CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY PAPER Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective By Justo L. González Part 1 Emerging Theology In his book, Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective, Justo González digs into the history of the Hispanic people and how historical events and their culture have formed a perspective that, while different from other cultures, comes together to form a fuller and richer theology and understanding of God. González says, “Within that community we each bring our history and perspective to bear on the message of the gospel, hoping to help the entire community to discover dimensions that have gone unseen and expecting to be corrected when necessary.” (González 1990, 22) …show more content…
I grew up in a family who loved God, went to church, and taught me about God. I knew that “God is three in one.” He is the Trinity and the Trinity is a mystery that we will never fully understand. In my simple faith my theology, while never fully formed, likely tended toward tritheism. I “knew” that God is one, but in categorizing His diversity I think I lost His unity. As I’ve studied for this course, I’ve come to understand the Trinity deeper and have discovered “the essence of God is love” (Grenz 2000, 71)I am still aware of the mystery but the flat understanding that I once had has gained some fullness. In Mañana, González describes the political struggles for Hispanics wrestling with the doctrine of the Trinity. In the end, he says, “Hispanics today….would do well to…seek to discover, to imitate, and to apply to our societal and ecclesiastical life the love of the Triune God” (González 1990, 115) Our background may give us different struggles, but the conclusion remains the same—God, the Triune God, is
Gonzalez’s book is written through the lenses of the Hispanic/ Latino population. Though Gonzalez is not able to fully explain all the specifics of the entire Hispanic / Latino population when it comes to Christianity, he does a remarkable job painting a broad picture. Though this book is aimed at helping share
He received a B.A. degree from Philander Smith College in Arkansas in 1958, a B.D. degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1961, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University in 1963 and 1965, respectively. He taught theology and religion at Philander Smith College, Adrian College in Michigan, and beginning in 1970 at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he was awarded the distinguished Charles A. Briggs Chair in systematic theology in 1977. He taught theology and religion at Philander Smith College, Adrian College in Michigan, and beginning in 1970 at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he was awarded the distinguished Charles A. Briggs Chair in systematic theology in 1977. The thesis of this book is that one's social and historical context decides not only the questions 2 we address to God but also the mode or form of the
From the post Mexican-American war to late 1970s, ushers in the church always separated the seats of Mexican-origin people and the Anglos— they policed the racial boundaries among people (Nájera 2015: 135). Even more annoyingly, Mexican-origin people’s customs were not respected by the Anglos in the church. Mexican people used to have some popular religious practices, such as celebration of El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) (Nájera 2015: 45). Nevertheless, the Anglos didn’t allow their practices and criticized the Mexican-origin people for engaging in “ridiculous” activities (Nájera 2015: 46). Instead of applying the principle of culture relativism, the Anglos at that time judged Mexican people’s culture using their standards and misread the significance of Mexican people’s
Civil rights lawyer, Gustavo Garcia, who was also a Mexican-American, represented Pete Hernandez and was quick to point out that for the past 25 years in Jackson County, Texas no Mexican-Americans served on a jury. After Hernandez was found guilty by an all-white jury the case was appealed to the Supreme Court where Gustavo Garcia argued Hernandez fourteenth amendment was being violated. Garcia
Argueta’s vision is to extend God’s kingdom among Latinos through the love of Jesus Christ. He seeks to teach under the anointing of Holy Spirit, empowering people so that they can reach God’s purpose for their lives. He believes that God’s kingdom is expanded when people are personally expanded. The minister is supposed to be sensitive
A lasting motto of the conquistadors is: “For Gold! For God! For Glory!”. The words “For Gold” are a reference to the riches that were present and taken from the native empires, the mention of “God” represents the religious work their missionaries would attempt in converting indigenous people to Christianity and
Providence University College 117.11: Christian Spirituality: Formations Reading Response 3: Church Instructor: Daniel Rempel Name: Karanpreet Singh Student ID: 53037 Summary The book's author highlights the main idea of the Church's role in a modern environment.
The legend of the Virgen de Guadalupe has become a common symbol of hope to many incoming immigrants of Latin American countries. Due to U.S. governmental and economic interventions in Latin American countries, it has caused many people to migrate as refuges and flee unstable environments. These mass migrations have been followed by torturous trails and stories that many times end in death or abuse, however, other times it has allowed refugees to move away and live stable lives in the U.S. However, once in the U.S., these immigrants are faced with discriminatory policy based on false accusations that makes their lives unsafe and unprotected. Therefore, Latinx religious faith becomes a strong component of community for these groups.
It is a common fact in today’s society that many persons believe that religion has brought about more division rather than unity, more harm rather than good. The Christian Church is primarily known for its numerous separations. Christianity is partitioned into several different denominations, of which the Methodist Church and the Baptist Church form a part of. Both of these denominations do contain similarities as well as differences that set them apart. Some of these similarities include they both believe in the Triune God, meaning three persons in one; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Julio’s comment about the treatment of women in the Pentecostal church shows how religion has manipulated women like Blanca into positions where they are expected to be directed and restrained by others. The inclusion of the pastor in the list of glorified roles shows that religion is held to such a high degree that it should be included on the same level of need as any other family member like a husband or child. Religious followers often have specific symbols that represent their religion in their lives or an object that they hold sacred because it represents their faith in their beliefs. However, the people of the Pentecostal church have placed their representation of faith into the pastor and made
The life of St. Oscar Romero offers a profound understanding of the sacraments and their capacity for transformation. Romero's unrelenting dedication to justice, his prophetic witness, and his acceptance of the seven sacraments as the Archbishop of San Salvador serve as examples of what it means to live a sacramental life. We can get a greater understanding of the essence and function of the sacraments in developing our connection with God and our interaction with the outside world through studying key aspects of Romero's life and connecting them to the seven sacraments. The life of St. Oscar Romero serves as evidence of the sacrament of Baptism's capacity for transformation.
(Gonzales, 337) This shows his recognition of the importance of the youth in the Chicano Nationalism Movement, as well as the need for organized protests in order for the movement to
THE FATHER, THE SON, AND LA CHINGADA: THE TRINITY OF THE CONQUEST ‘Lo Mexicano’ is a phrase-turned-concept in 20th century Mexican philosophy. The term literally translates to “the Mexican,” however, it is also used to superficially describe the identity of the Mexican individual. The notion came about after the revolution; the phrase was meant to emphasize and unite Mexico as an independent people. Today, the phrase is understood as an all encompassing term for “mexicanness,” or that which makes someone a true mexican.
Methodology The Four Theological Voices Model The Four Theological Voices Model was developed by the Action Research: Church and Society team (ARCS), consisting of Helen Cameron, Deborah Bhatti, Catherine Duce, James Sweeney and Clare Watkins. In the book Talking about God in Practice, the ARCS team explains four theological voices which they discovered as they examined the practice of the Church. The four voices are: (i) normative theology, (ii) formal theology, (iii) espoused theology and (iv) operant theology.3 Cameron et al argue that these voices are intertwined, and that together they express the whole of Christian theology.4 The team 's main thesis is that practice is essentially theology, and that theology subsequently is embodied throughout the life of the Church and expressed in the lived practice of the Church through these four theological voices.5 Cameron et al is clear that this model should not be seen a complete description, but rather serve as a interpretative working tool for theological reflection upon how practice and theology are connected.6 Critique of the method While Cameron et al do not explicitly describe any specific direction of movement in the communication between the four voices, they argue that there may be a rather significant relationship between the normative and formal theology on the one hand, and the espoused and operant theology on the other.7 They also suggest that the model enables a challenging of formal and normative
SOME OTHER REFLECTIONS The doctrine of Trinity is the foundation of Christianity. One cannot comprehend God’s creation, salvation, the call to community, prayer, and many other expressions of the Christian faith without it. There are several considerations that Trinitarian Theology alone can make sense of. First, the nature of God is impossible to explain apart from Trinitarian Theology.