Jon Sobrino

this book is a collection of essays by sobrino that center around the thought and theology of oscar romero and ignacio ellacuria. sobrino weaves his own ideas about soteriology through the lens of these two thinkers.

overall i really enjoyed these essays. they raise important questions especially for the nonpoor (sobrino's term). he asks the nonpoor to consider the ways in which jesus sided with the poor and the ways in which he was changed by his interactions with the poor.

the two downfalls show more of this book: it's translated from the spanish and sometimes poorly. there were parts that were confusing and some words that just didn't translate well. also, since this is a collection of essays i found it to be a bit repetitive as i got to the end of the book.

overall, though, i think it's a good and important read. show less

Ignacio Ellacuría moría asesinado -junto a cinco compañeros jesuitas y dos sencillas mujeres salvadoreñas- el 16 de noviembre de 1989. Moría donde había vivido: en el campus de la Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (El Salvador), de donce era rector desde 1979. Harían falta tesis doctorales para desentrañar su pensamiento filosófico, teológico y político, para referirlo a su acción y contextualizarlo en el desarrollo de su rica personalidad. Se puede hablar de show more Ellacuría el vaso y el salvadoreño, el jesuita y el formador. Se puede hablar del filósofo y el teólogo. Del universitario, del político, del humanista, del hombre. Y se puede hablar del creyente que entregó conscientemente su sangre por la justicia y la paz en El Salvador. Jon Sobrino, amigo y compañero, dice en sus páginas de colaboración en este libro: "Ante todo y por encima de todo, eras un hombre de compasión y de misericordia: lo último dentro de ti, tus entrañas y tu corazón, se removieron ante el inmenso dolor de este pueblo. Eso es lo que nunca te dejó en paz. Eso es lo que puso a funcionar tu creatividad. Tu vida no fue, pues, sólo servicio, sino el servicio específico de "bajar de la cruz a los pueblos crucificados". Y don Pedro Laín Entralgo le califica de Pharmakós, porque su pasión fue reconciliarnos con el ser humano que somos. De esa pasión habla, sobre todo, este libro. Un puñado de autores -dos de ellos supervivientes de la masacre donde Ellacuría perdió la vida- se acercan a su figura de hombre libre y verdadero. Y lo hacen desde distintas perspectivas, pues ninguna agota muchos registros de una existencia sinfónica, poliédrica, alentada por el Espíritu de múltiples maneras, siendo la suprema de todas la disponibilidad para entregar la vida. show less

Sobrino's starting point is the suffering poor of El Salvador. As he demonstrates, this vantage point reveals a different face of Christ, and consequently demands a different mode of discipleship. Rather than an "abstract" Christ who identifies with the powerful and counsels passive acceptance of unjust suffering, the poor have discovered a new image of Christ as "the Liberator," one who lived and died in service of God's Kingdom in history. Surrounded by the deaths of countless thousands, show more including his own martyred Jesuit community, Sobrino brings to his reflections a sense of pathos and challenge that transforms this theologgical study in to a work of profound spiritual reflection Sobrino aims in this work to promote not only understanding but solidarity and conversion. Orbis Books, 308 pages. Paperback. show less

How is it possible to live a spiritual life? What should the kernel of spirituality be in this world of crises, challenges, and change? From his immersion in the violent and struggle-filled reality of Central America, Jon Sobrino articulates a way to imbue the practice of liberation with spirituality -- a dimension that critics often charge is lacking in liberation theology. - Richard Shaull from book cover.