González, Michelle A. Sor Juana: Beauty and Justice in the Americas. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003. Pages, vii + 218, Paper, $20.00. ISBN: 1570754942

Reviewed by: Pamela Kirk Rappaport

It is a tribute to the genius of poet, playwright, and theologian Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a Mexican Hieronimite nun (1648-1695), that a host of contemporary theological directions can be brought to bear in a study of her works. It is a tribute to Michelle González that she has had the courage to weave a tapestry in which both Sor Juana and contemporary theological concerns stand out in relief. Her retrieval of Sor Juana from the perspective of a theology of beauty or theological aesthetics is rooted in the emerging von Balthasar studies and their influence on contemporary U.S. Latino/a theologians, such as Roberto Goizueta. As the title Beauty and Justice in the Americas suggests, the interest in a theological aesthetics is paired with the concerns of liberation theologies (Latin American, U.S. Latino/a, and feminist/womanist).

Valentín, Benjamín. Mapping Public Theology: Beyond Culture. Identity. and Difference. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002. Pages. xxi + 162. Paper, $39.95. ISBN: 1563383918

Reviewed by: Michelle A. González

Through his recent additions to the growing body of Latino/a theology in the United States, Benjamin Valentín represents a new and exciting generation of Latino/a theologians. At the heart of Valentín's book is a critical appraisal of Latino/a theology in light of the concerns and questions raised by public theology. Valentín's is a critical work, yet one that respectfully engages the writings of the foremothers and fathers of Latino/a theological reflection. Through its direct engagement of public theology, this book is a groundbreaking work. Valentín reconceives Latino/a theology as a form of public discourse, assessing the strengths of its past and pointing to new directions for future scholarship.

Johnson, Maxwell E. The Virgin of Guadalupe: Theological Reflections of an Anglo-Lutheran Liturgist. With a foreword by Virgil P. Elizondo. Celebrating Faith Series: Explorations in Latino Spirituality and Theology, 5. Series editor Virgil P. Elizondo. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. Pages, xi + 191. Paper, $46. ISBN: 0742522849

Reviewed by: Raúl Gómez-Ruiz, SDS

Not another book on Guadalupe! But wait. This one is by the renowned Lutheran liturgical theologian, Maxwell Johnson of the University of Notre Dame. This is truly different. What is a Lutheran doing writing on Guadalupe, after all there has been ample critique of the appropriation of Guadalupe and other symbols as ways to attract Catholics to Protestant and Evangelical churches?

Johnson gives four principal reasons why he has written this book. First, the joint statement by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Roman Catholics in the United States, The One Mediator, the Saints and Mary (1992), has opened the way for a Protestant reassessment of Marian doctrine and devotion. Furthermore, the official Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) has raised the ecumenical conversation to a new level on this and other topics.

Justo L. González and Zaida Maldonado Pérez. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Nashville: Abingdon, 2002. Pages 166. Paper, $18.00. ISBN: 0687095735

Reviewed by Alberto L. García

The purpose of this book is to offer a simple, straightforward introductory reading for those taking their first steps in the study of Christian theology. The authors' intention is to stimulate reflection within a wide ecumenical base, probing the strengths and weaknesses of various theological positions. They approach theology in this volume primarily as church historians and their book covers many theological topics in a clear, concise manner. One of the various strengths of this book is that González and Maldonado write with the vision of U.S. Hispanic theologians. They are also sensitive to the study of theology from a global perspective, from which they take their examples for theological discourse.

Jacobs, Janet Liebman. Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto Jews. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2002. Pages, x + 197. Paper, $19.95. ISBN: 0520235177

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

1492 was not only the year of the "discovery of the New World" by Columbus, but also the year in which an edict of Isabel and Fernando gave Spanish Jews the problematic option of converting to Roman Catholicism or going into exile. From the viewpoint of los reyes católicos, such an edict, coming at the conclusion of the Reconquista, formed part of their over-all strategy for unifying Spain, politically, economically, and religiously; in effect, their decision exemplified the principle cuius regio eius religio: rulers have the right to determine the practice of religion within their domains.

Introducing Latino/a Theologies. By Miguel A. De La Torre and Edwin David Aponte. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001. Pages, xiii + 209. Paper, $20.00. ISBN: 1570754004

Reviewed by: Eduardo C. Fernandez, S.J. and Nancy Pineda-Madrid

Noting that there are few introductory texts to U.S. Latino/a Christianity, the authors have written a basic text “to introduce Christian concepts from the perspectives of Latinas/os in the United States and provide a foundation for more specific and advanced study of Hispanic Christian theology, culture, and religion” (2). The book contains an introduction, six chapters, a select annotated bibliography, and an index.

Faith Formation and Popular Religion: Lessons From the Tejano Experience.
By Anita de Luna, MCDP. With a forward by Timothy Matovina. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002. Pages, xvii + 205. Paper, $26.95. ISBN: 0742513483

Reviewed by: Margaret C. Escobedo
The late Dr. Anita de Luna, MCDP, is well known to many readers of this journal. She taught in the Department of Religious Studies and was director of the Center for Women in Church and Society at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She was on the faculty with the Goddess Gate program in Mexico City, has served as visiting professor at several universities, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Notre Dame. A frequent lecturer on Hispanic spirituality, culture, evangelization and religious life at national conferences, she published numerous articles in journals and periodicals, and was renowned for decades as an activist and leader for Hispanic ministry and formation and the advancement of Latinas and Latinos in church and society.

Barber, Michael. Ethical Hermeneutics: Rationality in Enrique Dussel’s Philosophy of Liberation. By Michael Barber. New York: Fordham University Press, 1998. Pages, xxiii + 184. Paper, $24. ISBN: 0823217043

Reviewed by: W.S.K. Cameron

Barber’s primary goal is to introduce Enrique Dussel to an English-speaking audience—a task long overdue. Dussel has unquestionably become a major voice in philosophy, theology, and history, yet he has not so far been the subject of a full-length book in English on the entirety of his philosophy. This inattention is ironic given the current philosophical fascination with the Other: such discussions remain hopelessly abstract unless informed by close attention to the particular others of whom we speak, who alone can remind us of the real consequences of our self-(mis)perception.

García, Albert L. and A. R. Victor Raj, eds. The Theology of the Cross for the 21st Century: Signposts for a Multicultural Witness. St. Louis: Concordia, 2002. Pages, 254. Paper, $14.99. ISBN: 0570052882

Reviewed by: Javier R. Alanís

As the subheading of this book indicates, the various essays on the theology of the cross are signposts for a multicultural witness for the 21st century. The thirteen essays explore the contemporary relevance of Luther's theology of the cross from the perspective of the tradition and experience of twelve multicultural theologians of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. This diversity in scholarship provides for a multifaceted expose of a central doctrine of the Lutheran tradition as reflected and embodied through the experiences of the writers and the particular cultures they represent and experience in ministry.

From the Editor:

What is Latino/a theology after all? There may have been a time when it was possible to answer that question in just a few words. If ever there was such a time though, it has long since passed, for the academic study of the religious experiences, beliefs, practices, values, and traditions of those whose lives are connected directly and indirectly to the legacy of Iberian colonization of the Americas has become a busy interdisciplinary crossroads. Scholars of Latino/a religion are bringing to bear a variety of theoretical frameworks to examine critically and appreciatively a wide range of issues, expanding the circle to include concerns and conversation partners such as those represented in the three most recent articles published in this journal.