A new volume in the popular Modern Spiritual Masters series, this work focuses on the spiritual writings of Jesuit Jon Sobrino of El Salvador, one of the original voices of liberation theology and one of the most significant theologians in the church today.
Theology of the People presents and studies the influence of liberation theology on Jorge Mario Bergoglio,Scannone's former teacher, who lived with him for many years and who is cited in Pope Francis’s first encyclical, Laudato Sí'.
This work is a presentation of the truth of Jesus Christ from the viewpoint of liberation - from Jesus's options for the poor, his confrontation with the powerful and the persecution and death this brought him. Building and expanding on his previous works, Jon Sobrino develops a Christology that shows how to meet the mystery of God, all God "Father" and call this Jesus "the Christ".
Essays by a modern Jesuit martyr challenge the way that theology should be done and the gospel should be lived. Ignacio Ellacur a, a Spanish Jesuit theologian, philosopher, and rector of the University of Central America in San Salvador, was one of the key intellectual authors of liberation theology. On November 16, 1989 he and other members of the Jesuit community of the university were massacred by Salvadoran army troops. This volume offers twelve important essays by Ellacur a, at last providing English-speaking readers with a comprehensive introduction to his theological thought. Traditional topics such as Christology, ecclesiology, theological method, and spirituality are interwoven with reflections on colonialism, liberation, religion and politics, the philosophy of Xavier Zubiri, and the legacy of Archbishop Oscar Romero in a volume that not only chronicles the thought of one of the most fertile minds of the last century, but challenges the way theology should be carried out for the century to come.
This book is the first comprehensive analysis of the thought of Ignacio Ellacuría, the Jesuit philosopher-theologian martyred for his work on behalf of Latin America's oppressed peoples. While serving as president of the Jesuit-run University of Central America in the midst of El Salvador's brutal civil war, Ellacuría was also a prolific writer. His advocacy on behalf of the country's persecuted majority provoked the enmity of the Salvadoran political establishment. On November 16, 1989, members of the Salvadoran military entered the university's campus and murdered Ellacuría, along with five other Jesuit priests and two women. Kevin F. Burke, SJ, shows why Ellacuría is significant not only as a martyr but also as a theologian. Ellacuría effectively integrated philosophy, history, anthropology, and sociopolitical analysis into his theological reflections on salvation, spirituality, and the church to create an original contribution to liberation theology. Ellacuría's writings directly address one of the most vexing issues in theology today: can theologians account for the demands arising from both the particularity of their various social-historical situations and also the universal claims of Christian revelation? Burke explains how Ellacuría bases theology in a philosophy of historical reality—the "ground beneath the cross"—and interprets the suffering of "the crucified peoples" in the light of Jesus' crucifixion. Ellacuría thus inserts the theological realities of salvation and transcendence squarely within the course of human events, and he connects these to the Christian mandate to "take the crucified peoples down from their crosses." Placing Ellacuría's thought in the context of historical trends within the Roman Catholic Church, particularly Vatican II and the rise of liberation theology in Latin America, Burke argues that Ellacuría makes a distinctive contribution to contemporary Catholic theology.
"Father Ignacio Ellacuria, SJ, president of the University of Central America, leading Latin American philosopher, and liberation theologian, was assassinated with five Jesuit companions and two women on November 16, 1989. Love That Produces Hope brings together leading authorities on key aspects of Ellacuria's thought. The book introduces readers to the groundbreaking life and thought of Ignacio Ellacuria. His biography and writings embody late twentieth-century transformations and tensions that reshaped the life of the Catholic church among the crucified peoples of Central America. Love That Produces Hope evaluates the significance of Ellacuria's work, particularly his impact on theology, philosophy, and education. Ellacuria found hope in his faith that God's grace sustains the tenacious struggle of millions of men, women, and children to nurture those they love in the face of poverty and an uncertain future."--Publisher's website.
A compelling exploration of one of the central issues - if not 'the' central issue - facing theology in our time: the relation between transcendent salvation and temporal liberation. What does the salvation that the church proclaims mean for the poor of the world? In 'Divine Revolution', Dean Brackley presents in a comprehensive yet manageable way what Catholic theology has to say about this complex and urgent topic. He addresses the historical as well as the systematic dimensions of the question, providing insights that point toward an understanding of the issues that challenge conservative and liberal interpretations alike. In a work of great daring and clarity, Brackley surveys the confusion surrounding the social-historical dimension of salvation in Catholic thought. He shows the irony of the fact that, after 2,000 years, what salvation means for the poor in relationship to their concrete plight remains a 'quaestio disputata' for official, Magisterial teaching. Going deeply into the relationship of salvation and liberation, Brackley explores the thought of Maritain, Rahner, and Gutierrez to demonstrate how the 'synbolon' of the Reign of God that Jesus announces transcends the tired theological distinctions of all sides in the debate. Drawing from developments in feminist and Protestant theology, as well as contemporary social theory, 'Divine Revolution' offers a fresh understanding of what it means to participate in God's revolutionary reign. Catholic tradition, Brackley argues, has great potential to articulate a hope which responds to the suffering of the poor in our time. When conventional wisdom says compassion-fatigued Americans are tired of hearing about the poor, Brackley responds, The poor are far more tired of being poor. They, too, would like to move on to other things, but they cannot.
In this thought-provoking book, Paulo Ravecca presents a series of interlocking studies on the politics of political science in the Americas. Focusing mainly on the cases of Chile and Uruguay, Ravecca employs different strands of critical theory to challenge the mainstream narrative about the development of the discipline in the region, emphasizing its ideological aspects and demonstrating how the discipline itself has been shaped by power relations. Ravecca metaphorically charts the (non-linear) transit from “cold” to “warm” to “hot” intellectual temperatures to illustrate his—alternative—narrative. Beginning with a detailed quantitative study of three regional academic journals, moving to the analysis of the role of subjectivity (and political trauma) in academia and its discourse in relation to the dictatorships in Chile and Uruguay, and arriving finally at an intimate meditation on the experience of being a queer scholar in the Latin American academy of the 21st century, Ravecca guides his readers through differing explorations, languages, and methods. The Politics of Political Science: Re-Writing Latin American Experiences offers an essential reflection on both the relationship between knowledges and politics and the political and ethical role of the scholar today, demonstrating how the study of the politics of knowledge deepens our understanding of the politics of our times.
The concept of a preferential option for the poor calls for a special attention to the weakest members of a particular society. Such an option is a challenge for the ethics of science as well. How can we pursue an "option for the poor" in the humanities? Can we do that without generating "ideologies"? This volume gives an account of these questions. Representatives of sociology, religious studies, law, economics, theology, history and philosophy try to answer this question. It is manifest that the discussion of an option for the poor is also a matter of intellectual integrity.
Each entry includes a brief definition of the term, a description of the principal ideas behind it, and analysis of its history, development and contemporary relevance, followed by a detailed bibliography giving the major sources in the field.