Getting the Poor Down from the Cross
A Response to the Notification of Jon Sobrino
Today, Latin American liberation theologians are reenergizing their work and seeking a wider audience for it. They do this in the context of Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to Brazil, the Latin American Bishop's Conference (CELAM) at Aparecida strongly reaffirming the "preferential option for the poor," and the recent Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Notification criticizing the works of Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino.
The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) and Servicios Koinonia, has coordinated a powerful response from over forty (mostly) Latin American theologians to these events, electronically publishing Getting the Poor Down from the Cross: Christology of Liberation, organized by José María Vigil. With a prologue by Leonardo Boff and a beautiful epilogue by Father Sobrino himself, the book demonstrates the continued vitality, creativity, and strength of the Latin American theological project, especially as it finds new ways of announcing that Jesus of Nazareth continues to be Good News for today’s people—that is, Christology.
The Spanish version was put together in record time--one month from the Notification! And, through a network of volunteer translators on at least four continents, the English translation has been completed, less than three months after the final Spanish version. This group of translators believes that the linguistic barrier that separates Latin American theology from wider circulation in the English-speaking world should be challenged. We have decided to make a modest contribution to eliminate, at least partially, this border which separates Latin Americans from English speakers in the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, and all over the world.
Liberation theology has been defined as a "critical reflection on praxis"--it goes without saying that it welcomes respectful, critical, intense dialogue about its ideas. Liberation theology does not pretend that its anwers are definitive. Rather, liberation theologians hope to continue to enter into a fruitful debate.
A few notes:
The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) and Servicios Koinonia, has coordinated a powerful response from over forty (mostly) Latin American theologians to these events, electronically publishing Getting the Poor Down from the Cross: Christology of Liberation, organized by José María Vigil. With a prologue by Leonardo Boff and a beautiful epilogue by Father Sobrino himself, the book demonstrates the continued vitality, creativity, and strength of the Latin American theological project, especially as it finds new ways of announcing that Jesus of Nazareth continues to be Good News for today’s people—that is, Christology.
The Spanish version was put together in record time--one month from the Notification! And, through a network of volunteer translators on at least four continents, the English translation has been completed, less than three months after the final Spanish version. This group of translators believes that the linguistic barrier that separates Latin American theology from wider circulation in the English-speaking world should be challenged. We have decided to make a modest contribution to eliminate, at least partially, this border which separates Latin Americans from English speakers in the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, and all over the world.
Liberation theology has been defined as a "critical reflection on praxis"--it goes without saying that it welcomes respectful, critical, intense dialogue about its ideas. Liberation theology does not pretend that its anwers are definitive. Rather, liberation theologians hope to continue to enter into a fruitful debate.
A few notes:
- You are free to download this version and distribute copies, as long as you do not use it for profit. While you can print it in book form through new digital printing technology, you can also simply print it on a normal printer, two pages to a sheet, double-sided, for easy reading.
- This site is maintained by the English translators.
- If you are interested in helping to serve as a translator for future translation projects, please email us at translationofliberation@gmail.com. You can write to us in Spanish, English, or Portuguese.
- If you have specific comments about Getting the Poor Down From the Cross, articles in the book, or have stories to share about how you have used it with your friends, with a class, or with a study group, we would love to hear these stories.
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