Idol and Grace: Traditioning and Subversive Hope

A theology of traditioning draws out the subversive hope of the gospels and the role of the marginalized in passing along the Christian message.

Traditioning refers to the whole process by which the Christian faith is passed along from generation to generation. At the core of this faith is the claim that God has begun to transform the world on the basis of God's universal compassion. This was the core message of the Jewish peasant who stands at the dawn of Christianity. But was Jesus right?

Many Christians have bet their lives on the hope that he was, and such subversive hope is the necessary core of Christianity. Yet, as Espín shows, the custodians of this hope are not necessarily the custodians of doctrine. Critical of Christianity's historical inclination to doctrinify the subversive hope of Jesus, Espín instead looks to the role of those on the margins, the disposables, as faithful keepers and traditioners of the Christian message.