have brought us to the brink of ecological disaster, but alsohavecontinuedtheinjusticebetweennations.Growingchasmsbetweenthehavesandthehave-nots,increasedtensionbetweenraces,andexpectedviolencebetweenhumanbeingsofdifferentsexualorientationmaybeattributedtothedualismsconfirmedbyearlyEuropeanthought.For me, what is at stake is the destiny of the planetanditspeoplesaswetravelinthisbeautifulbluedotaroundthegalaxieswithathousandsuns.America,theNew World, was invented as the place where the EuropeanUtopiacouldbefulfilled.Columbushimselfwascertainthat this was the location of the Garden of Eden, a theorythatpersistedwellintotheseventeenthcentury.2TheAmericastodayareinhabitedbypeoplesoftheentireWHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?81globe who have come here in search of a better place, theirpersonal utopia. Here then, w'e have the opportunity togive shape to a science, philosophy, theology' and anthro-pology' reflecting the utopian ideals of all cultures. By see-ing themselves in the reformulations of what is the optimalhuman community all cultures can come to an awarenessoftheiruniqueandirreplaceablecontributiontothehuman quest and of the totality of the human contributionto the unfolding of the universe with its ultimate meaning.This meaning is not defined by one faith tradition, butdefined by all the faith traditions that have proven theirdurabilityandvitality.Fromthisperspective,wemustceasetalkingaboutecumenismasadialoguebetweenChristianity and the so-called “world religions,” and beginto speak about dialogue with the religions of the world,especially with the ancient ones of our continent and alsothose that have emerged as the syncretistic response to theinterminglingofChristianitywithAfricanandNativeAmerican spiritualities and cosmologies.This continent is the result of the convergence for thefirst time in history of peoples from the entire globe. TheEurope of 500 years ago was based on the partial insightsof Greco-Roman philosophy and law, forged in constantpolitical and religious wars, that have left us with inade-quate understandings of women, children, sexuality, reli-gious experience, the nature of human knowledge and ofrelations with those of other races. Today, the Americashave assembled the largest cadre of scholars from all races,religious and philosophical traditions who can empower usto see the biases of one perspective.In order to give birth to a new Christology, we mustbegin with a thorough critique of our Western tradition.This critique should not be fashioned from the feministviewpoint only, because the feminist viewpoint, in itself,does not encompass enough of what needs reworking. An
