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Theologies: Latin American

Biblio Format Annotation
Amaya, Ismael E. "The Theology of Liberation." Theological Fraternity Bulletin (1974:3): 2-5. A 'new' theology has appeared in theological circles in the Latin American church in recent years--the theology of liberation. This new theology is the expression of the profound theological and intellectual concern of some thinkers with the ruling colonial state of oppression in the Third World countries. This 'new' theology expresses a consciousness of human misery which ought to be overcome. It endeavours to represent a Christian awakening of conscience to the situation of the I oppression of the masses and the need for their liberation. The Theology of Liberation is said to come from the unjust structural oppression of the capitalistic system, which, in turn, is the consequence of sin. Concludes: A correct theology of liberation ought to rest on a careful study which uses the disciplines used in biblical investigation, analyzing the facts of divine revelation, that God gives us in the Bible, in its efforts to redeem man, and it ought to be based on the infallible authority of Scripture alone. But that is not sufficient. In order to be relevant that theology ought to be related to our times, and it ought to have a function to fulfill the needs of our present world and provide answers for questions and anxieties both material, social and economic as well as spiritual.
Berryman, Phillip E. "Latin American Liberation Theology." In Theology in the Americas, ed. by Sergio Torres and John Eagleson, 20-83. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1976. In the original essay (1973), "Our purpose has been to mediate something of Latin American liberation theology to the North American theological community. Undoubtedly, in some ways it has seemed more journalism than theology, due to our conviction that this theology is best understood in context. We have been quoting and summarizing the thought of some of the principal theologians with little critical comment. In this final section we would like to situate it as theology. Is this theology? The question may be legitimately asked. It is not a direct study of the Bible or of tradition; it claims no new discovery of what revelation communicated in illo tempore. There are many nontheological elements and it becomes impossible to find a dividing line. It is theology inasmuch as it seeks to give a theological reading of the signs of the times and to decipher the concrete content of God's will for us." An appendix (1976) was added in which the discussion is extended in light of more recent writings that appeared in the mean time.
Bidegain, Ana Maria. "Women and the Theology of Liberation." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 105-20. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. I should like to present a historical view of the role of woman in Latin America. I shall focus on the notion of sexuality propagated in society by the Catholic Church, which used as mediators, in the twentieth century, women themselves, through Catholic Action--the same women who would one day help to create the theology of liberation. By way of conclusion, I shall indicate our search for new horizons--the quest for the foundation of a human and Christian relationship between men and women in church and society.
Bingemer, Maria Clara. "Women in the Future of the Theology of Liberation." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 473-90. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. It is audit time in Latin America. The theology of liberation is coming up to its twentieth birthday. It is time to look back to the past in order to be able to distinguish the present, and having distinguished it, to be able to desire and construct the future. It is time to ask some questions. After these twenty years of laborious construction and slow consolidation, what does the theology of liberation look like? What is its future? To answer these questions we have to look at the faces of those who have the leading roles in this theology, those without whom the theologians themselves and even Latin American theology would not exist-the poor and oppressed. It was their shouting that caused a disturbance and ended up echoing round the church until there was no escaping it-their passion and their imprisonment, their indestructible hope, the fire of their desire for liberation, conceived and brought into the world a new language for talking about the ancient and eternal truths of the Christian faith. Women in particular interest us most closely here. Their state of double oppression-by their socio-economic situation and by their sex-calls for the attention of society and the church. Their presence in the development of Latin American theology has recently been felt with increasing weight and frequency. Their ideas and their language have already been recognized as among the most serious and solid products of Latin American theology. This presence enjoyed by women in the theology of liberation enables us to hope for a bright and joyful future. From the mouths and hearts of these once silent and invisible workers for the kingdom there is now coming a message of jubilation that says, "Rejoice!" The half of humankind that thought of itself as absent from theology's discourse--and in particular from the theology of liberation--has now made itself present and is speaking. And this widens the horizon and helps us to see with more clarity the Absolute Future that goes out to meet those who wait in hope.
Blue, J. Ronald. "Major Flaws in Liberation Theology." Bibliotheca Sacra 147-585 (Jan.-March 1990): 89-103. Liberation theology critiqued from an informed and irenic conservative evangelical perspective. Explores conditions in Latin America, and the way Liberation theologies seek to address them.
Boff, Leonardo. "The Orginality of the Theology Liberation." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 38-48, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. The importance of Gustavo Gutierrez transcends the borders of Latin America because what he has created possesses a universal theological significance. His achievement has been to have helped to create a new epistemological field within Christian thought. Creators of an epistemological break--that is, of a new possibility of interpreting reality--are rare. In modern Western philosophy such creators have included Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Heidegger. In theology there have been Thomas Aquinas, Luther, Bultmann, Rahner. Gustavo Gutierrez has opened up a new and promising path for theological thinking; he has invented a new way of doing theology. The claim of the theology of liberation as a current within Christianity is to be a new way of thinking about God and everything connected with God. Liberation is not just one item on the theologians' list. It is a horizon against which everything is illuminated, a plane in which everything has a position and acquires new meaning. In other words, liberation is not just an entry in an encyclopedia alongside other entries. It is a perspective from which all the other terms are understood, analyzed, and explained.
Bonino, Jose Miguez. "Love and Social Transformation in Liberation Theology." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 121-29. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. There should not be any idealizing or romanticizing of the "spirituality" I have tried to characterize in this article. Together with all the forms of human weakness and sin, we find, however, a dominant "ethos" and a "project" that give coherence to the communities and this ethos and project can be best articulated around the "motif" of love. This, if we choose to put it in this way, is the subjective, personal, and communal side of the social and political activity just as the latter is the objective side of the ethos of love. To separate them is to misunderstand the whole movement.
Borrat, Hector. "Liberation Theology in Latin America." Dialog 13:3 (Summer 1974): 172-76. Early survey and introduction to Latin American liberation theology.
Calderon, Jorge Alvarez. "Peruvian Reality and Theological Challenges." In Irruption of the Third World: Challenge to Theology, ed. Virginia Fabella and Sergio Torres, 42-49. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983. In view of the extreme complexity of Peruvian reality, we selected a method of preparation for the New Delhi conference that consisted in participation in meetings of landworkers, urban laborers, and pastoral ministers in the several regions of the country. Thus we were able to engage in the problematic to be addressed by the fifth conference of EATWOT at the level of the life and experience of the communities themselves. Then, working at the Bartolome de Las Casas Research Center, we used the material gathered in these meetings to prepare the following presentation. Thus far, this has been a description and analysis of the context in which the life of our popular Christian communities is developing. These communities are a part of a poor mestizo people that grows by suffering. They are also a particularly vital and alive part of a church that, all during the course of these years, has been discovering-in spite of tensions-pathways of fidelity to the gospel in the concrete conditions in which the popular masses find themselves. Out of the practice of these communities, a faith reflection has gradually arisen. Its first formulations were achieved in 1968, with what is called theology of liberation. This reflection, this theology, marks a break with the stage that had gone before, in which theological reflection was presented in terms of a European problematic.
Canche, Facundo Ku. "Indigenous Theology: A Reformed Protestant Perspective." In Crosscurrents in Indigenous Spirituality: Interface of Maya, Catholic, and Protestant Worldview, ed. Guillermo Cook, 189-98. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1997. Elements of the religion of our ancestors which, in God's sovereignty, managed to survive until today, had an "evangelical" side to it--it was good news to the Maya people. In this essay, we would like to discover (in the sense of uncovering), in the light of the sacred traditions of the Mayas and the biblical record, the evangelical face of indigenous theology, with a view to providing some clues for a synthesis between indigenous beliefs and the gospel. Gamaliel's advice to the Sanhedrin continues to be valid: "In the present case I advise you: Leave these people alone!... For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" (Ac. 5:38,39).
Chopp, Rebecca S. "Latin American Liberation Theology." In The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology in the Twentieth Century, ed. David F. Ford, 173-92. Oxford: Blackwell, 1989. Chopp describes the ways in which Latin American liberation theology was influenced by Vatican II, political theology, and Marxism, and she defines clearly what is meant by praxis and liberation. She portrays a vigorous new genre of theology that expresses a fresh transformation of the Christian faith itself. She offers an original interpretation of the development of the theology of Gustavo Gutierrez, from a primary focus on the transformation of history through the praxis of the poor to a new 'more radical and constructive' centering on the God of faithfulness and love, who is manifested also in captivity, suffering, and exile. She then outlines the theology of Jose Miguez Bonino, before entering into the controversies about liberation theology and finally suggesting how it calls most modern theologies fundamentally into question and threatens them with rupture. In addition, at the opening and conclusion of her chapter she faces the problem of how those who are not poor might genuinely listen to this theology.
Cleary, Edward L. "Birth of Latin American Indigenous Theology." In Crosscurrents in Indigenous Spirituality: Interface of Maya, Catholic, and Protestant Worldview, ed. Guillermo Cook, 171-88. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1997. This chapter fulfills two purposes. It examines briefly a major set of religions of Latin America, religions which express Christianity in a manner distinct from mainline European or North American religion. In contrast to dominant Christianity which has lost touch with the earth, healing, and, to some extent, connectedness with one's ancestors, these religions offer an alternative which millions of practitioners consider superior. In addition to Christian versions, indigenous religions are also be non-Christian. Telling the difference has been one of the tasks of Diego Irarrazaval. A second purpose of this chapter is to mark the birth of Latin American indigenous theology. Liberation theology set the example in modern times of contextualizing theology, making theology rest clearly on foundations which not primarily European. The initiative of liberation theologians has influenced theologians and activists in various regions and has helped to spawn other Latin American theologies.
Colop, Moises. "Is Christ Being Resurrected among Indigenous People?" In Crosscurrents in Indigenous Spirituality: Interface of Maya, Catholic, and Protestant Worldview, ed. Guillermo Cook, 199-203. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1997. In order to immerse oneself in the difficult, yet fascinating, theological world of the Indians, the following aspects need to be taken into consideration: 1. Accept from the outset that it is another theology about the same God of Abraham, but with a different understanding. This in itself should not be difficult to accept, since their are a great variety of theological approaches within Christian theology. 2. Understand that indigenous theology is not a distortion of Christian theology, but rather a proximate theological expression in a language which is not ours (Spanish), and using methods that are not our own. 3. Receive indigenous theology with respect and equality, instead of prejudice and misunderstanding. One cannot do indigenous theology from a superior vantage point. Keeping these three facts in mind I would like to share a few insights that perhaps can help us develop familiarity and understanding regarding indigenous theology.
Cook, Michael L. "Jesus from the Other Side of History: Christology in Latin America." Theological Studies 44 (1983): 258-287. Is a Christology indigenous to Latin America possible? The response involves three considerations: 1) What are the methodological claims being made by liberation theologians in Latin America? 2) Are the results produced so far in Christology, especially by L. Boff and J. Sobrino, commensurate with the methodological claims? 3) If not, as the author believes, what would be the conditions for the possibility of a Christology truly indigenous to Latin America? such a possibility is seen to reside in the development of two movements in Latin America: the authentic retrieval of popular religiosity and its critical appropriation in popular Christian communities.
Costas, Orlando E. In Yearning to Breathe Free: Liberation Theologies in the United States, ed. Linda Rennie Forcey, Robert F. Hunter, and Mar Peter-Raoul, 28-44. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990.
Costas, Orlando E. "Sin and Salvation in Latin America." Theological Fraternity Bulletin (1981:3/4): 1-16. This paper attempts to understand the problem of sin and salvation in the Latin American context. Its purpose is the desire to strengthen the evangelizing message within our situation. In order to accomplish this purpose, in the first place we will have to give an exposition of sin and salvation in biblical thought. (Later we will explain why we believe it necessary to begin with the biblical message and not with the present situation.) In the second place, we will have to describe, though briefly, how sin and salvation have demonstrated their presence historically in Latin America. Finally, we will be obliged to present certain observations concerning evangelization in the situation of sin and salvation in which Latin America is living. The first point we will cover in the first two sections of this paper; the second, in the third section; the third, in the fourth section.
Costas, Orlando E. "The Subversiveness of Faith: A Paradigm for Doing Liberation Theology." In Doing Theology in Today's World: Essays in Honor of Kenneth S. Kantzer, ed. John D. Woodbridge and Thomas Edward McComiskey, 377-96. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1991. It remains for us to consider the challenge of the story of Esther as a liberating theological paradigm. I will pinpoint three issues of fundamental importance in doing liberation theology. First, the story of Esther challenges theology to take seriously the dual issue of racism and sexism. Liberation theologies, particularly in the Third World, usually stem from situations where the predominant concern is socioeconomic Class, rather than race or sex, is the issue they address. A second theological challenge I see in the story of Esther is a warning to Jews and Christians alike and by inference, to victims and oppressors. I have argued that the story of Esther is meaningful for Jews (and by inference, for Christians as well) and for all oppressed people everywhere. A third theological challenge posed by the story of Esther is in connection with the lack of a direct reference to God. . . . The story of Esther challenges us to think of God as a verb and not just as a noun, or as the one who is known in an through historical events as well as in the revelation of the holy name. The story of Esther represents a "word of action" rather than an "action of the word." Therefore it is an excellent paradigm of doing liberation theology in the land of Israel, Palestine, and the Americas.
Cox, Harvey. "Seven Samurai and How They Looked Again: Theology, Social Analysis, and Religion Popular in Latin America." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 229-39. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. Twenty years ago an unlikely combination of actors surveyed Latin America and saw a specter haunting the land. The specter was religion popular and the odd coalition that descried its threatening visage was made up of seven fierce warriors who normally viewed each other with considerable suspicion. It included (1) preatican II Roman Catholic integralists intent on holding the line; (2) post-Vatican I liturgical and theological reformers intent on changing it; (3) Protestant missionaries from North America and the local clergy they had trained; (4) Pentecostal preachers, nearly all of them Latin Americans; (5) liberal developmentalists from agencies such as IMF, AID, and the World Bank; (6) Marxist activists; and (7) liberation theologians. These seven samurai agreed on virtually nothing else. But they could-and did-join hands in common opposition to popular religion. What I wish to do now is to chart briefly how parallel changes occurred in each of the seven samurai, focusing especially on liberation theologians. In doing so I want to suggest why this change signals a possible quickening of the sometimes limping conversation between theologians and those who study religion from the perspective of psychology, anthropology, and sociology. After that I wish to hazard some tentative hunches about what all this might mean for the more general question of the "theological problem of religion."
Croatto, José Severino. "Biblical Hermeneutics in the Theologies of Liberation." In Irruption of the Third World: Challenge to Theology, ed. Virginia Fabella and Sergio Torres, 140-170. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983. The way of approaching the biblical kerygma in this article is the hermeneutic one. In order to grasp the meaning of "hermeneutics" in all its richness--and in its methodological value for the theology of liberation--it will be appropriate to say something here about the sciences of language. Inasmuch as hermeneutics deals with the interpretation of a text, or of the events reported in a text, it is to be situated in the general area of semiotics, or the science of signs, of which language in the narrow sense is the most comprehensive expression. At first view, we seem to be presented with a paradox here. Hermeneutics may seem to be bound up with diachrony, or the becoming of meaning, or semantics, or the tranformation of the meaning of words or texts. In fact, however, although semiotics does accord a special place to synchrony--to the structural laws that regulate the performance of language--semiotics and synchrony are not the same thing. They are parts of a circle. Upon our return from semiotics to hermeneutics, in a circular journey that has respected the individuality of each, our hermeneutics will appear solidly founded. Let us undertake this long journey. At its end, biblical hermeneutics will appear in all its fruitfulness.
Dekker, James C. "North American Protestant Theology: Impact on Central America." Evangelical Review of Theology 9:3 (July 1985): 226-243. This well researched article shows how fragmented Protestant churches have often become prey to the manipulation of political powers in Latin America in spite of their profession of the separation of Church and State. The author discusses the extent to which the avowed theologies of North American missions have become the theologies of Latin Americans. He appeals for a conscientious biblical political education to help evangelicals dissolve their blind spots.
Dekker, James C. "North American Protestant Theology: Impact on Central America." Occasional Essays 11:2 (December 1984): 59-77. According to some, the impact of North American Protestant theologies on Central American Protestant theology is total. That suggests questions this paper will treat: Against what background did Protestant missions come to Central America? Who came? What theologies have they taught?
Dussel, Enrique D. "Theology by the People." Ministerial Formation 31 (1985): 4-9. Theology by the people? This is not just an interrogation, it is a challenge, a questioning and almost a utopia. Can the people make or produce theology? Who are the people? Is it possible to have a theology produced by the people themselves? In this short introduction to our discussions, I do not pretend to answer these questions. Rather, I will state questions to the questions and leave them open for debate.
Dussel, Enrique. "Liberation Theology and Marxism." In Pluralism and Oppression: Theology in World Perspective. ed. Paul F. Knitter, 189-220. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991. A description of how liberation theology and Marxism are thematically related should include at least four dimensions. First, the presuppositions of praxis: the political dimension consisting of the relationship of faith to recent Latin American historical reality. Second, the epistemological dimension or the presuppositions of theory: the relationship of faith and the social sciences in Latin America. Third, the criticism, both from within the church and from outside, of the linking of liberation theology and Marxism, especially since the Instructions (1984 and 1986) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. And, fourth, the paths that are presently opening for a fruitful use of Marxism by liberation theology.
Dussel, Enrique. "The Ethnic, Peasant, and Popular in a Polycentric Christianity." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 240-49. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. About twenty years ago, I wrote an article in Concilium about the way Christianity has been identified with Mediterranean culture. Twenty years later, last July 29-31, we held a CEHILA (Commission for Church History Studies in Latin America) symposium in La Paz, Bolivia, "Peasantry, Land, and Church." We studied the historical and social centrality of the peasantry (and the indigenous ethnic groups within it: the Aymara, Quechuas, Zapotecas, Mayas, Chibchas, Guaranies, etc.) to the whole history of Latin American religion. I want to turn again to what we have been observing over more than two decades, to try to make some progress with this question, which is also so important to the revolutionary process that Latin America is at present undergoing. In particular, there is Nicaragua, where the "peasant question" and the ethnicity of the Miskitos are key factors in the war confronting the Sandinista process, which is so vital to a liberating Latin American Christianity.
Escobar, Samuel. "A Critical Appraisal of Current Theological Trends in Latin America." Theological Fraternity Bulletin (1982:4/1983:1): 3-14. Outline for the paper includes the setting of Escobar's reflection, traditional Catholic theology, the Protestant impact, developments leading to the current situation, repercussions of these developments in Latin America, the challenge of liberation theology. and an evangelical evaluation.
Escobar, Samuel; Arana, Pedro; Steuernagel, Valdir; and Zapata, Rodrigo. "A Latin American Critique of Latin American Theology." Evangelical Review of Theology 7:1 (April 1983): 48-62. Explains the Latin context, including traditional Roman Catholic theology, the Protestant impact, and recent developments. Gives special attention to the challenge presented by liberation theology under these headings: 1) the primacy of God's word; 2) disposition for praxis necessary for understanding; 3) marxism is not science but ideology; 4) renewed historical awareness; and 5) a theology of the Spirit.
Escobar, Samuel. "Beyond Liberation Theology: Evangelical Missiology in Latin America." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 6:3 (July 1982): 108-114. Describes some historical realities of Latin America and then discussed the challenges an oppressive context presents to evangelical missiology.
Escobar, Samuel. "Evangelical Theology in Latin America." Missiology 19:3 (July 1991): 315-32. There has been a significant change in the way Latin American Christians perceive the person of Jesus Christ. The classic images of the Jesus child and the suffering Christ of the passion scenes have been substituted for an image of Jesus that does more justice to the New Testament material. The particular contribution of evangelical theology to this change has been in recent years the search for a new model for mission patterned after the model of Jesus in the Gospels, and a christological paradigm for social ethics in a time of change. This theological exploration has kept close to the concerns and convictions of the growing evangelical communities that have continued to grow in Latin America.
Escobar, Samuel. "The Search for a Missiological Christology in Latin America." In Emerging Voices in Global Christian Theology, ed. William A. Dyrness, 199-227. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. Escobar's discussion not only serves as an important history of recent evangelical theology (his notes provide what is probably the best recent bibliography of evangelical writing on Latin America), but he points out the direction that this theology will be likely to take. Justice, poverty, oppression, and liberation, he notes, are not incidental themes which liberationists have discovered, but they are themes that "cannot be separated from the core of God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ." And they will be central to the task that Escobar calls us to: the development of a missiological Christology.
Fuellenbach, John. "The Theology of Liberation." In Trends in Mission: Toward the Third Millennium: Essays in Celebration of Twenty-five Years of SEDOS, ed. William Jenkinson and Helene O'Sullivan, 74-85. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991. Concern is to show the biblical foundation for liberation theology, focusing on its basic insights about the reign of God and a correct image of God.
Gebara, Ivone. "Women Doing Theology in Latin America." In With Passion and Compassion: Third World Women Doing Theology: Reflections from the Women's Commission of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, ed. Virginia Fabella and Mercy Amba Oduyoye, 125-34. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988. The expression "women doing theology" is new, as is the explication of what the expression means. Previously, there was never any mention of sexual difference with regard to those who wrote theology, since it was obvious that the task was something proper to men. Today it would seem that the matter is no longer obvious, and the gender of the authors must be specified. Gender is understood not only as a biological difference prior even to birth, but especially as a cultural dimension, that is, as a stance or an aspect that affects the production of other cultural values, of other kinds of human interrelationship and other ways of thinking. The fact that women have entered the world of economic production and, more broadly, into politics and culture and the consequences for change in society and in the various churches deserves deeper reflection on its own. Such a deepening would go beyond the scope of our contribution, since right now we have another aim. I am going to devote my attention especially to the question of the task of theology, emphasizing some points of reflection on what has already been said, and I shall continue my reflection beyond issues that are properly theological.
George, Sherron. "What Does Mission Mean in View of Contextualization?" Reformed World 42 (1992): 40-49. I understand mission as the proclamation of the gospel through word and deed. A contextualization of this proclamation in Latin America defines the good news in terms of liberation. In this paper I will first reflect on the gospel as liberation and several implications for mission, considering two aspects: liberation from cultural and religious imperialism and liberation for diverse cultural expressions of the gospel. Then I show that in contextualization there are also limits or parameters which come from biblical principles. I use this approach in an attempt to be contextual and to see the two sides of contextualization, liberty and limits. Finally, I seek to identify several contemporary situations and challenges in Latin America which must be seriously considered by those who do mission there today.
Gottwald, Norman K. "The Exodus as Event and Process: A Test Case in the Biblical Grounding of Liberation Theology." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 250-60. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. At first glance, liberation theology's appeal to the Bible may seem straightforward and unproblematic, for it unquestionably draws upon central scriptural themes and has recovered a vivid sense of biblical faith as praxis in the service of justice. Nonetheless, the use of the Bible in liberation theology has not gone uncriticized, not only as we might expect by its opponents, but likewise by its supporters. Those dismissive of liberation theology find its employment of the Bible either too "arbitrary" or too "political." There is no point in detailing or responding to these hostile criticisms, for my own orientation is supportive of the perspective of liberation theology. It is appropriate, however, to evaluate liberation theology's deployment of scripture in terms of its thoroughness and adequacy, and in the process of doing so, to clarify some matters that may ultimately help to blunt the force of criticism from the detractors of this theology. My chief interest in this assessment is to deepen and enrich the work of liberation theology exegetically so that its already enormously productive influence will be extended and multiplied into the future.
Gutierrez, Gustavo. "Joy in the Midst of Suffering." In Christ and Context: The Confrontation Between Gospel and Culture, ed. Hilary D. Regan and Alan J. Torrance, 78-87. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1993. The source of our joy is the gratuitous love of God. It saves us, but this joy, which is very classic, is a paschal joy. It is a passing from death to life, from sin to grace, from suffering to joy. It is not an easy joy, but we must avoid suffering, sadness or worse bitterness. The temptation is big, and is daily. The announcement of the Christian message can be a way to avoid this because in this moment people are closed in on themselves. And my second and final conclusion is about theology. Theology is placed between orthodoxy and orthopraxis, and seeks to understand the relationship between the two. When we speak of social injustice, the suffering of the innocent, not everything is clear to us. But at least we understand that it is only in solidarity with the suffering, with the poor, that we can try to avoid the reproach of Job to his friends. They only have words, and poorly thought out theology as well. Job knows the suffering of the innocent, maybe not with any clear, rational explanation. Job is also looking for solidarity to fill the presence of the love of God in his life. Trying to do theology from the suffering of the innocent is a manner, a small and humble means, of avoiding the accusation from the poor: "You Christians, you theologians, you are sorry comforters." We want to avoid this reproach in order to be real witnesses to the victory of the resurrection of the Lord.
Hamilton, Kenneth. "Liberation Theology: An Overview." In Evangelicals and Liberation, ed. Carl E. Armerding, 1-9. Nutley, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1977. Liberation theology has two sides: a practical and a theoretical. The two sides are interconnected, yet also separable. While the theoretical side has drawn its inspiration and maintains its missionary fervor from the careers of revolutionary churchmen in the Third World--particularly in Latin America--it also has developed its ideas in the study, quite remote from involvement in a revolutionary situation. North Americans and Europeans may indeed read such Latin American authors as Rubem Alves or Gustavo Gutierrez, but they are most likely to digest liberation theology through books by Jurgen Moltmann, Dorothee Soelle, Harvey Cox, Rosemary Ruether, and John Pairman Brown. It is the theoretical side that will be my concern in this chapter. Concludes: What I have hoped to do is to indicate that liberation theology and I kindred theologies (the theology of hope, political theology, and -- on) that seek to "concretize" salvation, as their jargon terms it, are offering another salvation from the one spoken of in the Bible cause they proclaim another God than the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hamilton, Kenneth. "Liberation Theology: Lessons Positive and Negative." In Evangelicals and Liberation, ed. Carl E. Armerding, 120-27. Nutley, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1977. Liberation theology, though it gives many highly suspect answers, raises some highly pertinent questions. There is, for example, the question of "spiritualizing" the gospel so that political issues are never raised. Liberationists are constantly reminding us that we cannot remain politically neutral and still inhabit a politically organized world. Without the challenge of liberationist versions of Christian faith we should not have stopped to ask them--or, at least, to ask them so urgently. And that we can hardly avoid raising these questions at the present juncture of the church's history seems (to me, at least) something of great gain. Heresy is forcing us to re-examine the meaning of orthodoxy.
Hatch, R. Allen. "The Challenge of Liberation Theology." Occasional Essays 12:1 (June 1985): 5-18. In Latin America, parents often threaten their children with the "cuco." "If you don't behave, the cuco will get YOU!!' No one knows nor dares to ask what "the "cuco" is. It remains shrouded in mystery; and precisely because of that acquires an awesome power to inflict fear. According to a Mexican friend, Iiberation theology is the "cuco" of the evangelicals. It is high time that we take a hard look at it, and dispel the misconceptions and fear.
Heyward, Carter. "Doing Theology in a Counterrevolutionary Situation." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 397-409. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. In this essay, I hope to disentangle some of the diverse threads that may give a theology of liberation its particular shape. As noted earlier, economic enslavement is not the only form of socio/spiritual bondage. Genuinely revolutionary efforts do not cease with the elimination of poverty. The work of justice-making must take seriously the struggle of the poor and all who are marginalized, trivialized, or disregarded by those who hold authority in the nation and its institutions. A theology of liberation must reflect an awareness of connections between economic exploitation and such other forms of social oppression as white racial supremacy, male gender hegemony, compulsory heterosexuality, cultural and religious imperialism. After assessing briefly some differences between the political situations of the revolutionary-justice-making-churches in the United States, Cuba, and Nicaragua, I will turn my attention specifically to revolutionary Christianity in the United States and to how the United States--especially those of us who are white, middle strata women and men--might envision our work in this nation at this moment in history.
Jobling, David. "Writing the Wrongs of the World: The Deconstruction of the Biblical Text in the Context of Liberation Theologies." Semeia no 51 (1990): 81-118.
Kirk, Andrew. "A Christian Understanding of Liberation." Evangelical Review of Theology 10:2 (April 1986): 129-136. The cry for freedom is heard in many Third World contexts; "the main characteristic of our modern world, despite all the counter signs, is that it is intoxicated with the idea of freedom and incensed against every form of oppression. Deals with the influence of liberation theology on Christian thinking (and its insistence on holistic thinking about freedom), and traces the theme of liberation in the Bible.
"Lines of Consensus for an Andean Theology." International Review of Mission 82:325 (January 1993): 57-62. Presents results from a conference of leaders of indigenous churches and organizations of Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. States concerns and expectations of an Andean theology, thoughts and concepts that under gird the thinking of an Andean theology, and recommendations, practices and projections for the future.
Mackie, Steven G. "Praxis as the Context for Interpretation: A Study of Latin American Liberation Theology." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 24 (September 1978): 31-44. What is "praxis" which figures so prominently in contemporary theological writings from Latin America and elsewhere? What is the relation between "historical praxis" and the continuing task of understanding and interpreting the Christian faith and the Christian Scriptures? Does it provide a context, a criterion, or even the basis for interpretation? What examples can be given of such interpretation? How seriously ought they to be taken? In sketching an answer to these questions, I shall refer primarily to Latin American sources and theological reflections of Bible studies by small groups of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America (primary theology) which is as serious an attempt to interpret Scripture in the context of praxis, as are the more traditional exegetical works.
Mamani, Vicenta. "Popular Religiousity and Evangelism in Aymara Culture." International Review of Mission 82:327 (July/October 1993): 391-400. This paper will examine the theme of "Popular Religiosity and Evangelism" from the vantage point of Aymara culture and experience. I will develop the theme through the discussion of four main points: 1) Native Aymara religion; 2) Popular religiosity; 3) Evangelism; and 4) The points of convergence between native religion and Christian faith. Concludes: Today we, native people, are on a path toward death. Faced with this situation the church, syndical and grassroots organizations should serve as signs of hope for life. It is our task to save ourselves from death and misery through the affirmation of our own culture, religion, environment, participation, spirituality, identity, etc. We must make the Bible ours and interpret it from our perspective as native peoples in order to use it to liberate ourselves. What's more, the Bible does not demand of us the obedience of slaves, but instead calls forth from us--her free sons and daughters--creative responses, an answer that is free in love.
McGovern, Arthur F. "Dependency Theory, Marxist Analysis, and Liberation Theology." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 272-86. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. This present essay constitutes an "interim" investigation of the use of Marxist analysis and dependency theory by Gustavo Gutierrez and other liberation theologians. It will become part of a more comprehensive book on liberation theology and its critics, following some more extensive studies in Latin America. In this interim study I should like to consider first the role that dependency theory has played in liberation theology: its main theses, how it developed, what liberation theologians have said about dependency, and some issues about its use. The second part of the essay will deal with Marxist analysis: what it involves, what liberation theologians have said about its use, how in fact they have made use of it, and finally some comments about its use.
Mesters, Carlos. "'Listening to What the Spirit is Saying to the Churches': Popular Interpretation of the Bible in Brazil." In The Bible and Its Readers, ed. Tim Beuken, Seán Freyne, and Anton Weiler, 100-111. London: SCM Press, 1991. On a regular basis, we see events that point to the direction of popular interpretation: the gradual discovery that the word of God is not only in the Bible, but is also and primarily present in the lives of all those who are trying to live faithfully. The Bible awakens people, reveals and confirms to them that our God is God-with-us, today, here, on the onward march and in the struggle of the poor. The Bible is the source of new attitudes. In this article the expression 'popular interpretation' refers only to the way the Bible is read by the poor in their ecclesial base communities. There are other ways of reading the Bible among the people; for example, that of the poor in the Pentecostal movements. I shall talk only about what I have got to know and see at first hand. Nevertheless, my horizon is limited. I am only aware of what is happening in some Brazilian communities.
Nauta, Rommie and Goldewijk, Berma Klein. "Feminist Perspective in Latin American Liberation Theology." Exchange 16 (December 1987): 1-6. Summary of perspectives found in Latin American liberation theology on feminism from an ecumenical perspective.
Núñez, Emilio Antonio. "The Challenge of Liberation Theology." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 17:3 (July 1981): 139-46. Discussion goes beyond critique to inform evangelicals on what must be done.
Núñez, Emilio Antonio. "The Church in the Liberation Theology of Gutierrez: Description and Hermeneutical Analysis." In Biblical Interpretation and the Church: The Problem of Contextualization, ed. D. A. Carson, 166-94. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984. At the present time there are several liberation theologies in Latin America, but the best known of them is the one articulated by Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian priest, in his book entitled A Theology of Liberation. The following ecclesiological reflection will be based especially on this book. There are other liberation theologians who are known in the English speaking world-for instance, Juan Luis Segundo and Jose Miranda. Nevertheless, because of the limitations of this paper the discussion will be reduced to the ecclesiology of Gustavo Gutierrez. In order to have a better understanding of his ecclesiological approach, it will be necessary first of all to provide at least a general description of the methodology he employs in his work. Then I will present a general description and evaluation of his concept of the nature and mission of the church.
Núñez, Emilio Antonio. "The Theology of Liberation in Latin America." Bibliotheca Sacra 134:536 (Oct.-Dec. 1977): 343-356. Liberation theology critiqued from an informed, irenic conservative evangelical perspective.
Núñez, Emilio Antonio. "The Theology of Liberation in Latin America." Evangelical Review of Theology 3:1 (April 1979): 37-51. Simply stated, the theology of liberation is an effort on the part of Catholic and liberal Protestant theologians in Latin America to provide a theology which they trust will serve as the base for the "liberation" of oppressed peoples. It has become popular because it proposes to relate theology to the Latin American scene and to speak theologically to socio-political needs. Because of the widespread influence of this theological position and because of its implications for missionary endeavors and churches throughout Latin American countries, it is imperative that the so-called theology of liberation be examined carefully by evangelicals. This article provides an overview of the type of examination needed.
Núñez, Emilio Antonio. "Towards an Evangelical Latin American Theology," Evangelical Review of Theology 7:1 (April 1983): 123-31. Now that we have heard a criticism of our theology and an exposition of the Biblical basis for theological reflection, we need to ask ourselves where we are going in our efforts to produce an evangelical Latin American theology. In answer to this question we will refer first to all the need for that theology. Then we will have a general description of what we understand by "evangelical theology;" and finally we will present what the term "Latin American" means to us in a theological context. In this way we hope to cover all the elements included in the title of this paper: Towards an Evangelical Latin American Theology.
Núñez, Emilio Antonio. "Towards an Evangelical Latin American Theology." Theological Fraternity Bulletin (1982:4/1983:1): 14-28. Now that we have heard a criticism of our theology and an exposition of the Biblical basis for theological reflection, we need to ask ourselves where we are going in our efforts to produce an evangelical Latin American theology. In answer to this question we will refer to the need for that theology. Then we will give a general description of what we understand by "evangelical theology;'' and finally we will present what the term "Latin American" means to us in a theological context. In this way we hope to cover all the elements included in title of this paper.
Padilla, C. René. "A New Ecclesiology in Latin America." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 11:4 (October 1987): 156-64. To persons of my age, familiar with the problems of traditional Catholicism in this part of the world, the difference between the Catholic church they knew in their youth and the Catholic church they see today is so great that it is almost beyond comprehension. A new church is taking shape in the womb of the old and that this may rightly be regarded as the most promising development within Roman Catholicism today. In the present essay we shall examine the ecclesiology that underlies that development, in an attempt to see what we need to learn from it. In the first section we shall look at the new ecclesiology from a historical perspective; in the second section we shall outline its basic tenets; and in the third section we shall consider its challenge to Protestant Christians.
Padilla, C. René. "Liberation Theology: An Appraisal." In Freedom and Discipleship, ed. Daniel S. Schipani, 34-50. New York: Orbis Books, 1989. The task of defining and evaluating liberation theology is an impossible one. This is so not only because of the obvious limitations of a paper, but also because strictly speaking liberation theology does not exist. The term is useful in referring briefly to a wide variety of theologies sharing common characteristics, but the heterogeneity of theological positions associated with the term must not be overlooked. One possible approach to our subject would be to describe the emphasis that liberation theologies have in common. We have, however, preferred to concentrate on what may be regarded as the distinctive mark of all liberation theologies, namely, their understanding of theology as a reflection upon that which is done rather than merely believed. The agreement between the two authors, one an advocate and the other a critic of liberation theology, goes a long way to explain our own effort to view this theology from the perspective of its emphasis on praxis as the first theological reference point. We shall first endeavor to understand this "methodological approach" (Part I) and will then proceed to make a critical evaluation of it from our own perspective (Part II).
Padilla, C. René. "Liberation Theology (I)." Reformed Journal 33:6 (1983): 21-23. Examines the tenets of liberation theology, making an effort to let liberation theologians speak for themselves on each point.
Padilla, C. René. "Liberation Theology (II)." Reformed Journal 33:6 (1983): 14-18. Evaluates liberation theology from an evangelical view. Four points are emphasized: 1) Liberation theology rightly emphasizes the importance of obedience (praxis) for an understanding of truth, but is in danger of lapsing into mere pragmatism; 2) Liberation theology rightly emphasizes the importance of the historical situation but is in danger of succumbing to historical reductionism; 3) Liberation theology rightly emphasizes the importance of the social sciences but is in danger of becoming exclusively sociological; 4) Liberation theology rightly emphasizes the importance of recognizing the ideological conditioning of theology but is in danger of reducing the gospel to an ideology.
Padilla, C. René. "Toward a Contextual Christology from Latin America." In Conflict and Context: Hermeneutics in the Americas, ed. by Mark Lau Branson and C. René Padilla, 81-91. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986. This paper is a modest attempt to, outline a Christology that juxtaposes the historical Jesus, with the Latin American situation for the sake of "the obedience of faith." In the first section I will underline the importance of history in relation to Christology. I will then address myself to the most basic Christological question: Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Finally, I will discuss the relevance of this Christology, rooted in the canonical Gospels to thought and life in Latin America
Quiroz, Pedro Arana. "A Critique of Latin American Theology." Theological Fraternity Bulletin (1982:1/2): 1-16. It is necessary to emphasize that our appraisal does not claim to be a complete one, neither a profound one. However it is an attempt to bring into focus what we consider the most important theological trends and Latin American problematic factors in order to have a theological reflection of our own. We recognize that different influences enter into the picture--historical; religious; cultural; economic; ideological; and so on. It is the interweaving of these influences that results in our situation. To take only one of these or other factors and give an interpretation of the complete situation is quite obviously wrong. Sections of the analysis include: 1) the Latin American situation; 2) the indo-latinamerican theological spectrum; 3) critical reflection; 4) the theologies of liberation: a Latin American evaluation; 5) toward an evangelical evaluation of the theologies of liberation; and 6) toward a position that is biblical, evangelical and contemporary.
Richard, Pablo. "Liberation Theology: A Difficult but Possible Future." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 502-10. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. In this article I shall try to develop, very briefly, the seven fields in which I think liberation theology has been most fruitful and in which I think it will find its strength in the future. I shall try to answer the fundamental question: Where does our strength lie? If we know where our strength really is, then we know where we should grow and where we should concentrate our work and hope. They are 1) spirituality; 2) popular religious awareness; 3) economics; 4) ecclesial base communities; 5) biblical hermeneutics; 6) the Third World; and 7) liberation theology as 'professional' theology.
Ritchie, Nelida. "Laity and Contextual Theology." The Ecumenical Review 45:4 (October 1993): 384-87. Theology as a voice of the people in Latin America from an ecumenical perspective.
Roberts, J. Deotis. "A Black Theologian in Mexico." Journal of Religious Thought 37 (1980): 15-22. This brief account of a visit to Mexico City provides insight into the fruitful conversation generated by two types of liberation programs. The Latin American theologians have poverty as their target oppression, while black theologians isolate racism. The two oppressions often meet and re-enforce each other. It is, however, important that each group of theologians pinpoint and contextualize their programs. This accounts for the powerful exchange of ideas and experiences in the conversation reported. The account confirms the author's contention that the more the Gospel of Liberation addresses the hurts of his people, the more he is freed up to empathize with the pain of others and join them in their appropriation of the same gospel.
Roberts, W. Dayton. "Liberation Theologies: Looking at Poverty from the Underside." Evangelical Review of Theology 10 (1986): 110-114. Overviews liberation theologies from an evangelical perspective, listing characteristics (sharing a prior commitment to the poor; espousing a new exegesis or even a new hermeneutic; doing theology in a sociological context) and concerns (politicization, Pelagianism, moral influence theory of the atonement, substitutes for spirituality, confused values, loss of the Holy Spirit in the method, and misunderstanding of Scripture). Concludes: In our search for a social theology to clarify the mission of the church, it is appropriate, as Samuel Escobar has pointed out, that we find in the theologies of liberation an important challenge and stimulus to our evangelical faith, but never a viable alternative to it.
Russell, Anthony J. "Theology in Context and "The Right to Think" in Three Contemporary Theologians: Gutierrez, Dussel and Boff." Pacifica 2 (1989): 282-322. All theology is rooted in context. European-North Atlantic theology has long dominated the mediation of theological discourse, and imposed implicit controls on the agent, locus and methodology of theology. The churches of the "periphery" are now seeking to establish the importance of their own context in doing theology, and are evaluating the validity of the hegemony of the theology of the " center." Liberation theology, in particular, regarded as a "neo-orthodoxy", is developing what could be called a contextualised orthodoxy. What is the role, status and function of contextualised orthodoxy?
Rutschman, Laverne A. "Latin American Liberation Theology from an Anabaptist Perspective." Mission Focus 9:2 (June 1981): 21-26. In this paper the author looks briefly at three frames of reference that help us to understand Liberation Theology as it is being done in Latin America and enable us to assess its impact upon missions as well as to identify areas of interaction between it and the Anabaptist tradition. These include the relation between ideology and faith as understood in Latin American Liberation Theology, the relation between religion and society in the same context, and the hermeneutical circle as described by Juan Luis Segundo.
Savage, Peter F. "The 'Doing of Theology' in a Latin American Context." TSF Bulletin 5:4 (1982): 2-8. Key issues in Latin America which evangelical theologians face include: 1) developing a hermeneutical approach and posture in the 20th century, 2) God, his Kingdom, and History; 3) the poor as sociological fact or hermeneutical key? 4) sin as an outdated concept or personal as well as structural; 5) liberation as salvation from what and to what? 6) the new humanity in Christ Jesus; 7) Who is Jesus; 8) the nature of the Church; 9) the church and the state; and 10) the global village.
Scheffler, E. H. "‘Reading Luke from the Perspective of Liberation Theology." In Text and Interpretation, ed. P. H. Hartin and J. H. Petzer, 281-98. 1991 What I intend in this article may perhaps be some attempt to contribute to an honest process of liberation. It is not my intention to assert that one has to listen to the Gospel according to Luke in a fundamentalistic way in order to get the `true biblical' way of doing liberation theology. My intention is rather to attempt to let the Gospel of Luke dialogue with liberation theology. Being one of Early Christianity's most comprehensive documents (even when the Acts of the Apostles is also taken into consideration--cf. Cassidy 1987), and having indeed a deep concern for the concept of liberation, it is my belief that such an interest and dialogue with Luke's Gospel can contribute to the refining of insights within liberation theology and the practice of liberation in a more liberative way. In what follows I shall first of all attempt to give a short introduction to liberation theology (par. 2), before turning to my own reflections of the topic of Luke and liberation (par. 3).
Schwantes, Milton. "Biblical Theology Together with the People." In Theology by the People: Reflections on Doing Theology in Community, ed. Samuel Amirtham and John S. Pobee, 43-54. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1986. I am not in a position to propose conclusions and implications, because I recognize that a great many aspects and details are not sufficiently developed in these preliminary notes. Let me merely summarize what I have discussed in this paper: 1) The people of God is constituted, in the flesh, in the poor and crucified; 2) The new Latin American reading of the Bible has its birth in the listening and in the service of the churches together with the popular movements; 3) The new reading of the Bible is rooted in pastoral ministry; 4) "In the day-to-day struggle we see that the Bible is our best companion"; 5) The poor Christian communities are privileged hermeneutics agents; 6) The Bible is possibly popular literature, arising from the peasants of Palestinian tributarianism.
Scotchmer, David. "Symbols of Salvation: A Local Mayan Protestant Theology." Missiology 17:3 (July 1989): 293-310. The descriptive tools of symbolic or interpretive anthropology provide an understanding of what may be called a local Mayan Protestant theology. Three key sacred symbols, Tyol Dios/God's Word, Kajaw Crist/Lord Christ, and hermano(a)/brother (sister), express the social and theological content of salvation within the world view (beliefs) and ethos (behavior) of Mayan Protestants. This interpretation attempts to (1) increase the use of cultural and social analysis for understanding the meaning of a local theology, (2) enhance a knowledge of how the gospel remains universal while becoming contextual, and (3) enrich the process of theologizing locally, globally, and cross-culturally.
Segundo, Juan Luis. "The Shift within Latin American Theology." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 52 (September 1985): 17-29. Presents an important shift which, after the middle or even the early seventies, has clearly divided Latin American theologians and, more generally speaking and taking account of the receptivity and creativity of lay people, has changed the way of doing a liberative theology in our continent. I will speak then of at least two theologies of liberation, coexisting now in Latin America. And, given the fact that they did not appear simultaneously, I will try to give you a historical account of their respective causes, the context of their appearance, their aims, their methods and their results. In so doing, it is my hope that this historical view may help to avoid a superficial view of what is happening in Latin America, as well as global misconceptions about the development and different viewpoints during these twenty years of theology in our continent.
Sobrino, Jon. "Jesus, Theology, and Good News." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 189-202. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. Many subjects would be appropriate for a book in honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, himself and his theology, because this Peruvian theologian has brought depth and inspiration to so many themes. In this article I offer some brief reflections on one particular subject: Christianity's essential reality as eu-aggelion (gospel, good news) and the consequences this has for theology. I have chosen this subject because--apart from its intrinsic importance--it figures largely in liberation theology. Liberation theology stresses the good news in what it says and its own work has a euaggelion or gospel mode, as well as a historical, practical, and prophetic mode. To all this Gustavo Gutierrez has made a powerful contribution. In this article I concentrate on analyzing the relationships between theology and good news in two of its aspects: the precise presentation of Christ as good news and the gospel mode of theology. Both aspects are dialectically related because a proper understanding and presentation of Christ as good news will tend to give theological work a more evangelical mode or style. And vice versa, if theology does its work in an evangelical way, it will tend to bring out the reality of Christ as good news. I begin with the second point because here I see the ultimate theologal horizon that allows a radical treatment of the eu-aggelion in theology.
Sobrino, Jon. "Theology in a Suffering World: Theology as Intellectus Amoris." In Pluralism and Oppression: Theology in World Perspective. ed. Paul F. Knitter, 153-78. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991. In what follows I would like to present a specific theology, the theology of liberation, as a theology historically necessary in a suffering world and systematically adequate for giving an account of Christian faith in a suffering world. As is known, liberation theology understands itself specifically as a theology of praxis--a praxis of eliminating unjust suffering from the world. Consequently, I wish to formally define liberation theology within the great theological tradition as intellectus amoris. As such, it integrates and retrieves--but in a more radical way--what is contained in theology understood as intellectus fidei and intellectus spei. But before taking up these expressly theological considerations, some preliminary reflections are necessary in order to situate the theology of liberation in the larger theme of theology in a suffering world.
Stam, Juan. "The Hermeneutics of Liberation Theology." Bangalore Theological Forum 11:2 (1979): 122-41. Explains Latin American liberation theology to an Indian audience. Orientation: In Liberation Theology, the task of hermeneutics is to serve Christian obedience in the midst of the concrete historical reality of Latin America. The 'hermeneutic problem' is thus shifted from the theoretical or cognitive level to the historical level of action and mission. As such, hermeneutics becomes fundamentally a dialogue between the biblical text and the text of present day socio-political reality within the Latin American historical process. Concludes: Hermeneutics must be our constant effort to clarify afresh the meaning of Christian presence and witness, faithful both to the biblical paradigms and to our contemporary reality, in the search for concrete, radical, effective obedience both individually and corporately. This, within the specific realities of today's turbulent Latin America, is the task which Liberation Theology has undertaken.
Tamez, Elsa. "Women's Rereading of the Bible." In With Passion and Compassion: Third World Women Doing Theology: Reflections from the Women's Commission of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, ed. Virginia Fabella and Mercy Amba Oduyoye, 173-80. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988. In conclusion, the "gaining distance" from and "coming closer" to the Bible, the retrieval of liberation keys from the perspective of the poor, and a feminist consciousness are three basic skills indispensable to reading the Bible from a Latin American woman's perspective. We are just taking the first steps. We are rediscovering new duties that will benefit Latin American women, and we are yearning to learn more. Consequently, this meeting in Mexico attended by Third World women from Asia and Africa, women who share concerns and hopes similar to ours, is for us an event of immeasurable value.
Tepedino, Ana Maria. "Feminist Theology as the Fruit of Passion and Compassion." In With Passion and Compassion: Third World Women Doing Theology: Reflections from the Women's Commission of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, ed. Virginia Fabella and Mercy Amba Oduyoye, 165-72. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988. Feminist theology in the Latin American context arises out of the realities of daily life. This theology (a) seeks to know life through personal experience as well as through human as social science; (b) seeks to interpret it in light of the Bible (with the understanding that God's revelation was given to human beings and articulated in human language, thus depending on a culture in time and in space--and accordingly, it can both oppress and liberate); we have to discover the sense that the Spirit reveals to us today through the ancient text of the Bible; and (c) tries to retrieve and give a name to the experience of women in a patriarchal society in order to redeem the past, transform the present, and prepare for tomorrow. Therefore, feminist theology has to be based on certain methodological steps. First, do not accept a biblical text passively, but apply a certain hermeneutical suspicion to the biblical passage and contemporary interpretations of it. Second, discover and proclaim the liberating values in the text that lie hidden behind the historical hermeneutics. Third, rediscover within the text whatever it may reveal about what women have accomplished throughout history, and keep that memory alive. Fourth, creatively give the text a present-day meaning. On the basis of the historical context in which the text was produced, rework it creatively, so that the memory does not get lost.
van der Grijp, Klaus. "Latin American Theological Journals in 1995." Exchange 25:2 (May 1996): 163-79. Goal is to point out the important developments in Latin America as seen through the journals.
van der Hoff, F. "Latin American Liberation Theology." In Missiology: An Ecumenical Introduction: Texts and Contexts of Global Christianity, ed. A. Camps, L. A. Hoedemaker, M. R. Spindler, and F.J. Verstraelen, 354-58. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995. Synopsis of Liberation theology in Latin America, noting the fundamental difficulty of undertaking such a synopsis. Sketches several basic themes and the basic approach to doing liberation theology. Notes three theological periods in Latin America: The first creative moment was the movement of prophetic theology that began when the conquest of the continent began. The cry of oppressed and mistreated people, heard by Dominican monks, was made the subject of theological reflection. The second era of theological creativity occurred in the period of national emancipation from European political domination. This tended to be a theology of political liberation. The third period began with the crisis of the developmentalist model in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a theology in which the central focus is more explicitly that of liberation and in tone and thrust is even set forth as such.
Volf, Miroslav. "Doing and Interpreting: An Examination of the Relationship between Theory and Practice in Latin American Liberation Theology." Themelios 8:3 (April 1983): 11-19. In the first part of my paper I will discuss the philosophical background of liberation theologians' understanding of the relation between theory and practice. I will concentrate here on Karl Marx, whose name recurs often in the publications of liberation theologians. This background will set the stage for the second part of my paper in which I will discuss the adoption and theological adaptation in liberation theology of Karl Marx's understanding of the relation between theory and practice. In the third and last part I will attempt to give a critical assessment of the important hermeneutical- methodological suggestion offered by liberation theologians. Before starting the analysis I would like to make two comments. Liberation theology intends to be a contextualized theology. Thus it is, as some liberation theologians like to remind Europeans, difficult even to understand it from outside, let alone to evaluate it critically. Yet, the Latin American situation provides not so much the content but the occasion for the liberation theologians' understanding of the relation between theory and practice. The content is quite European. I hope also that my decision to treat liberation theology more or less as a unit will not do too great an injustice to the often overlooked diversity that exists among liberation theologians.
Woudstra, Marten H. "A Critique of Liberation Theology by a Cross-Culturalized Calvinist." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 23:1 (March 1980): 3-12. The job, therefore, that we as evangelicals have to do--and this applies also to our evaluation of the various types of liberation theology--is to struggle hard with the question of how to interpret the Word of God. The true test of the liberation movement is not whether this movement agrees with one's personal background and inclinations or whether it conforms to the doctrinal tenets he or she has learned from childhood. The real test lies in its conformity to the Word of God rightly understood. This is why the hermeneutical question continues to be of primary importance, and is the focus of this article.
Yausa, Key. "The Image of Jesus in Latin American Popular Religiosity." In Sharing Jesus in the Two Thirds World: Evangelical Christologies from the Contexts of Poverty, Powerlessness, and Religious Pluralism, ed. Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden, 42-58. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984. An introduction to the Iberian Roman Catholic, African, and Indian components of Latin American civilization and especially popular religiosity which forms the context of Christological reflection.