Tombs, David. Latin American Liberation Theology. Religion in the Americas Series 1. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2002. Pages, xviii + 334. Paper $114. ISBN: 0391041487

Reviewed by: Peter Frick

David Tombs’ work is the first volume in a new series on religion in the Americas under the general editorship of Hector Avalos. The book is a fitting first volume for the series since the author provides a detailed introduction to the theological movement that is usually referred to as liberation theology. Tombs' specific task is the discussion of Latin American liberation theology, rather than liberation theologies in general. He articulates two purposes for writing Liberation Theology: “it is meant to be an accessible introduction to the challenges raised by Latin American liberation ... [and] to make a[n] analytical contribution to studies of theology by organizing material from the four decades when liberation theology was active as a movement” (xiii).

Greer, Allan, and Jodi Bilinkoff, eds. Colonial Saints: Discovering the Holy in the Americas, 1500-1800. New York and London: Routledge, 2003. Pp. xxii + 317. Cloth, $90.00; paper, $24.95. ISBN: 0415934966

Reviewed by John T. Ford, C.S.C.

The colonization of the Americas often took place through the combined efforts of crown and cross: the pilgrims of New England were motivated by a quest for religious freedom – quest partially aided by royal charters; similarly, the Spanish crown rewarded conquistadores with encomiendas that required their recipients to civilize and Christianize the indigenous inhabitants. Yet, even if the religion is a pervasive aspect of colonial history, most people do not automatically think of the various American colonies as locales of spirituality and sanctity. Nonetheless, such a view is supported by this volume’s fourteen essays, which were originally presentations at an academic conference at the University of Toronto in 2000.

Valentín, Benjamín, ed. New Horizons in Hispanic/Latino(a) Theology. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2003. Pages, x + 261. Paper, $19.00 ISBN: 0829815422

Reviewed by: Orlando O. Espín

This volume is a collection of twelve original articles by Catholic and Protestant authors who belong to the scholarly generation some have come to call the “third wave” of U.S. Latino/a theology and religious studies. Most of these authors are already members of faculties at universities or seminaries, and a few were still in the process of completing or defending their doctoral dissertations when this book was published. A dedication to the members of the “first two waves” of Latino/a theology and religious studies opens the volume, followed by the list of contributors, “acknowledgments” and the editor’s introduction. The articles are divided into three thematic sections: “Experiences, Representation, and Critical Religious Discourse” (Part One), “Culture, Political Theory, and Theological Hermeneutics” (Part Two), and “Agency, Community, and Religious Practice” (Part Three).

Liberation Theologies, Postmodernity. and the Americas. Edited by David Batstone, Eduardo Mendieta, Lois Ann Lorentzen, and Dwight N. Hopkins. London and New York: Routledge, 1997. Pages, ix + 309. Paper, $22.99 ISBN: 0415916593 Reviewed by: Will Coleman Liberation Theologies, Postmodernity. and the Americas is a collaborative endeavor of several emerging stars from among contemporary religious scholars, theologians, philosophers, hermeneuts, and cultural critics: Lois Ann Lorentzen, David Batstone, Dwight N. Hopkins, and Eduardo Mendieta. They are joined by Franz J. Hinkelammert, María Clara Bingemer, Josue A. Sathler, Amos Nascimento, Sharon D. Welch, Mark McClain Taylor, Robert Allen Warrior, and Edmund Arens. An impressive addition to their own collaborative effort is contributions from persons who are more established as scholars and/or intellectual activists: Elsa Tamez, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Jürgen Habermas, and Enrique Dussel. Collectively, in one way or another, they all share a commitment to the theme of liberation thought and praxis. In this text, they seek to take on the challenge of engaging in an intellectual discussion on postmodernity while maintaining a commitment to the theme of liberation.

García-Rivera, Alejandro R. A Wounded Innocence. Sketches for a Theology of Art. By Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2003. Pages, iii + 139. Paper, $14.95. ISBN: 0814651127

Reviewed by: Richard Viladesau

A “sketch,” according to the Oxford Dictionary of Art, is a rough drawing that gives prominent features without detail. This sense of the word has long been used to refer also to short essays like those that make up Alejandro García-Rivera’s book. But another aspect of the artistic “sketch” is also relevant here: its spontaneous and unfinished nature appeals to the imagination of the viewer (or in this case, the reader) to exercise his or her own creativity and respond to the artist by entering into the aesthetic process.

García-Rivera’s purpose in fact is to encourage just such an engagement. In his first two chapters, he sets forth the ideas that give thematic unity to the collection. The “innocence” of the title refers to openness to the transcendent, our capacity for wonder. In our actual situation, that capacity is “wounded”: we are vulnerable, fallen. We experience the transcendent in part as a need to be acted upon, so that our openness is also intercessory, looking for grace.

Martinez, John J., S.J. Not Counting the Cost: Jesuit Missionaries in Colonial Mexico - a Story of Struggle, Commitment. and Sacrifice. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2001. Pages, ix + 262. Cloth, $21.95. ISBN: 0829415556

Reviewed by: Ernesto Sweeney, SJ

Martinez set himself the task of producing a one volume, general readership account of the great Jesuit missionary enterprise in the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1566 to 1767. His story of evangelization and adventure on the frontier of colonial Mexico highlights the glories and the tragedies of effort and sacrifice in service to the church and state in incorporating an enormous expanse of territory from Mexico City to the Sonora desert and Baja California. His narrative, building on the work of others, offers a panoramic view of this missionary epic.

Menes, Orlando Ricardo, ed. Renaming Ecstasy: Latino Writings on the Sacred. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 2004. Pages, v + 157. Paper, $14.00. ISBN: 1931010153

Reviewed by: Alberto López Pulido

This anthology brings together the writings of Latina and Latino poets who explore spirituality and expressions of the sacred within the pan-Latino world. As suggested by the title, a major focus of the project is to highlight how works of poetry by Latinas and Latinos rename sacred and spiritual “ecstasies” for this community and, as a result, serve to redefine what constitutes our communion with the divine in a multicultural America.

Renaming Ecstasy represents an innovative project because it is the first of its kind to examine the spiritual dimensions of Latina and Latino poetry. As a scholarly work that comes out of the humanities, the written word and metaphors representative of Latino spirituality interact with a range of intellectual boundaries and provide invaluable insights into the lived religious expression of Latinos for scholarship being produced in religious studies, theology, history, and women, ethnic and Latino Studies.

Nava, Alexander. The Mystical and Prophetic Thought of Simone Weil and Gustavo Gutiérrez: Reflections on the Mystery and Hiddenness of God. By Alexander Nava. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. Pages, xi + 205. Paper, $21.95. ISBN: 079145178X

Reviewed by: Brenna Moore

Alexander Nava’s primary concern in this volume centers on the constructive integration of concepts within theology and philosophy that he considers to have been broadly conceived as mutually exclusive in the modern West. In order to take on historic divisions between spirituality and ethics, contemplation and action, and mysticism and prophetic thought, Nava draws upon Simone Weil and Gustavo Gutiérrez, whose work he finds mutually complementary and especially conducive to a reformulation of the longstanding conflict that dates back to the earliest biblical exegesis on the silent, contemplative Mary in contrast to the active service of Martha. This sophisticated volume will be of interest to scholars of both Christian spirituality and liberation theology, in particular those who seek to examine the tension and interrelation between the two fields.

Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala. Guatemala: Never Again! Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999. Pages, xli + 332. Paperback, $30.00. ISBN: 157075294X

Reviewed by Shane P. Martin

The peace process which was initiated in Guatemala during January 1994 and continues to the present might have seemed like the end to one of the most horrifying civil conflicts in the Central American region, but for many the full story has yet to be heard. As suggested in the subtitle, the main purpose of the book is to document the atrocious human abuses that occurred during nearly four decades of strife in Guatemala so that these abuses can never happen again. While this volume is about martyrs, predominantly Mayan, it is also, as Thomas Quigley of the U.S. Catholic Conference notes in the forward to the English edition, an outstanding example of the literary genre commonly referred to as truth commission reports.

Díaz, Miguel H. On Being Human: U. S. Hispanic and Rahnerian Perspectives. Foreword by Robert Schreiter. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001. Pages xvii + 156. Paper, $25.00 ISBN: 1570754020

Reviewed by: Robert Lassalle-Klein

On Being Human presents a dialogue between Karl Rahner and U.S. Hispanic/Latino/a Catholic theology. It is the first book-length treatment of the role of grace in “what it means to be human” from a U. S. Hispanic/Latino/a perspective. Serving both these goals, author Miguel Díaz asserts, “U.S. Hispanic theological anthropology can be systematically, philosophically, and theologically enriched by engaging in an explicit conversation with Karl Rahner, and Karl Rahner’s theological anthropology can be deepened, developed, and critiqued from the perspective of U. S. Hispanic vision” (xiv).

The first three chapters offer an apt introduction to U. S. Hispanic/Latino/a theology (USHLT), and the most complete summary to date of its underlying theological anthropology. Chapter one reviews the basic history and concepts of USHLT, encompassing topics such as contextual theology, the early work of Virgilio Elizondo, mestizaje, popular religion, self-description as Hispanic and/or Latino/a, and teologia de conjunto.