on the theological development of other genitive theologies. This has occurred in the Western
tradition with the lack of voices in evangelical feminist theology and the dominant voice of
Caucasian men. Throughout the history of the church, the dominant theology has often oppressed
women and viewed them as inadequate and incomplete. Yet, the solution is not to simply separate
these two genitive theologies.
31
In all societies women and men are needed if for no other reason
than procreation. Beyond this, a cultural mixture of women and men can be a great benefit in that
the missing theological voices already share many common cultural experiences, such as
geographical location. If this resource, these missing voices, is not tapped or allowed to surface, the
dominant genitive theology will suffer in ignorance; the muted genitive theology will consequently
not be able to obtain as high a level of relevancy when encountering the theology that pervades the
larger culture.
Many evangelical genitive theologies have been ostracized, the victims of unwarranted
evasion. Constructive dialogue needs to occur. This move towards openness requires humbleness
and awareness. There must also be a desire on the part of a particular evangelical theological
community to be transformed. In order for evangelicals across the globe to move forward as one
body, all must allow others to analyze, critique, confirm and correct the experiences they embrace
and the theology they have developed. The experience and theology of one community does not
hold all truth but together the net of communities can work toward truth.
Is an Evangelical Genitive Theology Possible?
In this paper I have affirmed the possibility of an evangelical genitive theology.
Realistically, developing an evangelical theology that is not in some sense genitive is impossible.
Theology is developed by people, including ourselves, who are undeniably working from a web of
30
Hiebert, "Cultural Differences and the Communication of the Gospel," p. 378.