Jnl of Hispnic / Ltino Theology Volume 5 Number 4 Article 3 5-1-1998 'Nuevos Odres pr el Vino': A Criticl Contribution Ltino/ Theologicl Construction Benjmín Vlentín Drew University Follow this nd dditionl works t: http://reposiry.usfc.edu/jhlt Recommended Cittion Benjmín Vlentín, Nuevos Odres pr el Vino : A Criticl Contribution Ltino/ Theologicl Construction, Jnl of Hispnic / Ltino Theology 5:4 (My 1998) 30-47. This Article is brought you for free nd open ccess by USF Scholrship: digitl reposiry @ Gleeson Librry Geschke Center. It hs been ccepted for inclusion in Jnl of Hispnic / Ltino Theology by n uthorized edir of USF Scholrship: digitl reposiry @ Gleeson Librry Geschke Center. For more informtion, plese contct reposiry@usfc.edu.
' r ' A Criticl Contribution Lutum/Lz Theologicl Construrlim 3i ll Ilfl' Vol, 5:4( 798) Nuevos Odres pr el Vino: A Criticl Contribution Ltino/ Theologicl Construction Benjmin Vlentin Drew University Neither is new wine put in old wineslrins; otherwise the skins burst, nd the wine pilled, nd the skins re destroyed; but new wine is put in fresh wine, kins, nd so both re preserved (Mtthew9:17), We must not he frid engge, in criticl dilogue with prtners in mestizo ioumey} We stnd t new point ot opportunity, Our pst nd hisry hve been given us; future is for us envision nd shpe: Even with the recent increse in the rticultions of Ltino/ theologies, it is necessry keep in mind tht Ltino/ theology United Sttes is still in its nscent stges. lines, it my initilly seem in the out of plce critique uch developing theologicl voice. Nevertheless, I believe tht if Ltino / theologicl construction is be tken seriously, both intellectully nd prcticlly, nd both within nd outside the, Ltino / community, it will be necessry for its theologing con si. ently ssess nd ressess the direction ol its rticultion As I see it, Ltino / theology, nd for tht mtter ny kind of theology becuse of its nture te kind of secondmrder nd third-order re ective discse,4 must lwys remin work in progress. To put it simply, Quoted from the New Revised Stndrd Version of the Bible llvier Quir wnes riiz, The Mctim Jney: Chllenges for Hispnic Theology, Apmztr-s '11,. (1991) 70, ldvid Mldondo, "ill Pueblo Ltino nd its lilentity: The Next ( leneriion," Apimlw 15:2 {1995) 57. l'heolog cond order re ection becuse it ttempts interpret nd n~ lyre lived expt, ience. it is lso wound-order reflection becuse it purports rein~ terpret for genertiong the significnce of the Writings of selected nd inherited religious nd culturl pst. in both c theology involves secondry moment of interprettion tht, in vrying wy critic lly focuses on pst nd pre. sent Sedimenttionu ol experience. Theology iw lso third order reflection the we properly discerning constructive criticism is lwys needed nd useful within theologicl inquiry. Genuine o3 IUXGSS n intellectul m» hince of discerning constructive cri rim is lwys necessry nd useful hecue it cn encge collective prticiption in the ttempt further the level of intellectul mturity within given nlyticl, descriptive, nd prescriptive discse. A helthy level of disceming constructive criticism, in other words, cn serve cll us wrd the necessry pursuit of constnt reflective sorting, nlyzing, understnding, synthesizing, correcting, improving, nd orienting criticl reflective process tht mode of discse requir ind deserves s it moves in second nd perhps even third hisricl level of rticultion, in sense, the theologicl voices of Ltin Americn libertionist theologins nd those of pioneering U l-iinof theologins hve now expnded in wht could be clled second wve of Ltino/ theologicl discse in the United Stte. In conjunction with those pioneering voices, who re still with us nd Mill on working the rticultion of distinctive theologicl d'scse, the tsk of present Ltino/ theologins is now tht of envrsroning the future of Ltino / theology. A proper nd substntive nlyticlv'x ion, however, lwy requires criticl wreness of the times. 'l'herelore l submit tht the, tent tht it humn imgintive ctivity tht ttempts construct cretive pic ture ol the sell, humnity, the world, nd God, with the ultimte gol oi providing overrching frmeworks tht my otter enhncing; Seltlimget incl intelligible, moving, nd enbling collective imges nd nrrii iugticevceiitered living in this cse, theology is not only n interpreliive endevor, but lso nimgin tivevmnstruch ve endevor. For helpful expliction of s theology,econd order interprettive re ective prxis see Jun Luis Segundo, The Libemiion of Theology (Mryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Book l976) cup 7590. For n insightlul expliction of theology db thirdmrder imgi ive n.>floction see Gordon D. Kufinnn, An [hwy rm'i heologiozl Method (Atlnt Scholrs Prose 197?)esp, 21 41; nd Sllie Mrliiguc, Models of God: Theologyfor n Ecologicl, Nucler Age (Phildelphi: FortreSS Press, 1987) esp. 21437. 5i m distinguishing here, simply for mtters ot chronologicl cement, hetween wht 1 would cll first tier of itino/ theologicl rticultion, presented by pioneering voices such n Virgilio lilizondo, lusio ex, Orlndo (,.ts, Mrin Herrer, Mri Film Aquino, Add Mri tem Uh, nd Yolnd Trngo, tht serves s formtive nd foundtionl nlogue for recent second tier 01 us: Ltino / theologins tht hs joined the tsk of constructing distinctive l Viln/ii theology. This second tier is cornpooed oi lhinke such s Rober C iniel, Hrold Recinos, Alln Figuero Deck, An Mri Pined, lencilu Rodriguew Holguin, Orlndo Espin, Arturo B uels, Dvid T rvorzo, Eldin Villtne, nd other up nd coming Ltino/ theologicl voices. l nole, however, tht most of the pioneering voices: re still with us nd still contributing the shpe oi Ltino / theology.
32 b cnjizmiiz Vlentin foundtions upon which theologicl discursive prctices stnd now need be reexmined so s insure the further mturtion nd public pertinence of theologicl voice in the United Sttesf In this sense, use the lnguge of the scripturl excerpt bove, we should be open the reliztion tht 711%??? wins, new wineskins (i.e., new theologicl progrms nd methods tht hrness, interpret, nd orient people s religious prctices within current sociohisricl sitution in the United Sttes), must constntly be sought, In this essy l hope contribute the development of Ltino/ theologies in the United Sttes by wy of three critiques, First, i will suggest tht debilitting ecclesiocentrism tht restricts theologicl discse the lnguge of the institutionl church seems permev te mny of Ltino/ theologies. Second, I will suggest tht Ltino / theologins hve tended overstress the inherent uthority of the Bible, over nd ginst the revelry significnce of the lived moment, within their theologies, Third, I suggest tht theologicl rticultion, in lrge prt, demonstrtes filure engge in socilly binding discse tht connects the Ltino/ sociopoliticl struggles with those of other mrginlized groups within the United Sttes. My ultimte intention is invite my fellow Ltino/ theologins further the pursuit of theologicl mturity by tking in considertion the rguments nd critiques I propose in the following pges, BlncingLtino/"I'lwolog s Ecclesioccntrism: A 'l lwnlogiclcritique As l see it, present nd future Ltino/ theologies will need void the trp of type of theologicl prochilism tht hs tken the form of debilitting ecclesiocentrism: tendency tht cn be described s restriction of theologicl discse the lnguge nd internl concerns of the Church, Tht is sy, much of theology opertes under the misguided ssumption tht theology is solely nd entirely tht> work of the Church nd for the Church, As such, I hve ob served tht much of theologicl reflection becomes, in the end, mere nlysis nd interprettion of the fith of those lredy existing " My use of the terms "," we, nd us throughout the essy llude my own epistemologicl orienttion the emerging trdition of Ltino/ theology. This is my wy of inserting myself within the germinl thought process 0! tht the ology, By not using r stncing I wish demonstrte tht I do not spekindepen dently of ltiuo/ collective nor for the lrge nd complex group of Ltino / communities, but tht I understnd my work s contributing prt of lrger process of theologicl re ection nd rticultion As ltino, l consciously con sider myselt s speking nd writing from within the Ltino reitlidml nd from within the Ltino/ religious ti\eologiclmovement in the United Sttes, A Criticl Contribution mono/ Theologicl Construction within the theologicl circle of prticulr institutionlized church, I m well wre tht the Church plys n importnt role in com» munities nd I myself continue hold on the hope of progressive Church s I seek work in nd through the C hurcht Thus, my rgue merit should not be mistkenly construed s n ttck on the Church nd more cll for cdemiclly gered theologies i do not men identify litino/ theology solely with cdemic discse, As pro ponent of orgnic intellectul ctivity I believe tht theologicl reflecv tion must begin in nd even end in progressive socil nd psrl prxisi Moreover, I certinly believe tht the Church cn, on occsion hs, nd should lwys strive ply n importnt formtive role in the development of existentilly meningful, enhncing, enbling, nd public orienting nrrtives However, it is necessry keep in mind tht theologiclre ection nd discse should stnd {or more thn just the discse of church. The ultimte intention of theology tht purports tke on some level of responsibility for the shping of the world should be serve not only the churches but lso the so greter ciety, nd even the cdemy Towrd this im, then, the centrl terms, ctegories, nd concerns of theology should lwys of the lrger socioculturl mtrices tht mke up be tied die life its reflective context A filure ccount for these wider public mtrices will inevitbly led tht lcks the intellectul nd their theologicl thought nd prctice logicl scope respond dequtely postmodern times To put it bluntly, the restriction of theologicl re ection nd theologicldis mounts trunction of the true hve fo- cse mere church lnguge public chrcter of theology, I will suggest tht in certin sense Ltino/ theologins cused o much on one of the public relms of theology thechurch t the expense of the other two possible publics of theologicl discse: the cdemy nd the society theologin Dvid Trcy, in his in uentil tretise on the public chrcter of theology entitled The Atlll' logiclimgintion, notes tht theology must ccount for three public relms: the public of the greter society, the public of the cdemy, nd the public of the religious community (, the Church). Trcy rightfully notes tht lthough prticulr theologicl progrm my center itself, intellectully nd prcticlly, on internl concerns endemic one of these three publics, nevertheless, it is lwys necessry for the theologin keep in mind tht the scope of s theology mode of inquiry lwys trnscends the on prticulr public sphere which he or she my be focusing, be it the church, socil or group, the cdemy. 7Dvid Trcy, 'l 1'er AiziilogimlImgintion: Christin 'l licologi/ [Ind tin?( izltim' of Plurlism (New York: Crossrod, 198]) 3-46.
'54 Ben/mum Vlentin As criticl nd reflective ct of humn imgintive cretivity, theology is founded upon pst nd present cretive responses the world nd cretive ttempts mke meningful nd justicecentered world through the interprettion of hisricl events nd experiences Theology is humn ctivity tht is rooted in the experi ences nd hisry of the sell within the context of broder socioculturl nd politicl milieux. In light of the brod intellectul nd prcticl scope of this reflective endevor, theology nd its resulting terms, concepts, nd over-rching nrrtives should never be undersod nd rticulted s merely reflection on the internl life, concerns, nd interprettions of given religious group. To put it boldly, the ttempt rticulte meningful theologicl discse by reference only church life will led us wrd trun«cted nd one'sided theologicl discse, I firmly believe tht theo~ logicl rticultion tht gives wy this sort of ecclesiocentrism will not be sufficiently ppeling outside the prmeters of the Church nor sufficiently criticl nd constructive for thechurch s own good. Fur. thermore, such theologicl Constructions will be hrd pressed provide the criticl nd constructive spiritul voice tht is necessry within the greter public debte. This is relm of discse bout which we Ltinos nd Ltins should be especilly concerned becuse it usully ffects prticulr communit s in negtive mnner, If we Ltino/ theologins wish help fill the present void of public ledership within communities, nd wish mke difference in public milieu s true orgnic public intellectuls, n spirtion tht is centrl libertion theology orienttion, then it is necessry for us engge in brod socil nlysis This should exmine the compounding effect of rce, gender, nd clss nd promote imgintive remedies tht will serve reverse the conditions of inequlity, injustice, nd the delimittion of hope nd life opportunities tht Ltino/ communities o often fce in the United Sttes, To chieve this gol it is necessry broden theologicl discse beyond the prmeters of ecclesisticl concerns, even when these concerns my include the importnt tsk of defining the public miss sion of the Church. In short, i believe tht discse tht restricts theologicl reflection the lite, concerns, nd lnguge of the Church will inevitbly fll short in its ttempt provide the guiding justicev centered spiritul nd morl support needed by Ltino/ commu nities nd indeed by society s whole, As I see it, the vibility of theologicl discse in the greter socioculturl mtrices should be centrl concern, especilly if gol is the development of guiding, enhncing, nd enbling Y nrrtives driven by n overrching vision ot greter socil common good. A Criticl Contribution Ltino/ l lwologicul Construction 35 in my observtion, the tendency restrict theologicl lnguge, church-tlk cn be found within mny of Ltino/ theologies, it occurs, for instnce, in Dvid Irverzo/s ttempt develop Ltino / theology of mission. in his ppeling nd powerful essy entitled Towrds Theology of Mission in theus, Vl rverxo sheds importnt light on the chllenges tht Ltinos / s, nd l uer Kicns in prticulr, often fce within the United Sttes After ccurtely describing these hrsh socil relities, 'l rverzo ends with hold proposition for prgmtic fith response tht seeks counterct the, hrmtul relities of Ltino/ life in the United Sttes, According lirverzo, this fith response, whose vision is one of socil reconstruction nd resrtion, is rooted in wht Costds refers s 1neccle iology of libertion/"9 This prticulr theologicl vision further explicted by Trverzo when he sttes tht theology of mi ion in context of such cptivity nnounces new presence of the church in solidrity with the spirtions for dy of ntionl reconstruction nd integrl libertion, m For purposes, it is necessry note tht in these sttements nd others like it, Trvery i s ultimte im is not only the description of prticulr kind of ecclesiology but, even more, the description of socilly inclined libertion theology, Although I gree with mny of "l rverzo s concerns nd rguments, I lso note tht his definition of theology is much o nrrow nd tht, s result, his ecclesiology sucv cumbs nrrow churchism. In his prop for theology of mission, for exmple, Trverzo gives the impression tht the Church is the only vible mens for progressive, counterculturl, libertive ction. I certinly gree tht the Church must strive he, nd cn be, libertive sce in society, but i believe tht it is lso necessry curtil the ide tht the church offers the one nd only mens for progressive 5c» cil ction nd chnge in society. In relity, socilly pmgressive mission will lwys require the involvement of seculr Chnnels, Furthermore, nd most importnt for the purposes of this we essy, should note tht for Trverzo theologicl discse ultimtely equtes the life nd discse of the Church, There is no ttempt by I rverzo ccount for the triprtite nture of theology s prctice dd r955 the discses of the greter society nd the cdemy tht cn s well s the discse of the Church, in sum, Trverzo s filure is twofold: rst, he oversimplifies the tsk of socil reconstruction by presenting Dvid Trverzo, Towrds Theology of Mission in the US. l- uer Ricn Migrnt Community: From Cptivity libertion, Apmttes 9:3 (198!) So. 9ll.iii:l., 56 Nlbidi, 57.
36 Benjmnin Vlentin simplistic one sided picture of the Church s the socil liberr; seconci, in his interprettion of the nture nd tsk of theology, he ends up restricting theologicl cli urse the discse of the Church, This pttern of restricting theologicl re ection the lnguge of the Church cn lso be detected in the constructions of other Ltino / theologins Orlndo Costs, whose work deserves cclim nd recognition not only within the, nnls of Ltino/ :1 theology but lso within the minstrem United Sttes, flls in similr theologicl prochilism when in his most influentil work he sttes: Contemporry Christinity is incresingly concerned bout contextul; iztion. it stems from the growing wreness of the importnce of conv text in thechurch s understnding of itself, its; fith, nd its mission in the world. The long-rnge universl formultions of the older theologies hve hd give wy shortervrnge, situtioncriented discses which, though shorter in lite spn, re more relevnt the life-in~ mission of the church, Although this sttement us provides with n importnt reminder of the need ccount for the implictions of greter sensitivity the immedite sociohisricl contexts of theologicl reflections, it is necessry note tht Cosls' description of the nture nd tsk of theology lso serves restrict theologicl discse the lnguge of the Church, 'l heology, in this sense, seems be relevnt only for the theo~ logicl circle of the Church nd seems s possible only discursive prctice tht origintes from the Church. Yet, s I hve rgued bove, theology, nd perhps especilly the theology tht emntes from the perspective of mrginlized people, should be concerned with the greter public significnce of its discse rther thn just with the concerns prochil of prticulr Church. Costs repets this theologicl ecclesiocentrism in some of his lter works. For instnce, in ttempting explin the nture of theologicl discse nd the role of evngeliztion in his finl published work, he sttes: Theology nd evngeliztion re two interrelted spects of the lite nd m sion of the Christin fith, Theology studies the fith; evngeliztion is the proce by which it is communicted, Theology plumbs the dep i of the Christin fith; evngeliztioii enbles the church extend it the ends oi the erth nd the depth of humn life. Theologyre ects criti- Urlnndo F, Costs, Christ Outside the( 11th Mission Beyond Christendom (Mryknoll, NY; ()rbis Books, 1932) 3 A Criticl Contribution Ltino/ l lwnlogiirl Construction 37,, willy on thechurch s prctice offuillr evngeliztion keeps the. l'heologins fith from becoming the prctice of n exclus 'e socil group, need be reminded tht mission (s primry evngeliztion) 'is the mother oftheology (Kehler) becuse it is the process by which the, church comes in being, Missionries nd evngelists need be mde wre of the fct tht theology is the spinl cord of the church: it strengthens it nd helps ii stnd tll Without theology, the church runs the risk ol collpsing, unble understnd itself or its messge nd mission in the world, illaequippecl both intellectully nd spiritully del with the chllenges of its socil context In this sttement we gin observe tht C s definition of theology confines theologicl discse the exclusive work of the Christin Church nd tht, in this sense, the ultimte gol of theology is serve the Christin Church, Thus, following Costs s line of rgument, the is restricted tht of criticl reflection on the criticl tsk of theology Christin Church s prctice of fith, The constructive tsk of theology, then, becomes tht of spreding this prticulr fith the whole world Becuse Costs, like mny other Ltino / theologins, is theologin with explicit psrl concerns, it is understndble tht he opts focus his work no concerns tht re centrl the public of the Church, Certinly, every theologin must inevitbly focus on, nd em one phsize, of the three possible publics of theology My critique, therefore, is not directed t Costs s on emphsis the public of the Church; rther, it is directed t Cost 5 reductionist ccount of theo- re ection. Costs s reductionist definition of the nture nd logicl tsk of theology ends up restricting ll theologicl discse thedis» cse of church, without ccounting for the possibility of its signifi cnce beyond the prmeters of church life. No room is left inc.ost s s theologicl progrm for the lrger public significnce of theology out«side of the Church, Although these two exmples derive from the perspective of two mle Protestnt Ltino theologins, i suggest tht this generl reductionism of theology Ltino/ theology, whether Protestnt, Ctholic, Ltin, or Ltino. As prticulr experience of whole culture, theology should ttend the broder church»tlk cn be found within much of kind of second nd third»order re ection on the wide Orlndo E. Costs, Liberting News: A Theology of Contextul Evngelizliou (Grnd Rpids, Mich: Eetdmns, 1989) l, liniph 5 mine, All in ll, I believe tht the lendentious prctice of s viewing theology re ective endevor tht cn only legitimtely emnte from the Church, nd exists only with thechurch s snctioning, nd whose purpose is only reflect on the
38 Benjmin Vlentin culturl experience of people The life of the Ltino church in the United Sttes must certinly be studied nd nlyzed within Ltino theologies, nd this spect of study, in turn, cn further con. tribute the formtion of distinctive criticl nd constructive theologicl discse. However, it behooves us Ltino theologins, for the ske of the, wider pertinence of theologicl discse, broden discursive prctice so include the greter socil, politicl, nd culturl experience of people. If we wish be true the ex» perientil nd contextul thrust tht grounds libertion theologicl method, then we must del with the wider experience of people within the United Sttes This ppel for widening of theologicl vision must be on grounded the fct tht we ll live out lives not just in the setting of selected fith community but lso in wider existentil, socil, nd politicl context, By withdrwing from the tsk of constructing theologies tht re ect on the wider pub lic conditions tht people fce, nd on the ordering of public life in the United Sttes, we unknowineg seprte theologicl disif () Church, is prevlent within much of Ltino/ theologiclwrit ings. lt would be impossible here provide complete listing of references tht v prove my point, but the llowin exmples help. i offer tht this cn tendency be di *eriwd in the following wo in l roiestnt-pentecostl Ltino theologin Smuel Soliv n sy entitled "The Need for North Americn Hispnic Theology, Mes zo C h unity: Theology/from the Ltino Perspective, ed. Arturo J.B uels (Mryknoll, NM. Orbis Books, 1995) 44~ 53; in Ltino Ctholic theologin Six ('lrci' y entitled Sces nd LLK i of HispnicTheology, Mestizo Christinity, ml in Ltino Ctholic theologin Alln Figuero Deck s essy entitled "At the (Trossr wds; North Americn ndhispnic We Are People; Inititives in His pnic mm 1 'l'heolqey, ecl. Rober (ioizuet : (Minnepo Fortress Press, 992) lull); nd in Ltin theologin An Mri l ined s essy entitled The Colloquies nd 'l lieologicul Discse: Culture s Locus for Theology, lmzl of His» pimi' utino Theology 3:3 (19%) 27412. i wish note tht my intention is not merely critique r the ske oi criticism. Rther, my intention is point certin potentilly problemtic trends within theologicl constructions in order fcili tte mturity nd growth within Ltino/ theology, It is lso importnt note tht this trend of limiting theology church-tlk nd church concerns is not confined Ltino theology but is lso predominnt in the generl discipline of theology s whole, in this ssy l m ddressing the generl field of theology, yet i lso consider myself 0, ec lly ccountble the community of Ltino / theologins nd the Ltino/ communities in the United Sttes most generlly. I should lso note tht my rgument, which clls r the need expnd the Vision of theology be! iocentrism, hs precedents within trdition of Ltino/ theology tht hint in this direction see Ltino theologin Rober Goizuet's essy entitled "Rediscovering l rx. : The Significnce ol US, l'lispn errience for Theologicl Method Wr' AW (1 People,esp. 7577, nd Ltin muienst tl leolo» gin Ad Mri lssilli n ( Luell/in the Struggle: A I'listmrzii: Womn s Lilienh lion Theology(Minnepo rtress Press, 1993) esp. 3&54. A Criticl Conlribzltit m Ltino/ I'hmlogimlConstruction 39 cses from their hisricl socil purpose. Theologicl reflection nd construction should contribute the well being of society, church, nd cdemy. To ensure tht scholrship contributes pos itively this tsk, we must come the reli,,ition tht theology is not reflective endevor tht is limited the Church nd origintes only from the Church. I believe tht the libertionist methodology tht we Ltinos uphold in theologies implicitly requires tht we leve behind the prochilism tht hs chrcterized mny of ef forts, prochilisrn tht hs restricted theologicl discse the concerns, lnguge, nd prctice of the Church. s Text: A Hermeneutiml Critique A second critique tht cn be mde of mny Ltino theologies is hermeneuticl in nture. The explortion of biblicl interprettive models within Ltino theology hs been extremely myopic. T ht is tended over-stress the inherent sy, Ltino theologins hve mostly uthority of the biblicl text without sufficiently ccounting for the role of the reders response the text s crucil element in the, understnding of revelry significnce. To put it bluntly, some of theologies still disply n unblnced on overwdependence the in scribed uthority of the biblicl text. My im in this portion of this essy is encge Ltino theologins wrd more rdicl nd slutry hermeneuticl stnce tht understnds present lived ex» perience of struggle for freedom be the "text" nd views the biblicl mteril s referentil context for theologiclreflection. 4 To present my hermeneuticl critique of Ltino theologies I will focus on the hermeneuticl stnce dopted by Virgilio Elizondo, s it The Mexicn Americn is especilly exemplified in his Glilen [owner]: Prmm'sc 6 nd Hrold Recinos s s reding strtegy, it is exposed in Her the Cry! A Ltino Psr Chllenges the Clunch, Following the methodology of libertion theology, both of these n thors ccentute three points: first, n on emphsis the formtive role of socil loction in intellectul construction nd interprettion; second, the epistemologicl vlidity of the experience of the poor nd mrgin-! m here dopting the liermeneuticl stnce, presented by the teminisl Asin theologin Chung Hyun Kyung in her very cretive book entitled Struggle l»: the Sim Agin: Introducing Asin Wmuen's Theology(Mryknoll, NY; (,>rbis Books, W90) ill ) A14, The Msxicmr/lmcricn l mmisc See Virgilio Elizondo, 77w Glilen forming: (hiryknoll, NY; (lrbis Books, 1983), See Hrold Recinos, Hem the,( y! A lutimi Psr Clmllmgrs the Cloud: (ionis villc: Westminster / lolin Knox i ress, WW).
40 Burijmnirl Vlentin lized in hisry; nd third, the necessity of subversive sociopoliticl reding of the Bible. Hence, both Elizondo nd Recinos cll for Gdmcrin fusion ofh0rizons " nd hermeneutics of suspicion However, like erlier libertion theologins, Elizondo nd Recinos limit this hermeneutics of suspicion the rhericl prctice of the biblicl interpreter nd do not pply it the built-in rhericl frmework of the biblicl text itself Thus, n uncriticl ppel the regultive uv thority nd libertive cpcity of the biblicl text is found in both 1 would like rgue, however, tht the locus of revelry significnce, epistemologicl vlidity, nd libertive promise is not be found iso lted within the biblicl nrrtive itself but, insted, is found when the textul nrrtive is reencted in the lived nrrtive of those who struggle for freedom nd libertion in the present hisricl moment. As Ctholic theologin hlizondo understnds tht there re three sces for theologicl reflection: Scripture, the trdition or the Church, nd the complementrity of humn reson The Bible, then, is centrl lilizondo s theologicl progrm. Moreover, Elizondo's hermeneuti cl stnce dheres sort of intercnonicl uthority (ie, cnon within the biblicl cnon),w To Elizondo, the whole Bible is uthorittive, but the hisricl prxis of Jesus s reveled in the biblicl Gospels tkes on specil revelry significnce Therefore, the Jesus nrr~ tive of the Gospels becomes, for Elizondo, sort of cnon within the biblicl cnon tht provides the libertive principle for the construe tion of Ltino theology Elizondo s on dependence sort of bibliclly preinscribed libertv ing messinic principle is exemplified in his comments: It is my firm (onviction tht the identity nd mission of the Mexicn Americn people will not only continue but will be puri ed, ennobled, nd strengthened by the discovery of its fundmentl identity nd mission in its cceptnce nd following of Jesus of Nzreth 15 the Lord of hisry nd life, 1 I reter here Gridmer's fmous phrse tht describes his understnding of of the world of the text with the interprettion s kind of correltive merging world of the reder 9 llnsvfleorg Gildhlet, Truth nd Method, 2d rev. ed. (New York- ( ossrond, l9 ). his some UllC SlCle employment of hermeneutics of suspicion is perhps best cptured in Jun Luis Segundo's interprettion of the method of libertion the ology in Libvmlinn of 7719010, (Mrylnoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1976) 7-39 See Fernndo Segovi Inscription ofl 7ondo/s hermeneuticl method s one of cnon within the cnon from the inside in his rticle entitled "Reding the Bible 9 WnicAmericns, TheNY )litlcrpwlur s Bible (Nshville: Abingdon Press, Ll) l:lo8~9_ Elizondo, Gl/lm [.vzrrm y, l. A Criticl Contribution l0 Ltino/'l lirulogiirul (Turislmciion 41 We should note tht the recognition, cceptnce, nd following of lesus messinic exmple is on dependent reding or rereding of the biblicl Gospel nrrtives Thus Elizondo concludes tht "we need do serious rereding of the gospels discover how Jesus of Nzreth functioned in reltion his hisry nd culturl By discovering how he functioned then, we will discover how he functions dy? These sttements illus two centrl components ofeli» zonclo s hermeneuticl principle nd, therefore, of his theologicl progrm: first, tht the hisriclly liberting, dynmics nrrted in the biblicl sries of lesus crry in them universl principle of libertion tht could nd should be s ppeled the bsic uthorittive critea rion for ll Christin theology cross time nd cultures; nd second, it follows tht the present Ltino struggles for sociopoliticl emncipm lion in the United Sttes hve been nticipted libertion These two fetures re summrized by the following mnner: in the biblicl sries of [Zlizondo himself in It is in the light of tith tht we discover ultimte identity s God's chosen people. It is in the very culturl identity of Jesus the Glilen nd in his wy from Glilee leruslem tht the rel ultimte mening of own culturl identity nd mission lo society become cler.22 In other words, Elizondo believes tht certin hisriclly limited experiences, s they pper nrrted in the biblicl cn gospels, be posited s universl, uthorittive, nd normtive interprettive principles. As I see it, this mode of biblicl interprettion fils do justice both the biblicl nrrtive nd the lived relity of Ltinos in the United Sttes. It fils do justice the biblicl nrrtive becuse it seprtes the dynmics of libertion exemplified in the text from their concrete hisricl context. It flls doius l ice the lived relity of existentil, socil, politicl, nd culturl crisis experienced by Ltinos in the United Sttes becuse it seeks vlidte this relity by ppeling the revelry meningtulness of biblicl sries, in sum, through his ppel for n intertextul normtive nd evlutive crite rion of libertion Elizondo unknowingly mkes the present heroic LtinoAmericn struggles for personl, communl, socil, culturl, nd politicl trnsformtion lesssigni cnt thn those of the, biblicl chrcters of time pst, 4" lbid,, 47, 33 Virgilio Elizondo, Mestimie s Locus of TheologiclRetleciion,"Mr slizu Christinity, 23.
s, nbeth '. its 42 Benjmnm Vlentin Hrold Recinos displys similr hermeneuticl tendency in his Ltino brrio theology Recinos, like, lilizondo, mkes use of correltive, method of interprettion where the nrrtive of the Bible isre«lted the present lived experience of the Ltino communities in the United Sttes. For Recinos, however, the Bible in its entirety is deemed sliberting l ht is sy, rther thn subscribing, notion tht n uthorittive principle ex s within the Bible, cnon within cnon, Recinos ccepts the Bible 9 whole be uthorittive, Furthermore, he ssumes tht through contextul reding of the Bible, crried out from the perspective of ltinos living in the inner cities, much could be chieved. Thus, needed sense of Ltino identity nd dignity Recinos suggests tht the Bible cn be, the locus of trnsformtive re covery ofgod s specilreltionship nd rel empowerment, in short, once gin we find n ppel hermeneuticl criterion ol ur thority enclosed within the text nd n ssumption tht the nrrtive will lwys, in some wy, correspond positively ny lived relity cross lime nd cultures. I would submit tht these hermeneuticl systems unknowingly undermine the libertionist epistemology tht these theologins wish uphold becuse they deprecite the revelry significnce of pres: ent lived experience, principle tht is centrl hermeneutics of libertion. lt behooves Ltino theologins llow for the possibility tht the biblicl mteril becomes meningful nd trnsformtive only when it is reencth in people s present struggles for sellffirmtion nd sellrdetermintion. Thus, the locus of divine revel tion does not exist preinscribed in the text but is lwys product oi encounter between the text nd the reder s life dilogicl In this sense, Ltino theologins should keep in mind two helpful hermeneuticl suggestions mde. by Schiissler Fiorenz: first, tht the Bible should be undersod s hisricl protype insted of s mythicl rchetype; second, tht the Bible should function s resce rther thn s n uthorittive sce for theologicl refleco tionr I believe tht such hermeneuticl stnce still llows for the Bible s possible role s revelry nd ctive dilogicl prtner tht could inform culturl symbols, myths, world-views, nd vlue systems, Unlike lilizondo s nd Recinos s hermeneuticl Q A Recinos, [ter the Cry, esp, (15-72, lbid,, lilo. "lus (ion/11w hs recently mde similr rgument in 5mm: Bibliii: l'lm lible ( lrmughhispmi 1N; ivill Abingdon l ress 30. St Eli heth ler Fiorenz, Bred No 7 Chllenge of Frmmisl Hit/lir! lulerprr-lutim: (Bosn: Becon l r _ 1984) 14. A Criticl Contribution Ltino/u 'lihenlogimlcorislrtnrlimz 43 strtegies, such stnce llows for the uninhibited uthority of the lived moment, lnsted of seeking vlidte the present moment by ppeling the specil significnce of pst hisricl moment, n scription tht we selves construct theologiclly, it llows for the revelry significnce of people s present sries, It is necessry for us keep in mind, for the bene t of future theologicl con structions, tht in the end the locus ofgod s reveltion is life itself, To put it in the insightful words of the feminist Asin theologin Chung Hyun Kyung, we must continue remind selves tht life is text, nd the Bible nd church trdition re the context which sometimes becomes the reference for own ongoing serch for God,"27 Towrd Socilly Binding Ltino I lwnloxy: ASor iopolitimlcritique A retrospective nlysis will demonstrte tht, in mny wys, Ltino theologins hve chieved succ in estblishing the prticulr identity of US. Ltino theologicl discse As M, Shwn Copelnd correctly notes, From its beginning, US,l iispnic/ Ltino theology hs hd struggle estblish its own identity over ginst subordintion Ltin Americn theologies oflibertion. Furthermore, be» cuse of the bipolr White or Blck orienttion of Ufj. politicl ideologies nd culturl life, Ltino/ theology hs lso estblish its own struggled identity, nd provide forum of wrcn ss for the communl identity nd the plight of us Hispnic-Americn people within the over greter society, ginst subordintion Africn Americn theologies of libertion nd the Africn-Americn experiv ence in the United Sttes, I will suggest tht it is now the proper time plce ttention on the shred socil nd politicl conditions tht do limit lidlll'lo people, Africn-Americn people, nd other mrginlized groups in the United Sttes, in order encge trnsformtive di- colitions. logues nd Ltino theology pst nd present hs filed develop nd {support socilly binding discse tht cn connect the sociopoliticl struggles of communities the similr struggles of other mrginli d groups in the United Sttes. The move, wrd this kind of socilly binding theologicl discse should ground itself in the lichung Hyun Kyung, tgglr he the Sun Agin, '1ll, M. Shwn (.iopelnd, "Blck, Hispnic ologies, The Modem Tli legume: An introduction Christin 'llii?r;l<>glj ell: Century, ed, Dvid F. Ford, 2d ed, (Cmbridge, NY; Blckwell, W97) 367i / Ltino, nd Ntive Americn The~ in thet wmti»
44 Benjmin Vlentin wreness tht socil trnsformtion usully occurs through the devel' opment of effective politicl colitions On the one hnd, socil chnge requires the, building; nd nishment of prticulr communities nd communl identities. 0n the other hnd, socil chnge, especilly in nd nishment oi the United Sttes dy, requires the building wider communl bonds mong the subordinted groups of given society In this sense, use the words of Trinh T. Minhvh, we need relize. tht counterct the exclusionry politics of the United Sttes, theologies should trvel "trnscolturlly while engging in the locl hbitus/ (collective prctices tht link hbit with inhbitnce) of one s immedite concern/ 9 Tht is sy, we need link locl» community issues, concerns, re ections, nd ctivity the broder socioculturl mtrices of US. public life. The chllenge we presently fce is tht of plcing own experiences nd consciousn ss t the center of theologiclre ection while not llowing these locl nrrtives become seprtist nd exclusionry. We must fce this chllenge with key fcr in mind: the reliztion tht institutionl trnsformtion is only possible through brod-bsed politicl colitions Without commitment wider of humn solidrity cross rcil, culturl, nd ideologicl lines, emncipry discursive prxis will fil ccomplish ny significnt chnges in the sociopoliticl ren, Towrd this gol Hispnic-Americn theologies need become discses tht offer constructed knowledge of the self,commu nity, nd world tht cn women empower nd men ctulize n integrl nd inclusive vision of humn community nd solidrity. Moving, beyond the conurs ofself communl identity formtion does not men tht we need ignore questions oi identity within theologies. The question of who I m, nd who we re s n ethnic group, should lwys be pertinent theologicl construction. The tsk of selfodefinition is especilly pertinent nd criticl within context tht co istently works denyone s selfhood nd the formtion of collective-communl identity Moreover, the plcement of the self nd of one's communl identity t the center ofre ective ctivity is very importnt for the understnding oi host of other reltionships However, identity formtion lso requires high level of ttention the broder mtrices oi loction tht form one s self communl con text, In the light of struggle ginst limiting forces nd the common struggle of other subordinted groups in the United Sttes, it is nece ry for theologicl discses reflect on the continuity of us. Hispnic Americn struggle with tht of the lrger commu m l rinh 'i. Minhrli, An Acoustic lney, Rethinking Borders, ed. John C. Weldinth (Minnepolis: University of Minnesot Press, 19%) ll A Criticl Contribution I..tlli7lL)/tiTheologiclConstruction 45 nity of subordinted people, with Africn Americns, Ntive Americns, Asin Americns, nd so forth. if gol is not only under stnd world context nd plce within it, but trnsform contextul world, then re ective discses need ttend the connection of prticulr concerns with the similr concerns ofoth«ers in order build prcticl other subordinted groups. nd trnsformtive socil colitions with As individuls nd prticulr ethnic communities living in the United Sttes we ll certinly hve differences nd we must ccount for these in order keep t by hrmful notions of homogeniztion tht undermine prticulrself defining nrrtives. However, s subor' dinted groups within the United Sttes we must lso cknowledge tht we shre some common sries, struggles, hopes, visions, nd colition build- jneys, In order llow for socil chnge through ing we need cknowledge the commonlities between struggles nd the struggles of other subordinted groups. To use Dvid Ablos s poignnt nd insightful words, Ltino theology must lwys remind itself tht the most uthentic Ltin women nd Ltino men who re creting new Ltino sry nd culture in this re country those who live nd prctice life in the service of trnsformtion by cring deeply bout others, bout Ltinos, s well s members of ll other groups. ~ This concern for well-being nd the well-being of other subordi nted people should be theologiclly grounded in fith conviction tht s God/s cretures we should ll hve ccess equl seli~ communl determincy nd tht justice is n ll inclusive Concept, In short, vision nd gol should be tht of more humne nd just world for ll: humnist vision of community. Becuse of the rel humn proclivity wrd use corrupt of power, the construction of more justice-centered world lwys requires struggle This struggle is often best confronted through the building of solidrity nd through prcticl colitions. Ultimtely, the success of struggle for libertion nd for substntive institutionl chnge on hinges cpbilities forge solidrity nd the building nd mintennce ofmet ethnic colitions. In very rel sense the future of well»being s people in the United Sltes lies in bility trnscend prochil boundries nd enclves in order sustin str gic colitions with others nd llow for inclusive humn community, Dvid Ablos, "The Personl, Hisritl nd Scred Grounding oi Culture: Some Reflections on the Cretion of Ltino Culture in the U from the Perspective of the Theory of'l rnsiormtion, Old Msks, Nt, flirts: Religion nd Ltino Monti! tics, ed. Anthony Stevens-Arroyo nd Gilbert K,(. denu (New York: The Bildner Center r Western Hemisphere Studies, 1995} 169.
.. The 46 Brit/Limb: Vlentin As we construct, rticulte, nd do theology we should keep Cornel West/s profound socioculturl insight: in mind To estblish new frmework, we need begin with frnk cknnwla edgment of the bsic humdnn nd Americnness of ech of us. And we must cknowledge tht s people t Il luribus Unum we re on slippery slope wrd economir strife, socil turmoil, nd culturl Chos. If we go down, we go down, gether: prdox of rce in Amerim is tht common de. iny is more pronounced nd imperiled precisely when division. re deeper, In very rel sense ll who hve chosen or hve been forced mke out of this" ntion home, for whtever reson, shre common socil destiny. it is up better socil conditions, ll of us mke the best collective effort Our Ltino theologcl discse should gurd itself ginst sim ply Ire-creting the div ive prctices. of the dominnt EuroAAmericnn culture whose rcist, elitist prctices we seek oppose. ()urtheologi cl constructions, therefore, should void n intellectul prochilism tht serves seprte rther thn unite collective prxis. l believe tht the tsk of theology should include, in lrge mesure, the development of socilly binding discse tht sustins persons forcol lective politicl struggle nd ginst despir nd disppointment endemic the structures oi the present US. socil estblishment The building of effective colitions, however, lwys depends on internl dilogue nd dilogue with other groupsi This tsk is lwys difficult nd filled with perils, but it is. lwys new sry one, Towrd this end ttend the construction of new rher I Cll on mestizo theologins ricl frmework tht binds the sociopoliticl nrrtives of communities. those of other suhlugted ethnic groups within the present US. society As Come! West rightly notes, "We re t crucil cross. rod in the hisry of this ntion-"nd we either hng gether by combting these forces tht divide nd degrde us or we hngsep«rtely" If subordinted people in the United Sttes we Choose hngseprtely, we will only be choosing weken the potentil for chnge within present socil relity Let us choose hng gether in the fce of struggle! A Criticl Contribution Ltino/ TheologiclConstitution 47 Churl h so s better ccount for the public nilicnce of theologiv cl reflection in the cdemy nd greter socinl ren. Second, Ltino theologies should more pursue criticl hermeneutirl stnce tht considers one/s life he the criterion of uthority nd considers the biblicl mteril be resce for theologicl reflection. Third, Ltino theologies should crete discse tht serves bind gether community s heroic struggles ginst the oppressive forces tht deny self determintion with those oi other mrginlized ethnic groups in the United Sttes. We Ltino/ theologins should concern selves with the constnt improvement of distinctive theologia cl voice nd with the ttempt mke discursive prctices more ccountble the nee s of communities in the United Sttes I be lieve tht we will succeed in this effort ii we ttend these priorities in theologies, Cont/lesions 1 submit tht Ltino theologies in the United Sttes should seek, first, widen their discursive prctices beyond the, prmeters of the Cornel West, Rmrc Mimrrs (New York: Vintge Books, 1994) 8. lhicl, 15C).