Liberal, modern approaches to theology have tended to silence voices from the margins. This book offers an alternative, feminist theological approach that more adequately addresses issues of diversity and marginalization. It critically examines and combines aspects of four different feminist approaches: Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza’s critical modern, Mary McClintock Fulkerson’s poststructural, Kwok Pui-lan’s postcolonial, and Kathryn Tanner’s postliberal. This alternative, feminist theological approach is then used to examine how a liberal, mainstream Protestant denomination has dealt with issues of sexual orientation and gender. Particular attention is given to biblical interpretation as shaped by community, the role of traditional doctrine, assumptions of authority and revelation, and communities of accountability.

The Author: Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd received her Ph.D. in systematic theology and feminist theory, and she is an ordained minister. She is Coordinator of the In-Community Program for Ordination (a field-based educational program for ministry candidates) in The United Church of Canada. In addition to writing articles in professional and popular journals, she is currently editing a forthcoming book on theologies from the Canadian Margins.