Overview
The Bible is important to Latino/a Christians living in America, playing a central role in their lives and churches. These believers have unique experiences and backgrounds that influence the way they read, understand, and apply Scripture. Reading the Bible Latinamente encourages these readers to recognize and embrace their social location and lived realities in reading Scripture. Three prominent evangelical Latino/a scholars and ministry practitioners combine their diverse experiences and expertise in biblical studies, theology, and missiology to provide an accessible resource that speaks to the lives of everyday people.
The authors discuss biblical interpretation from the Latino/a diaspora and provide examples from both New and Old Testament texts. Topics include reading in community and wrestling with identity and mission in the diaspora. Latino/a students and lay readers will be encouraged in their own reading of the Scripture and in the contributions they make to the North American and global church, while believers from other backgrounds will benefit from the perspectives and contributions of their Latino/a brothers and sisters.
The authors discuss biblical interpretation from the Latino/a diaspora and provide examples from both New and Old Testament texts. Topics include reading in community and wrestling with identity and mission in the diaspora. Latino/a students and lay readers will be encouraged in their own reading of the Scripture and in the contributions they make to the North American and global church, while believers from other backgrounds will benefit from the perspectives and contributions of their Latino/a brothers and sisters.
Table of Contents
1. Who Are We and from Where Do We Read? Latino/a Identity and Location
2. Reading Latinamente: How Do We Read the Bible?
3. Strangers in a Strange Land: Old Testament I
4. A Latino/a Blessing: Old Testament II
5. Equal Participants in the Community of God: New Testament I
6. Diaspora Faith Communities: New Testament II
Conclusion
Indexes
2. Reading Latinamente: How Do We Read the Bible?
3. Strangers in a Strange Land: Old Testament I
4. A Latino/a Blessing: Old Testament II
5. Equal Participants in the Community of God: New Testament I
6. Diaspora Faith Communities: New Testament II
Conclusion
Indexes
Endorsements
“This book illuminates and reminds us all of the spiritual wealth and particular contributions of Latino/a cultures and people to the broader church and community. It is a thoughtful, accessible, and moving overview. I recommend it for both Latino/a audiences and for those who need all that we bring.”
Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, academic dean, Centro Latino, Fuller Theological Seminary
“In your hands, this book may feel like a small book, but it is a very big book! It is big not because of the number of pages but rather because its brevity makes it an unexcelled basic introduction to Latina and Latino readings of Scripture. It is big because it shows the depth and the nature of our commitment to Scripture. It is big because it tells the church at large that the Bible is still relevant in our day and will be relevant wherever believers are willing to take the risk of reading it with new eyes.”
Justo L. González, immigrant, church historian, and theologian
“Reading the Bible Latinamente reminds us that the only way to understand the Word of God honestly and clearly is to see it through one’s cultural identity and social location. In showing us ways in which Latinos and Latinas interpret the Scriptures, the authors make the case for a beautiful and transformational reading—a reading that liberates rather than discriminates, marginalizes, and oppresses people. In this way, this book is not just for the Latino/a church but for the whole of God’s people.”
Al Tizon, affiliate professor of missional and global leadership, North Park Theological Seminary
“How does the Bible speak to the realities of Latinos/as? To read this book is to come to know the God who has asked us to love our neighbor as well as to come to know our Latino/a neighbors and to be deeply enriched. It is to come to the knowledge of righteousness or right relations for daily living in ways not previously imagined. The lives of the people portrayed are the vehicles of revelation. The topics are also ways to open discussions among those of us who are Latinos/as with the purpose of deepening and expanding our Christian traditions and practices in the diaspora.”
Rev. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, independent scholar and theological educator
“In Reading the Bible Latinamente, DeBorst, Carroll, and Echevarría emphasize the unique experience of being a Latino reader of the Bible, showcasing how the Scriptures speak powerfully to the Latino community. This book captures the richness of Latino interpretation, showing that the historically marginalized readings and unique faith expressions of diverse Latino communities are not only firmly situated within la tradición evangélica but also invaluably contribute to it. This work truly reflects the hermeneutical realities of being a Latino Christian today, both in North America and around the world.”
Dominick Hernández, associate professor of Old Testament and Semitics, director of Talbot en Español, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Authors
Ruth Padilla DeBorst
Ruth Padilla DeBorst (PhD, Boston University) is the Richard C. Oudersluys Associate Professor of World Christianity at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan.
M. Daniel Carroll R.
M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas) (PhD, University of Sheffield) is Scripture Press Ministries Professor of Biblical Studies and Pedagogy at Wheaton College and Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois. He previously taught for many years at El Seminario Teológico Centroamericano in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and then at Denver Seminary, where he founded IDEAL, a Spanish language training program. Carroll is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including The Bible and Borders: Hearing God's Word on Immigration, Wrestling with the Violence of God: Soundings in the Old Testament, and a major commentary on the book of Amos.
Miguel G. Echevarría
Miguel G. Echevarría (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Future Inheritance of Land in the Pauline Epistles, 40 Questions about the Apostle Paul, and Engaging the New Testament: A Short Introduction for Students and Ministers. He has contributed commentaries on John and the Johannine epistles for The New Testament in Color.