Churrasco
A Theological Feast in Honor of Vítor Westhelle
Edited by Mary (Joy) Philip, John Arthur Nunes and Charles M. Collier
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
Just as a churrasco is a Brazilian barbecue of a variety of meats, Churrasco skewers together an ebullient and eclectic assortment of theological texts from around the world to honor and celebrate one of Brazil's most eclectic and creative theologians, Vitor Westhelle. Churrasco brings together different fields and disciplines, transgressing boundaries and allowing them to seep into each other. Though predominantly Lutheran, the authors hail from various denominations and contexts. Poised between in-depth doctrinal and practically reflective essays are poetically creative pieces. The contributions are exemplars of how to develop and foster language for God-talk and how to appropriate our God-talk in relationships with fellow human beings and with the environment. The topical range is wide and spans from the theology of the cross, to eschatology, postcolonialism, ecumenism, science and religion, the erotic, otherness, experience, literature, poetry, and the reformer Martin Luther. Unfettered by a common theme, the essays nevertheless connect and weave a tapestry; they raise key questions and they challenge theologians not only to rethink traditional concepts and contemporary views but also to reevaluate the task of theology itself.
Mary Philip currently is staff at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and is adjunct faculty at Lewis University, but will soon move to take up the position of Assistant Professor for Lutheran Global Theology and Mission at Waterloo Seminary/Wilfrid Laurier University at Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
John Arthur Nunes serves as the president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief (LWR), an international relief and development agency that works to end poverty, injustice, and human suffering worldwide. He is the author of Voices from the City: Issues and Images of Urban Preaching.
Charlie Collier is an editor at Wipf and Stock Publishers. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife, Erin, a United Methodist minister, and two children, Elijah and Rowan.
"These essays embody a many-limbed and luscious theology. It vibrates, stretches, sings, provokes, and caresses. I recommend it to thinkers concerned with space--postcolonial or ecological; with theopoetics in literature, Scripture, or doctrine; with grace under torment or in love; and even with Luther."
--Catherine Keller, Drew University
"Westhelle's writing, wisdom, and theological influence reverberate around the globe. This collection is a fitting invitation to join in the spirit of accompaniment that marks Westhelle's work. I commend this feast of essays to anyone who wants . . . to enter the conversation on the ways God is working in the world."
--Robin Steinke, Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg
"The nineteen contributions offered here . . . echo Westhelle's vigilance to give voice to the voiceless and fearlessly shake the indifference of empires and the idols by which such powers seek legitimization. These essays expand on Westhelle's paradoxical approach to faith and thus engage culture, science, and theology by means of a profound critique informed by Martin Luther's theology."
--Mark Mattes, Grand View University
"How do we celebrate a theologian who continually draws our gaze to the incarnate God who is constantly, unexpectedly revealed in the margins, fissures, and cracks? Quite simply: you invite together a spectrum of voices spanning context and theological disciplines, and watch as in concert they produce what no single voice can--namely, a witness to the good news that there is one Cross. And that it is plural."
--Neal J. Anthony, Lead Pastor, United Lutheran Church
"These essays honoring Westhelle's work arrest, trouble, and delight. They also point a way forward in uncharted terrain. From around the world and across the disciplines, these authors converge to offer new ways of visioning divine things (theoria), new patterns for living in a world marked by the scandal of the cross (praxis), and new language for witnessing to the ecstatic reality in a world where 'my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways' (Isaiah 55:8)."
--Martha E. Stortz, Augsburg College
"A good churrasco is never eaten alone but enjoyed in the company of friends. And what a feast this book is! Flavors and textures of diverse origins come together in a theological dish as a tribute to one of the most original theologians the Lutheran tradition has ever produced: Vitor Westhelle."
--Guillermo Hansen, Luther Seminary
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