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A Christian Theology of Marriage and the Family. By Julie Hanlon Rubio. New York: Paulist, 2003. xii + 241 pages. $19.95 (paper).

and revise Niebuhr’s theology as an indispensable resource for this feminist Christian realism. In the book’s first three chapters, Miles’ engagement with Niebuhr’s theology is an outstanding example of a close reading of texts. It is primarily here that she responds to common feminist criticisms of Niebuhr. For instance, to the charge that his theology is individualistic, Miles argues that the social nature of the self is acknowledged throughout his work. The next chapters of the book are admirably close readings of the theologies of Rosemary Radford Ruether and Sharon Welch. These readings are undertaken with an eye toward how their work illumines the problems and possibilities of Niebuhr’s theology as a resource for a feminist Christian realism. On the one hand, Miles argues that both theologians are representative of the problematic turn to immanence (Ruether) and context (Welch) in feminist theology. Ruether’s central notion of natural processes has only a fleeting sense of transcendence. Welch’s emphasis on the communal origin of all values provides no grounding for moral claims. On the other hand, Miles also argues that the theologies of Ruether and Welch illumine important categories where Niebuhr falls short in his service to feminist Christian realism. Ruether’s emphasis on nature as a source of norms corrects Niebuhr’s tentative acceptance of natural law. Welch’s evocation of the possibilities of communal life counters Niebuhr’s well-known skepticism about the moral prospects of society. Furthermore, the emphasis of Ruether and Welch on the divine presence in nature and community corrects Niebuhr’s belief that the primary revelation of God is Christ’s agapic love on the Cross. By drawing on these emphases of Ruether and Welch, Miles’ feminist Christian realism offers a broader understanding of revelation that includes the Cross as well as creation, liberation, incarnation, community, and the Holy Spirit. This is a dense but rewarding book. It is appropriate for scholars and upper level graduate students. Regrettably, the textual font is extremely small and makes the type difficult to read.