When I completed my dissertation on the grace of microbial theology—on the way in which God meets people by microorganisms—I went in quest of my previous kombucha brewing barrel. I discovered it behind the greenhouse, with an deserted chicken’s nest inside. The aggressive tempo and calls for of classical theology had pulled me from the very flesh of the world I sought to theologize. I discovered that among the theologians whose earthy prose drew me to review theology within the first place had been no completely different—their lives equally poor within the spherical rhythms of home life. The steadiness is precarious. As of late, as a microbial theologian, I work in a fermentation lab, the place, if something, my theological method has gone the way in which of that previous kombucha barrel, whereas the microbes take heart stage. Throughout good weeks I handle to weave theology again into the labor of getting the chapter written and meals from soil to the desk. This messier mixture of microorganisms, soil, and supper makes for a slower theology, a slimmer CV, and hopefully a heartier theologian.
—Aminah Al-Attas Bradford is an Arab American scholar of faith and Christian thought at North Carolina State College.
It is late after I get residence. I throw down my bag, jab on the oven, and dump substances on the counter—white beans, tomato paste, lemon, garlic, rosemary, mozzarella, parmesan. However the meals resists my velocity. Rinsing, zesting, mincing, grating, I’m slowed by the care these actions require. I waver on the threshold of labor and leisure, feeling the pull to complete the duty of meal-making and the divine invitation to please in it. The toil of the day clings to me. Sautéing, stirring, and baking, I watch the substances soften after which harden once more, remodeling into the meal. Spoon in hand, I assent to my very own end-of-day transformation, hovering close to the flame that melts this threshold of relaxation and labor.
—Natalie Carnes is a constructive theologian at Baylor College.
Abuelita theology is a theology birthed by lo cotidiano, the on a regular basis. It isn’t lofty however casual. Some name abuelita theology “kitchen theology” as a result of it’s shaped within the kitchen—whereas frijoles negros (black beans) are simmering on the range, the ground is being mopped, and the cafecito (espresso) is brewing. Abuelita theology takes type whereas relations are sitting round la mesa (the desk) discussing la lucha, the battle of on a regular basis life. Abuelita theology as a kitchen theology displays the superbly communal and pure formation of religion in la cocina, the kitchen. Nevertheless, this actuality is true primarily as a result of our abuelitas are sometimes relegated to la cocina as a result of existence of machismo. Thus, abuelita theology inhabits an advanced, interstitial area.
—Kat Armas is a Cuban American theologian and writer of Abuelita Religion (2021 Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group), from which this passage is excerpted with permission.
