Book Review: Decolonizing Christianity: Becoming Badass Believers

Abstract

way led her, a Presbyterian minister, to develop what she calls a Spirit-Chi theology. Her research looking for a female divine led her to Sophia wisdom, but she found that not all religions have a concept of wisdom while all have a concept of Spirit. This discovery sparked her interest and led her to abandon her wisdom Christology and replace it with a search for Chi in Christian texts. The translation of Chi is wind, spirit, breath or energy which resonated with ruach in the Hebrew Bible. Grace comments on how important it is to decentre the English language in a postcolonial theology; there are at least 65,000 languages in the world, and so priority to one is nonsensical. Chinese doctors had discovered chi before Western doctors understood blood flow in the body and noted how important it is for health. Once chi is blocked, ill health follows, but it can be unblocked with acupuncture. This physical and embodied nature of chi makes the idea of god even more embodied; chi is not some distant concept, it is the very health-giving energy in our bodies. This concept has huge theological significance as well as cultural resonance. Grace concludes that chi theology helps to rectify the worst excesses of white Christianity such as racism and sexism and even opens the way for interfaith dialogue. This is a short but powerful book which I would encourage people to read.