Gustavo Gutierrez (1928–2024)

I wanted to read this after Francis was elected Pope and people on both the left and the right claimed that Francis would be bade because of how he reacted to liberation theology during the social class struggle of the 70s/80s in Argentina. The right saying he too closely embraced it, the left saying he did not embrace it.

So what is it? Instead of letting other people tell me I figured I'd let them tell me themselves. Well let me tell you, this book is certainly written at a level intended show more for educational intellectuals and not for activists on the ground and parishioners in the pew. I'm not a dumb guy but most of this was way over my head. I was disappointed in the amount of citation that still didn't say anything.

The last two or three chapters probably could have been the whole book. As the author spends most of his time trying to prove that Jesus would be against capitalism because...insert some lofty intellectual reason here.

While I agree the class struggle is real, and I agree that the church cannot pretend it doesn't exist, shunning traditional values and theology to focus on overturning corporatism is not a solution. We should care for the poor, and we should love our neighbor ,that includes loving those who oppress us. Its not an excuse to do nothing, as the author insists. It is a direction to be careful and love.

Probably worth reading if you are interested in such topics, but it won't bring you closer to Christ nor bring those around you to the right hand of the Lord. I think those are more important and if we focus there a life of forgiveness and caring will happen. show less

For those who still find meaning and power in the traditional Christian symbols, this work of theological interpretation could be mind blowing. The fact that this reflection is done in the midst of involvement in the Latin American practice of revolution gives it a special vitality and a quality all its own.

Who and where is God? How are we to speak of God? In his most accessible work to date Gutierrez looks at these classic questions by reviewing the entire Bible from the standpoint of the struggling poor: those who hunger both for God and for bread. His answers challenge all Christians to a deepening of faith and a commitment to action

Starting with the advice of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux that spirituality be rooted in one's own experience, the author makes this very explicitly a spirituality of the Christians at the base of the Latin American church. This book will be helpful to United States readers who are curious as to how the soul is nourished in the highly politicized climate in which Latin American Christians live their faith.