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Journal for the Hispanic Theological Initiative

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Issue 17 • 2020

  • Editorial | Issue 17

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    Responding to the needs and demands of his era, José Míguez Bonino proved instrumental in thinking with his feet on the ground amid uncertainty, turmoil, and despair. As with other liberation theologians, his theological and ethical work drew on the lived experiences of the faith of the people amidst struggles toward building a better and more just society and world. His theological work speaks to us candidly, especially today, as we grapple with the multiple ways the present COVID-19 global pandemic has affected us all directly. Human relations and cultural dynamics are being reconfigured as we speak. As we come to grips with racialized prejudice targeting members of the Asian communities in relation to COVID-19, we are eerily reminded that the ugly history of blaming ethnic groups for the outbreak of a disease is nothing new. Social distancing (or more accurately, physical distancing) has also brought new levels of suspicion of others as potential carriers of the virus.

    Perhaps the novel COVID-19 has come to be the great “equalizer,” whereby people from all over the world and from all walks of life and social spheres are directly affected. What we do know for certain is that the social, political, and economic arrangements that have shaped the present geopolitical structures have clearly revealed the socio-economic disparities that have benefited specific sectors of society at the expense of over-exploited minoritized groups. For example, lack of accessibility to economic resources, proper medication and equipment, medical insurance, and outright access to a hospital bed, are part of a far greater and older scale of global inequality, which has remained hidden behind the façade of advancement and modernization locally and globally. Minoritized communities are particularly bearing the brunt and negative effects of the COVID-19 virus, even while filling the ranks of essential services in the food, farming, cleaning, and many other industries.

    Latinas/os/xs are among the hardest hit as only 16 percent of us can carry out their working responsibilities at home. [1] Social distancing (physical distancing) is a luxury, which many in these communities cannot afford. A good number of Latinas/os/xs simply need to continue working or else risk losing their homes or not saving up for their children’s education. While working, they jeopardize their lives in order to supply the needs of the larger society.

    Historically, Latinas/os/xs have experienced a conglomeration of challenges to our collective wellbeing. Some of our ancestors experienced times of war and despoliation during the Spanish and Portuguese conquest. Let’s not forget the tens of millions of natives who died because of epidemics, which decimated Indigenous communities in the Americas after 1492.

    The slave trade had similar deadly consequences, as Latin America received the largest population of African slaves, many of whom died along the way, were thrown to the oceans, or died of disease or outright exhaustion from working in the mines or in the fields. These slaves saw their lives commodified as chattel, without recourse for a life of freedom. As we recall the experiences of the African descendants in Latin America and among Latinas/os/xs, we affirm that Black Lives Matter. Part of our own role as Latina/o/x scholars is to expose and condemn prevailing anti-African overt and covert attitudes of discrimination in our communities. We must publicly acknowledge that our own communities are directly impacted by and often are rife with racist attitudes. Thus, we reject to be part of any form of racism and discrimination.

    Many of our ancestors experienced displacement in the USA-Mexico war (1848) and continue to feel the effects of that war in our own neighborhoods. Still others, with more recent connections with Latin America have seen friends and relatives criminalized or die as they have tried to cross the southern border of the USA or as the women in their families have been victims of femicide. While many in the dominant Anglo culture want to go back to normal, for most Latinas/os/xs, “going back to normal” means the continued perpetuation of the over-exploitation of our communities. We have always lived under exceptional conditions of discrimination and lack of opportunities. Those exceptional conditions have designated most of us, at best, for service at the lowest echelons of society, and at worst, for death. For centuries, our communities have come face-to-face with the tensions that emerge out of living simultaneously in struggle, hopelessness, and refusal to give up. The unbending will of our communities is a testament to our faith and resilience.

    It is with that in mind that we publish this collection of articles celebrating the life and theological work of José Míguez Bonino. The papers in this collection were compiled by Néstor Morales Gómez, and we recognize his editorial work in this issue of Perspectivas. Míguez Bonino’s thought has inspired generations of scholars and thinkers in understanding the interconnectedness of the social sciences, political theory, and deep locally grounded theological knowledge. The contributions in this issue of Perspectivas help us celebrate Míguez Bonino’s work, as well as offer important insights as we continue to reflect on what it means to think theologically while remaining locally relevant and contextually located.

    The editorial team of Perspectivas is happy to offer this collection of articles as an expression of the rich diversity of liberation ideas, insights, concerns, and questions raised by each of the authors. Each piece helps us see the extent the liberation impetus has travelled and the many allies it has gained and impacted over the years.

    The Perspectivas editorial team

    Néstor Medina

    Socorro Castañeda-Liles

    Grace Vargas

    Ann Hidalgo

    João Chaves

    Francisco Javier Peláez Díaz

     

    [1] Catherine E. Shoichet, “Black and Hispanic Workers Are Less Likely to Be Able to Work from Home, a New Report Says,” CNN News, March 19, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/us/teleworking-black-hispanic-workersa/index.html.

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Articles

  • Introduction : Celebrating the life and theological work of José Míguez Bonino

    By Néstor A. Gómez
    Abstract:
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    Introducción : Celebrando la vida y obra teológica de José Míguez Bonino

    Por Néstor A. Gómez
    Resumen:
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  • La eficacia teológica del amor. El legado de José Míguez Bonino

    By Nancy E. Bedford
    Abstract:

    In this essay, I would like to reflect on some of the dimensions of the theology of José Míguez Bonino that has left crucial marks on my own hermeneutics, and that I consider form part of his own theological legacy. 

    I refer specifically to some of the concepts distilled in two of his better-known books, La fe en busca de eficacia (1977) (Faith in Search of Efficacy) y Rostros del protestantismo latinoamericano (1995) (Faces of Latin American Protestantism), but which are also reflected simply in his way of being and facing the world as a Latin American Methodist theologian. Those contributions helped me delve into such central issues as the Latin American reading of theological sources, justification by faith, and the trinitarian character of theology. 

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    La eficacia teológica del amor. El legado de José Míguez Bonino

    Por Nancy E. Bedford
    Resumen:

    En este ensayo quisiera reflexionar sobre algunas dimensiones de la teología de José Míguez Bonino que han marcado surcos en mi propia hermenéutica y que considero forman parte importante de su legado teológico. 

    Me refiero sobre todo a algunos conceptos vertidos en dos de sus libros más conocidos, La fe en busca de eficacia (1977) y Rostros del protestantismo latinoamericano (1995), pero reflejados también simplemente en su manera de ser y de pararse frente al mundo como teólogo metodista latinoamericano. Esas contribuciones me ayudaron a adentrarme en temas tan centrales como la lectura latinoamericana de las fuentes teológicas, la justificación por la fe y el carácter trinitario de la teología.

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  • Acto y sujeto moral en la Teología de la Liberación: Esbozos para una comprensión del pensamiento ético de José Míguez Bonino

    By Rev. Néstor Gómez and E. Alexander V. Morea-van Berkum
    Abstract:

    José Míguez Bonino was a contextual theologian and problematizer, if we wanted to call him that. Hence, our intention in this short article is to present some preliminary notes and observations about the ethical thought of Míguez Bonino, especially in the work he published just after

    his participation in the Second Vatican Council: Love and Do What You Want (1972). We do this to provoke a debate about the specificity of Evangelical morality over the analytical emphases that it makes possible, either around the Christian subject or Christian moral acts.

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    Acto y sujeto moral en la Teología de la Liberación: Esbozos para una comprensión del pensamiento ético de José Míguez Bonino

    Por Rev. Néstor Gómez and E. Alexander V. Morea-van Berkum
    Resumen:

    José Míguez Bonino era un teólogo contextual y problematizador, si así lo quisiéramos denominar. De ahí que nuestra intención en este escrito es presentar algunos apuntes u observaciones preliminares acerca del pensamiento ético de Míguez Bonino, especialmente en la obra que publicó justo después de su participación

    en el Concilio Vaticano II: Ama y haz lo que quieras (1972). Esto con el fin de suscitar un debate en torno a la especificidad de la moral evangélica sobre los énfasis analíticos que posibilita: bien sea en torno al sujeto cristiano o a los actos morales cristianos.

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  • Ethos político y deconstrucción posfundacional de la economía trinitaria: Teología pública en José Míguez Bonino

    By Nicolás Panotto
    Abstract:

    This article intends to investigate the political dimension of José Míguez Bonino’s theology. As one of the Protestant referents of Latin American liberation Theology, the work of Bonino represents a deepening of this theological paradigm,

    but from a singular anchor, which critically resignifies several of its epistemic and methodological assumptions. We will analyze this singular view from what we call Bonino’s “theology of the public”, taking as point of departure its thematic development in the field of politics as well as the identification of a critical theological epistemology that expands the political dimension of the method in Latin American theologies.

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    Ethos político y deconstrucción posfundacional de la economía trinitaria: Teología pública en José Míguez Bonino

    Por Nicolás Panotto
    Resumen:

    Este trabajo pretende indagar sobre la dimensión política de la teología de José Míguez Bonino. Como uno de los referentes protestantes de la teología de la liberación en América Latina, el trabajo de Bonino representa una profundización de este paradigma teológico,

    pero desde un anclaje singular, que resignifica críticamente varios de sus presupuestos epistémicos y metodológicos. Analizaremos dicha singularidad desde lo que denominamos como una “teología de lo público” de Bonino, a partir de su desarrollo sobre diversas temáticas dentro del campo político y la identificación de una epistemología teológica crítica que amplía la dimensión política del método en las teologías latinoamericanas.

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  • Toward a Christian Ethic of Remembrance

    By Aaron Conley
    Abstract:

    This essay represents an outworking of my conversion to praxis. It demonstrates some of the ways Míguez Bonino’s thoughts in Toward a Christian Political Ethic have shaped the work I now engage in. The primary focus of this reflection is not about political ethics, but about the historical analysis Míguez Bonino relies upon to make a Christian political ethic possible.

    Moving from an exclusively individualistic gospel characteristic of others from my social location to a gospel that engages unjust structures of oppression is a move requiring an alternative way of understanding ourselves historically.

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    Toward a Christian Ethic of Remembrance

    Por Aaron Conley
    Resumen:

    Este ensayo representa un resultado de mi conversión a la praxis. Demuestra algunas de las maneras de las que el pensamiento de Míguez Bonino esbozados en Toward a Christian Political Ethics ha formado mi trabajo actual. El focus primario de esta reflexión no es acerca de ética política sino acerca del analísis histórico en el que se basa Míguez Bonino para hacer una ética plítical cristiana.

    Pasando de un evangelio exclusivamente individualista característico de otras personas en mi contexto social a un evangelio que envuelve estructuras injustas de opresión, es un giro que requiere maneras alternativas de entendernos históricamente.

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  • José Míguez Bonino: Double Location and Theological Thinking-Acting

    By Julie Todd
    Abstract:

    Míguez Bonino emphasized that the theologian is in a “double location”; first, within a theological discipline with its particular epistemological conditions and demands, and secondly as a social agent within a particular social formation. I am honored to write this reflection on José Míguez Bonino and his impact on my teaching and scholarship.

    How did this white, middle-class, feminist, progressive, U.S. Christian come to value the work of this Argentine liberation theologian so much? Engaging José Míguez Bonino’s works continually revealed the deep and pervasive influence of my social location on my theological and political ideas and practices.

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    José Míguez Bonino: Double Location and Theological Thinking-Acting

    Por Julie Todd
    Resumen:

    Míguez Bonino enfatizó que teologós/as se encuentran en una “doble ubicación”; primero dentro de una disciplina teológica con sus condiciones y demandas epistemológicas particulares, y segundo, como agente social dentro de una formación social específica. Estoy honrada de escribir esta reflexión sobre José Míguez Bonino y su impacto en my enseñanza y trabajo académico.

    ¿Cómo esta cristiana blanca, de clase media, feminista, progresista, de los Estados Unidos de America llegó a valorar tanto el trabajo de este teólogo de la liberación argentino? Abordar los trabajos de José Míguez Bonino reveló continuamente la profunda y dominante influencia de mi ubicación social en mis ideas y prácticas teológicas y políticas.

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  • José Míguez Bonino: Teologia para o Século XXI

    By Carlos Beltrán
    Abstract:

    I want to reflect on “unity” within the concept of “ecumenism”. This theme was a great passion for the Argentine thinker José Míguez Bonino throughout his life. His work, in general, contains several deep insights that I would like to recover in this edition that celebrates his life. The theme of the unity of humanity is a general horizon for the more particular theme of ecumenism within Christian thought.

    The idea of ​​unity evolves along the way, starting with a statement of the need for Christians to be united, until it reaches the need to consider humanity as a whole within the concept of “unity”. The evolution of this idea posed several questions regarding themes such as the mission of the churches, the challenges of religious diversity for unity, Christian identity, the dialogue between religions and so on. The theme of identity is particularly crucial and relevant, as is the theme of religious pluralism.

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    José Míguez Bonino: Teologia para o Século XXI

    Por Carlos Beltrán
    Resumen:

    Quiero hacer una reflexión sobre la “unidad” dentro del concepto de ecuménico. Este fue una gran pasión para el pensador argentino José Míguez Bonino a lo largo de su vida. Su obra en forma general contiene varias ideas profundas que me gustaría recuperar en esta edición conmemorativa de su vida. El tema de unidad de la humanidad es un horizonte general para el tema particular del ecumenismo dentro del pensamiento cristiano.

    La idea de la unidad evoluciona en el camino, comenzando con una enunciación de la necesidad de que los cristinos estén unidos, hasta que llega a darse cuenta de la necesidad de considerar a la humanidad como un todo dentro del concepto de “unidad”. Esta evolución de la idea fue colocando varias interrogantes con respecto a temas como la misión de las iglesias, los desafíos de diversidad religiosa para una unidad, la identidad cristiana y el diálogo entre las religiones, etc. El tema de identidad es particularmente de una importancia y actualidad crucial, como lo es el pluralismo religioso.

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HTI Book Reviews

  • Decolonial Christianities: Latinx and Latin American Perspectives, Edited by Raimundo Barreto and Roberto Sirvent. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. 301 pages. $119.00 (Hardcover).

    Ángel J. Gallardo
    Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology
  • Looking Forward with Hope: Reflections on the Present State of Theological Education, Edited by Benjamín Valentín. Cascade Books, 2019. 150 pages. $22.00.

    Elizabeth Conde-Frazier
    Association of Hispanic Theological Education
  • Christianity, Empire and the Spirit: (Re)Configuring Faith and the Cultural, By Néstor Medina. Brill, 2018. 368 pages. $74.57.

    Daniel Orlando Álvarez
    Pentecostal Theological Seminary
  • Romero & Grande: Companions on the Journey, By Ana María Pineda, R.S.M. Lectio Publishing, 2016. 200 pages. $19.95.

    José L. Santana
    Southern Methodist University
  • Cain, Abel, and the Politics of God: An Agambenian Reading of Genesis 4:1-16, By Julián Andrés González Holguín. Routledge, 2018. 192 pages. $112.00.

    Seth Villegas
    Boston University
  • Spanning the Divide: Latinos/as in Theological Education, By Edwin I. Hernández, Milagros Peña, Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner, & Ariana Monique Salazar. Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana, 2016. 490 pages. $35.00.

    Benjamin D. Espinoza
    Michigan State University

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ISSN 2472-1263