Thinking from the well: A theological imaginary of charity and justice for development in contexts of scarcity

This dissertation explores the intersection of international development discourse and Christian theology. By looking through the lens of development relationships in Uganda I attempt to identify possibilities for coherent expressions of development and Christian identity in the midst of negotiation amidst global economic and political forces marked by extreme imbalances of wealth and power. This dissertation is bookended by the first chapter in which I outline a history of development relationships in Uganda and agents within that particular history, and a final chapter in which I locate the process of economic, political, and theological discernment around a water well in Uganda. By starting and ending the conversation in a particular context I hope to provide specificity to discernment and practice of theology in a world where basic life resources such as clean water are scarce for many.;One of the primary problems that this dissertation seeks to address is a disjunction between concepts of charity and justice within global development relationships. In chapter two I seek to articulate a political framework for international development relationships consistent with Christian confession. Through an historical analysis of global economic and political structures, one thing that becomes evident is a disconnect between justice and charity that is incongruent with biblical covenantal theology, the revelation of God at work in the world in the person of Jesus Christ, and a great deal of historical theo-political contemplation. Therefore, I draw from the work of Christopher Morse in an attempt to imagine a "christomorphic shaping of human affairs" that guides Christian participation in the life of God and in social relationships within a given context consistent with justice-charity embodied in Jesus Christ. Such a practice reveals distinct economic differences between divine transcendence and notions of transcendence that emerged in the Enlightenment, which have taken institutional form. In chapter three I aim to show how divine transcendence contributes to theological alternatives to conceptions of charity driven by contemporary global capitalist transcendence. I identify charity as a term that signifies the power through which it is employed, a pivotal concept in distinguishing economic possibilities grounded in confession of God as Creator, incarnate in Jesus Christ, and present in the work of the Holy Spirit. Ontological and relational claims for divine transcendence set parameters for coherent economic and political relational possibilities. I draw from Kathryn Tanner's work to explore implications of the noncontrastive nature of relationships between God and creation for conceptions of development within the created order. I will do this by examining charity and justice as interrelated terms characteristic of the power of God in the world. In chapter four I explore possibilities and limitations for discernment of development relationships in light of radical divine immanence in the person of Jesus Christ and in the work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, I will explore conceptual and practical possibilities for christomorphic justice-charity in development relationships. This proposal takes shape in chapter five around the water well in rural Uganda, which represents a nexus of relationships extending from family, tribe, clan, religious institutions, nations, corporations, and non-government organizations that work within a particular economic context that is now truly global.