Idol and Grace

Overview

"Offers a theology of traditioning that is not only important for Catholics but for the wider Christian community . . . . I highly recommend it."--Kwok Pui-Lan

"At once elegant and edgy, by turns traditional and avant-garde. The Christian faith is lucky to have such a skillful expositor."--Mary E. Hunt

"Opens up a marvelous and challenging angle of vision to explore God's ongoing revelation in the world . . . A very, very good read."--Emilie M. Townes

“Traditioning” refers to the whole process by which the Christian faith is passed along from generation to generation. At the core of this faith lies the claim that God has begun to transform the world by way of universal compassion as demonstrated in the life and message of the Jewish peasant who stands at the dawn of Christianity. But was Jesus right? Many Christians have literally bet their lives on it.

As Orlando Espin shows, the primary role in the process of Christian traditioning is not played by the custodians of doctrine. Espín looks instead to the role of those on the margins, the "disposables" as those most alert to the subversive hope of the Gospels, and thus as faithful “traditioners” of the Christian message.

Orlando O. Espín is professor of systematic theology at the University of San Diego and director of the Center for the Study of Latino/a Catholicism. His many books include The Faith of the People; Grace and Humanness; and (as editor with Míguel Díaz), From the Heart of Our People: Latino/a Explorations in Catholic Systematic Theology.