the intellectual dynamics of North Atlantic culture. The danger here is a
verbal recognition that is accommodated only slightly at the methodologi-
cal level. Within such circumstances, the contextual nature of theologizing
becomes just one other feature to be incorporated in a wider theological
project. The problem, of course, is that in this presentation the theologi-
cal project itself is not contextualized but simply “given.” The theological
task here is only shown to be potentially contextual; it does not compel-
lingly suggest that the theological task is thoroughly contextual whenever
it is pursued. However, as Christianity has become increasingly dislodged
from its cultural prevalence in the West, as well as risen to be more promi-
nent and vital in non-Western settings, the latter point stands to be more
relevant and appealing as Christianity progresses through the twenty-fi rst
century. Or at least one can entertain such a hope.
Of the many options within the theological disciplines that could help
expose this neglect of theology’s “placedness” or “embeddedness,” the
domain of theological hermeneutics has signifi cant potential. After all, in
the act of interpretation, one might come face-to-face with the lenses one
uses, the authorities one assumes, and the life experiences one incorpo-
rates so as to make sense of the reality one beholds. Once again, abstrac-
tion needs be checked in this case since a conversation on theological
hermeneutics could also result in a proposal consisting of generalities and
abstractions. Resources are available in hermeneutics, however, to help
one both identify and resist this danger. And, of course, much is to be said
for usage and execution—just how one self-consciously goes about the
hermeneutical task.
In the following, two accounts will be briefl y considered for their impli-
cations within theological hermeneutics toward this sensibility of contex-
tualization. The fi rst will be a set of proposals on offer by Lyle Dabney,
a Methodist theologian who has been in dialogue with Pentecostal tradi-
tions. Dabney has called for a specifi c kind of theologizing on the part of
these traditions, one that begins with the “Third Article of the Creed.”
The second set of proposals will be from the fi eld of Latino/a theology,
particularly as this discipline has explored a particular dynamic within its
own context—that of theologizing en conjunto or “in community” and
out of “togetherness.” When coupled together, these can illuminate a vital
dimension of theologizing itself: the “on the ground” reality, the very
conditions in which this activity comes alive and takes shape. Such recog-
nitions are very much needed when theology is pursued and discernment
is pressed. Despite assumptions to the contrary, theological reasoning
198 D. CASTELO