed arguments abound and the writing is stereotypical of feminist writers. Lots of steam with absolutely no content.

On the plus side Ivone Gebara does not come across as an angry male hating feminist so that was unique to her book.