Reviewed Book: Ellis, Marc H. Expanding the view: Gustavo Gutiérrez and the future of liberation theology. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1990

Wehrfritz-Hanson, Garth

English

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 19
Issue 1 Martin Luther and Spirituality Article 14
5-1-1993
Expanding the view: Gustavo Gutiérrez and the
future of liberation theology
Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Wehrfritz-Hanson, Garth (1993) "Expanding the view: Gustavo Gutiérrez and the future of liberation theology," Consensus: Vol. 19 :
Iss. 1 , Article 14.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol19/iss1/14
176 Consensus
desk, within arm’s reach, as a complement to other exegetical resources.
With just a few minutes of reading there is the potential of an insight or
observation which could make the Sunday morning sermon more inclusive,
uplifting and life-giving for all who come to worship. Seminary students
will find this commentary helpful in evaluating their own experience, under-
standing their own interpretive stance and visioning their future roles and
responsibilities as preachers, teachers and pastoral care-givers. For men
and women, lay and ordained, who are involved in Bible study, this book
will be a tremendous asset.
I commend the authors and the editors of The Women’s Bible Com-
mentary for their scholarly research, for the honesty and sensitivity of their
writing. Also to be appreciated are the brief, but excellent, bibliographies
at the conclusion of each writer’s work. Although I would have preferred
the articles on the everyday life of women to precede, rather than follow,
each of the Testaments, it is easy for me to suggest that readers may wish
to read those first.
This book raises questions, challenges assumptions, and encourages re-
flection. It is, indeed, “informative”, but also insightful and invigorating.
Buy it and read it. You’ll see!
Judi Harris
Trinity Lutheran Church, New Hamburg, Ontario
Expanding the View: Gustavo Gutierrez and the Fu-
ture of Liberation Theology
Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, Editors
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990
xiv + 226 pages
This volume is a mini-version “festschrift” of The Future of Liberation
Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez. It appeals to a wider
audience than the latter—in particular, that of the classroom. The work
is divided into three Parts: “Liberation Theology After Twenty Years”;
“Interpretations, Disputed Questions”; “Looking Toward the Future”.
Part I contains only one essay, penned by Gutierrez himself—which
also appeared in his 1988 edition of A Theology of Liberation. This piece is
vintage Gutierrez! He writes of God, his faith, the gospel, his people and
church with passion, clarity and inspiration. In a word, it is a “tour de
force”
!
Leonardo Boff understands liberation theology as one of conflict, i.e.
always at odds with power elites. In this sense, it is a kindred spirit to
the biblical prophetic tradition. According to Boff, reflection upon histor-
ical action is still a very delicate, problematic question for the critics of
liberation theology.
Book Reviews 177
Rosemary Radford Ruether delivers a brief, yet exacting critique of
Reagan-era America for its attempts to write-off Latin American liberation
theology and North American black and feminist theologies. For Radford
Ruether—like Gutierrez—the truth-claims of liberation theologies are not
so much in well-reasoned, correct words as in praxis, i.e. “how one commits
one’s life” (76).
Gregory Baum—the only Canadian in this volume—critiques the classic
socialist view of identity. It focusses excessively on peoples’ economic status
much to the detriment of human ethnic and religious backgrounds. Baum
suggests that the neoconservative movement appeals to people because it
acknowledges their ethnic and religious heritage. He also lauds liberation
theology because it sees community as fundamentally religious and identity
as Latin American, not national. He is not overly optimistic about the
present Canadian context: “The lack of a strong collective identity makes
Canada vulnerable to increasing economic and political dependency on the
United States” (107). Baum is also greatly indebted to Paul Tillich for the
latter’s terms, “myths of origin” and “myths of destiny”.
Francois Houtart provides readers with a concise summary of Cardi-
nal Ratzinger’s opposition to the theology of Gutierrez. If Houtart is
correct, then one wonders whether Ratzinger would be able to remain a
critic of Gutierrez should the cardinal come to live among the poor—like
Gutierrez—in Latin America!
Edward Schillebeeckx grapples with the often violent, historical rela-
tionships between Christianity and the other world religions. He also issues
a clarion call for understanding the Christian faith community as universal
in the sense that it “is an open community” (136). According to Schille-
beeckx, the church has been wrong to universalize what is not universal.
That means historical, cultural-conditioned liturgies, languages, theologies,
and so on are not to be universally imposed upon the whole church.
Elisabeth Schiissler Fiorenza believes that, thus far, Latin American
liberation theology has failed to give significant attention to their poorest
of the poor—women and children. She encourages feminists to deconstruct
biblical scholarship with all of its white, male. Western-world methods of
interpretation and epistemology in order to develop new methods in these
fields. Schiissler Fiorenza also provides a well-articulated rationale for fem-
inist reader-response criticism as a legitimate method for deconstructing
and reconstructing biblical texts.
Part III consists of three essays on possible future trajectories of liber-
ation theology.
Maria Clara Bingemer contends that, in Latin America—as in several
other regions of the world—women experience the double-edged sword of
oppression on account of gender and socio-economic status. She predicts a
rising tide of women doing theology as a faith community in Latin America.
Bingemer applauds a theology constructed out of desire rather than one of
rationalism.
Robert McAfee Brown begins with personal reminiscences of the past,
zooming in on his initial encounter with liberation theology and theolo-
gians. It is not possible to confine liberation theology to cerebral activity
—
its foundational locus is living, real-life experiences. He sees the immediate
178 Consensus
need for North American Christians to re-create a new liberation theology
after correctly hearing Third World theologies and taking ownership of the
oppression we have caused the Two-Thirds World. This new liberation
theology has already taken wing with a growing number of contextual the-
ologies. McAfee Brown sums up aptly the significance of Gustavo Gutierrez:
“the total congruence between what he writes and what he lives remains
his supreme contribution to the rest of us” (205).
Pablo Richard gives kudos to Gutierrez as a continuing source of
strength, vision and inspiration for liberation theologians whenever they
have grown weary and disillusioned. He predicts progress in biblical stud-
ies because of liberation hermeneutics. He also hopes for a more equal, re-
spectful relationship between intellectuals and the common people. Richard
believes that the only future for theology is liberation theology and the next
century belongs to the Two-Thirds World.
This volume is recommended reading for seminarians, professors, pas-
tors, church leaders and laity. It stimulates, critiques and challenges the
reader by raising important theological questions in such a way as to engage
us in continuing debate, dialogue—as well as action.
Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
Calgary, Alberta
The Double Vision: Language and Meaning in Reli-
gion
Northrop Frye
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991
88 pages
The Double Vision gives us the parting words of Canada’s premier lit-
erary critic and educator. An ordained United Church minister, Northrop
Frye (1912-1991) was perhaps best known for his internationally acclaimed
Fearful Symmetry (1947) and Anatomy of Criticism (1957). He more re-
cently gained recognition for his studies of the impact of the Bible on West-
ern literature. The Great Code (1982) and Words With Power (1990). In
The Double Vision (title borrowed from William Blake), Frye summarizes
his understanding of faith, an understanding implied throughout his writ-
ings but given perhaps its most explicit expression here. On this subject,
as on so many others, Frye is refreshingly original.
What makes Frye’s approach to the Bible (and, hence, faith) “original”
is, ironically, also what links him to classical Christianity: both exhibit a
stubborn indifference to the question of the historical reliability of bibli-
cal narratives and intense preoccupation with their literary, metaphorical


Expanding the view: Gustavo Gutiérrez and the future of liberation theology

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 19Issue 1 Martin Luther and Spirituality Article 145-1-1993Expanding the view: Gustavo Gutiérrez and thefuture of liberation theologyGarth Wehrfritz-HansonFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationWehrfritz-Hanson, Garth (1993) "Expanding the view: Gustavo Gutiérrez and the future of liberation theology," Consensus: Vol. 19 :Iss. 1 , Article 14.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol19/iss1/14176 Consensusdesk, within arm’s reach, as a complement to other exegetical resources.With just a few minutes of reading there is the potential of an insight orobservation which could make the Sunday morning sermon more inclusive,uplifting and life-giving for all who come to worship. Seminary studentswill find this commentary helpful in evaluating their own experience, under-standing their own interpretive stance and visioning their future roles andresponsibilities as preachers, teachers and pastoral care-givers. For menand women, lay and ordained, who are involved in Bible study, this bookwill be a tremendous asset.I commend the authors and the editors of The Women’s Bible Com-mentary for their scholarly research, for the honesty and sensitivity of theirwriting. Also to be appreciated are the brief, but excellent, bibliographiesat the conclusion of each writer’s work. Although I would have preferredthe articles on the everyday life of women to precede, rather than follow,each of the Testaments, it is easy for me to suggest that readers may wishto read those first.This book raises questions, challenges assumptions, and encourages re-flection. It is, indeed, “informative”, but also insightful and invigorating.Buy it and read it. You’ll see!Judi HarrisTrinity Lutheran Church, New Hamburg, OntarioExpanding the View: Gustavo Gutierrez and the Fu-ture of Liberation TheologyMarc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, EditorsMaryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990xiv + 226 pagesThis volume is a mini-version “festschrift” of The Future of LiberationTheology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez. It appeals to a wideraudience than the latter—in particular, that of the classroom. The workis divided into three Parts: “Liberation Theology After Twenty Years”;“Interpretations, Disputed Questions”; “Looking Toward the Future”.Part I contains only one essay, penned by Gutierrez himself—whichalso appeared in his 1988 edition of A Theology of Liberation. This piece isvintage Gutierrez! He writes of God, his faith, the gospel, his people andchurch with passion, clarity and inspiration. In a word, it is a “tour deforce”!Leonardo Boff understands liberation theology as one of conflict, i.e.always at odds with power elites. In this sense, it is a kindred spirit tothe biblical prophetic tradition. According to Boff, reflection upon histor-ical action is still a very delicate, problematic question for the critics ofliberation theology.Book Reviews 177Rosemary Radford Ruether delivers a brief, yet exacting critique ofReagan-era America for its attempts to write-off Latin American liberationtheology and North American black and feminist theologies. For RadfordRuether—like Gutierrez—the truth-claims of liberation theologies are notso much in well-reasoned, correct words as in praxis, i.e. “how one commitsone’s life” (76).Gregory Baum—the only Canadian in this volume—critiques the classicsocialist view of identity. It focusses excessively on peoples’ economic statusmuch to the detriment of human ethnic and religious backgrounds. Baumsuggests that the neoconservative movement appeals to people because itacknowledges their ethnic and religious heritage. He also lauds liberationtheology because it sees community as fundamentally religious and identityas Latin American, not national. He is not overly optimistic about thepresent Canadian context: “The lack of a strong collective identity makesCanada vulnerable to increasing economic and political dependency on theUnited States” (107). Baum is also greatly indebted to Paul Tillich for thelatter’s terms, “myths of origin” and “myths of destiny”.Francois Houtart provides readers with a concise summary of Cardi-nal Ratzinger’s opposition to the theology of Gutierrez. If Houtart iscorrect, then one wonders whether Ratzinger would be able to remain acritic of Gutierrez should the cardinal come to live among the poor—likeGutierrez—in Latin America!Edward Schillebeeckx grapples with the often violent, historical rela-tionships between Christianity and the other world religions. He also issuesa clarion call for understanding the Christian faith community as universalin the sense that it “is an open community” (136). According to Schille-beeckx, the church has been wrong to universalize what is not universal.That means historical, cultural-conditioned liturgies, languages, theologies,and so on are not to be universally imposed upon the whole church.Elisabeth Schiissler Fiorenza believes that, thus far, Latin Americanliberation theology has failed to give significant attention to their poorestof the poor—women and children. She encourages feminists to deconstructbiblical scholarship with all of its white, male. Western-world methods ofinterpretation and epistemology in order to develop new methods in thesefields. Schiissler Fiorenza also provides a well-articulated rationale for fem-inist reader-response criticism as a legitimate method for deconstructingand reconstructing biblical texts.Part III consists of three essays on possible future trajectories of liber-ation theology.Maria Clara Bingemer contends that, in Latin America—as in severalother regions of the world—women experience the double-edged sword ofoppression on account of gender and socio-economic status. She predicts arising tide of women doing theology as a faith community in Latin America.Bingemer applauds a theology constructed out of desire rather than one ofrationalism.Robert McAfee Brown begins with personal reminiscences of the past,zooming in on his initial encounter with liberation theology and theolo-gians. It is not possible to confine liberation theology to cerebral activity—its foundational locus is living, real-life experiences. He sees the immediate178 Consensusneed for North American Christians to re-create a new liberation theologyafter correctly hearing Third World theologies and taking ownership of theoppression we have caused the Two-Thirds World. This new liberationtheology has already taken wing with a growing number of contextual the-ologies. McAfee Brown sums up aptly the significance of Gustavo Gutierrez:“the total congruence between what he writes and what he lives remainshis supreme contribution to the rest of us” (205).Pablo Richard gives kudos to Gutierrez as a continuing source ofstrength, vision and inspiration for liberation theologians whenever theyhave grown weary and disillusioned. He predicts progress in biblical stud-ies because of liberation hermeneutics. He also hopes for a more equal, re-spectful relationship between intellectuals and the common people. Richardbelieves that the only future for theology is liberation theology and the nextcentury belongs to the Two-Thirds World.This volume is recommended reading for seminarians, professors, pas-tors, church leaders and laity. It stimulates, critiques and challenges thereader by raising important theological questions in such a way as to engageus in continuing debate, dialogue—as well as action.Garth Wehrfritz-HansonShepherd of the Hills Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AlbertaThe Double Vision: Language and Meaning in Reli-gionNorthrop FryeToronto: University of Toronto Press, 199188 pagesThe Double Vision gives us the parting words of Canada’s premier lit-erary critic and educator. An ordained United Church minister, NorthropFrye (1912-1991) was perhaps best known for his internationally acclaimedFearful Symmetry (1947) and Anatomy of Criticism (1957). He more re-cently gained recognition for his studies of the impact of the Bible on West-ern literature. The Great Code (1982) and Words With Power (1990). InThe Double Vision (title borrowed from William Blake), Frye summarizeshis understanding of faith, an understanding implied throughout his writ-ings but given perhaps its most explicit expression here. On this subject,as on so many others, Frye is refreshingly original.What makes Frye’s approach to the Bible (and, hence, faith) “original”is, ironically, also what links him to classical Christianity: both exhibit astubborn indifference to the question of the historical reliability of bibli-cal narratives and intense preoccupation with their literary, metaphorical

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