The issue of contextualization at the level of reception or interpretation, involving not only location but also perspective, has become paramount in Biblical Studies in recent years. For some time now, a good and growing number of Latino/a American and Latin American biblical scholars have been addressing the problematic of reading the Bible explicitly from their particular placements and optics in society and culture. This proposed Consultation seeks to pursue such work in sustained and systematic fashion by bringing together scholars—Latino/a and Latin American as well as others with an interest in such discussions—from across the spectrum of biblical criticism. Its scope is conceived as broad: first, the biblical texts as such, both testaments; second, readings and readers of these texts in modern and postmodern biblical criticism; lastly, traditions of reading the Bible outside academic criticism. Its approach is also envisioned as wide-ranging: open to a variety of methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives, from the more traditional to the more recent.
The Histories of the Latin American Church by
The story of Latin American Christianity is too often appended to the end of larger narratives and is rarely given the full consideration it deserves. And yet, the rich stories of Christianity in Latin America deserve our full attention. With this brief, engaging, and helpful overview, Joel M. Cruz offers a resource that tells that story in a new way, enabling students of all kinds to better understand the histories of Latin American Christianity. Cruz's text is divided into two parts. The first explores the history of the region in all of its diversity and variation. The second explores the theology of Latin America by way of three essential issues faced by the encounter of European Christianity with native peoples and African slaves: anthropology, ecclesiology, and soteriology. The result is an informative and eye-opening introduction to a kaleidoscope of efforts to articulate the meanings and implications of Christianity in the context of Latin America.
Sermons from the Latino/a Pulpit by
The Latino/a community continues to grow at a faster pace than any other racial or ethnic group in the country. In part because of this growth, Latino/as have begun to be recognized as bona fide contributors to American society, whether through sports, music, literary work, theology, or ministry. Largely missing from this, however, has been attention to the creative and indeed prophetic expression coming from the Latino/a pulpit--that is, the sermons being developed and preached from the Latino/a churches. This books fills that void. Eli Valentin has gathered some of the top US Latino/a theologians and religious practicioners to contribute actual sermons that have been constructed out of the rough and tumble of the Latino/a reality. The sermons in this book approach nitty-gritty issues that directly impact Latinos/as in the United States. What we find as a result is a message of hope that continues to emanate from the Latino/a pulpit, a hope placed in a God who promises a restored cosmos.
The Reshaping of Mission in Latin America by
This work describes the re-shaping of mission in Latin America in recent years. It covers a broad spectrum of Christian movement that coexist in the area. The book includes themes related to theology of mission, ecclesiology, history, social action, and leadership. It is designed to serve as a guide to understand different Christian trends in contemporary Latin America. Most contributors belong to the young generation of Christian leaders emerging in different locations of the region--from Central America, the Caribbean, and South and North America. They are sensitive to the differences that are part of denominational identity. This work is unique and calls for a meaningful and mature dialogue among Christians in the continent. (Back cover).
Latino/a Biblical Hermeneutics by
Engage essays that are profoundly theological and resolutely social In this collection of essays, contributors seek to analyze the vision of the critical task espoused by Latino/a critics. The project explores how such critics approach their vocation as critics in the light of their identity as members of the Latino/a experience and reality. A variety of critics representing a broad spectrum of the Latino/a American formation, along various axes of identity address the question in whatever way they deem appropriate: What does it mean to be a Latino/a critic? Features: Essays from sixteen scholars Articles bring together the fields of biblical studies and racial-ethnic studies Conclusion addresses directions for future research "
Contexts for Amos by
This learned volume offers a close reading of chapters 3 to 6 of the book of Amos, and attempts to locate biblical study and theological reflection within the complex cultural context of Latin America. The author prefaces his study with a wide-ranging survey of the continuing debate over the proper use of the Bible as a model for the structures of society. The author's particular focus is Latin America, and through sociological and textual analysis, he seeks to define the role of the prophetic biblical voice in this society and presses for a recognition of moral complexities and a constant que.
Reading the Bible Across Contexts by
In Reading the Bible Across Contexts Esa Autero offers a fresh perspective on Luke's poverty texts. This is done through a critical dialogue between an historical reading and empirical readings by two Latin American Bible reading groups.
La Violencia and the Hebrew Bible by
Exegetically noteworthy and culturally-theologically relevant Violence in its wide range of horrifying expressions is real in people's lives, and biblical interpreters must take violence in the world seriously to arrive at relevant ideas about the place of the Bible in the world. Each essay addresses people's experiences of violence in the study of the Bible through the context of la violencia, the Spanish noun referring to the brutal, repressive, and murderous policies of state-sponsored violence practiced in many South and Central American and Caribbean countries during the twentieth century that external powers such as the USA often endorsed and fostered. The volume represents an important contribution to biblical studies and to the field of Latina/o studies.