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Dualities – A Theology of Difference

Reviewed by Richard Dormandy.

Michelle Voss Roberts is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, and the former co-chair of the Comparative Theology Group of the American Academy of Religion.

If you ever reflect on the inter-related nature of our world or how to understand the inner life (perichoresis) of the Trinity, this book will offer a rich resource of new metaphors, images, and ideas.

It is the first book I have read on Comparative Theology – feminist or otherwise – and knowing I was out of my depth, I was a little wary. The almost impenetrable Foreword by John J Thatamanil did not help, but within a few pages, Michelle Voss Roberts had won me over with her clear style and structure, avoidance of jargon, and apt quotation from her two sources.

Voss Roberts is interested in dualities, and argues that these need not be always reduced to stark dualism. She considers themes from the work of two female medieval ascetic mystics: Mechthild of Magdeburg and Lalleswari of Kashmir. Immediately we sense two very different world views in the Hindu and Christian outlooks; immediately we suspect a split between body and soul; immediately we anticipate a sharp division between human and divine. But Voss Roberts shows that this is not always the case.

Delving into some of the rich poetry and visionary writing of Lalleswari and Mechthild, she shows how they follow similar themes in their love and longing for God. Considering the body, she finds that, for both women, it proves not only a prison but also a partner in the human quest for ultimate liberation. In terms of human relationships, she affirms the important place of reaching out to others within the vision of these two very solitary and unusual spiritual people. Furthermore, she asserts the value of hierarchy as long as there is within it the fluidity which pervades her two subjects' world views.

Nonetheless, there are key differences between Lalleswari and Mechthild, as between Trinitarian belief and monism. “For Christians the world does not disappear when God ‘closes his eyes’ as it does in the case of Siva... The Trinity creates genuinely non-identical centres of consciousness so that they can enter into loving relation” (p76-77). For me, it was quite liberating to be able to notice and affirm the overlap between Hindu and Christian imagery while rejoicing in our differences.

Fluidity is a key word in this book. Reflecting on the flow of God's Spirit into our lives – being one with us, yet remaining quite separate – helped me perceive the interflow of the Trinity as three persons in one God.

For most busy ministers this will prove a meaty but rewarding book, with potential to stimulate thought in many directions.