Solidarity and the incarnation

This paper will discuss how the doctrine of the incarnation informs practices of solidarity in the public and political spheres through the work of two South African activists and theologians, Rev Dr Allan Boesak and Dr Denise Ackermann. I will begin with explicating Ackermann’s task of theology, its ground in praxis and human experience, which will lead to a discussion of stories and theology. As we begin to listen to the stories of those around us, we find we need an account of human agency and the particular stories we are told of the incarnation through the Eucharist . Defining solidarity will be the next task, which will begin with Boesak’s discussion of “critical solidarity”, or solidarity between powerful parties. We will then continue to construct our definition of solidarity through Boesak’s model of black solidarity as explicated in his dissertation, Farewell to Innocence. Finally, I will synthesize a theology of solidarity in conclusion to this conversation.