Manana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective

by Justo L. González

An in-depth look at Christian theology through Hispanic eyes. It weaves the doctrinal formulations of the early church on creation, the Trinity, and Christology into contemporary theological reflection on the Hispanic struggle for liberation.

This volume offers a major theological statement from a respected theologian and author.  Richly insightful and unique, Manana is one of the few major theological works from a Protestant representative of the Hispanic tradition.  Justo L. Gonzalez offers theological reflections based upon unique insights born of his minority status as a Hispanic American.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Cultural, Church, Race

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1990

About the author

Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought and other major works, attended United Seminary in Cuba, received his MA at Yale, and was the youngest person to be awarded a PhD in historical theology at Yale. He is one of the few first generation Latino theologians to come from a Protestant background. He helped to found the Association for Hispanic Theological Education and the Hispanic Theological Initiative. Dr González is now on the faculty of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.

Reviews

[Joshua Steen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"God's final victory does not ignore human suffering but takes it up and vindicates it. Ours is not a victorious, uncrucified God, victorious like an undefeated football team. Ours is the God who achieves victory through suffering, and liberation through oppression. Ours is a God who, having known oppression, shares with the oppressed in their suffering. And it is precisely by virtue of that divine sharing that the oppressed can also share in God's victory." p. 93

González puts into words the kind of theology I have been resonating more and more with as I grow: a theology of embodiment, justice and peace, downward mobility, liberation, suffering, etc. My only qualm is the tedious wind-ups of history and getting into the weeds of heresies (you can tell he's a historian!) but the pitches make it all worth it. I know I will be returning many times for quotes and ideas and to remind me what this Christianity thing is all about anyway: the proclamation of the coming Kingdom of God, where a suffering God feeds the hungry and sends the rich away empty. The highlight was Chapter 9, where González rightly rebukes the dualistic notion of body and soul as a heresy that perpetuates injustice, when Christian theology has always valued bodies as "very good," and Jesus as a suffering body who demonstrates perfect solidarity with the suffering all across the world. González's theology of concrete good news to the poor reminds me to stop theologizing or wondering where God is and to simply dwell among the oppressed and watch as Jesus takes on a physical body in my neighbor.

"Biblical truth... is concrete, historical truth. It does not exist in a world of pure ideas but rather is closely bound with bread and wine, with justice and peace, with a coming Reign of God--a Reign not over pure ideas or over disembodied souls but over a new society and a renewed history." p. 50

"The reign for which we long and pray (thy kingdom come) is not 'up there' but 'out ahead.' The distance between us and the Reign is best described not as that between 'here' and 'there' but rather as that between 'now' and 'then.'"
If coming Reign of God is inevitable, and this Kingdom is where the poor and the oppressed are exalted where the rich are sent away empty... we had better start speaking "Reignese," as González says.

[Porter Sprigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m grateful to see the way the majority church in America is moving in this direction already in some ways but boy, do we have a long way to go. I’m really grateful for his willingness to call a stoic, unmoved, aligned-with-the-powerful God an idol and his heart to be a prophetic voice to those who are committed to that idol. I also love his exhortation to speak “Reignese”, living into the love and peace of the future kingdom now.

[Dan Bouchelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book just as relevant today as in 1990. Essential read for anyone concerned about the kingdom of God, justice, and the renewal of Christian faith.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has only ever lived in a majority, white US context, who came to faith in a white evangelical context, and is serving in a predominantly white campus and ministry field, I’ve been trying to continually learn from the diverse perspectives of God’s global Church. This is why I loved the concept of this book: examining classical Christianity from the vantage point of the Latin American experience.

Much of the book was exactly what I was looking for: his discussion on the image of God defined as “for otherness” is really helpful. His analysis of the early christological debates from the lens of the oppressed was incredibly thought-provoking. And his picture of manaña Christianity as a way to contextual the already-not-yet concept was fascinating. His intro chapters on Latin American church history and social-location gave me a lot to ponder. I think I had some simplistic explanations about why Latin America is so Catholic and Pentecostal that Gonzalez helped me reconsider. The Catholic Church and faith, as expressed in Latin America is both oppressor and justice advocate that greatly complexifies what it means to be Catholic in that place and setting. I don’t know if I fully agree with his analysis, but he surely stretched me.

I also knew that Dr. Gonzalez was a Methodist minister, so I also expected some tensions to come from this. What I did not expect, was being stretched by how 20th century the book was. Published in 1990, this book was steeped in Barthianism and reiterated the Hellenization thesis criticism of classical theism as a matter of fact. Dr. Gonzalez repeatedly mocks and dismisses any understanding of impassibility or immutability as an obvious distortion of the biblical God by those trying to make Him palpable to powerful Roman society. I found his chapter on the Trinity and other theology proper discussions mostly unhelpful since he came off more European-flavored-neo-orthodox influenced than Hispanic-influenced to me.

[Amanda Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best theological books I’ve read, a favorite I will recommend and likely keep coming back to. I read this book chapter by chapter because each one had so much in it to think about. Gonzalez writes with clarity and conviction and his explanations of church history is really helpful in understanding how Christianity, particularly in the West, has become what it is as a religion aligned with empire instead of what it was meant to be in subverting the power of the present day and declaring that a better tomorrow is coming. I look forward to reading more of his many books.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really exceptional. Haven’t learned this much from a book (or anything else) in a long time. Drawing richly on church history, Bible text, socio-political-religious history of the Americas, while also remaining ‘practical’… Justo’s writing in 1990 is still provocative, hope-filled, action-inspiring and highly educative in 2025. I’m just annoyed how long this sat unopened on my shelf until now 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Timothy Hoiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Anglican Christian with deep affection for Latin America and Latino culture(s), I resonated with stuff on nearly every page of this book. Mostly I come away encouraged. But I’m also perplexed by one nagging question.

González, a theologian originally from Cuba, is the kind of mainline Protestant who gladly says the creeds without crossing his fingers. In the big stuff, he finds himself in good company with small-c catholic Christians throughout time and space. But practically, as a Methodist surveying a Hispanic religious landscape dominated by the Roman Catholic Church on one hand and Pentecostalism on the other, González is, for all intents and purposes, holding down a very small fort in no-man’s land.

This book, it seems to me, is precisely an attempt to cast a vision for a distinctly Hispanic and distinctly Christian theology that, yes, respects the prevailing theologies on either side and looks for common ground whenever possible. But ultimately González charts a different path – one that is rooted in creedal orthodoxy, animated by the Spirit, and aligned with the poor.

Which makes me wonder: how many Hispanics would actually share the “perspective” promised in the subtitle?

[Micah Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging. He rightly recognizes the appropriation of Greek thought in the early centuries of the Church and its continuing influence, and especially the level to which its has unconsciously been accepted as Christian doctrine itself, to be a plague on our modern understanding of Scripture. (I do think he may be a bit too harsh on this point. Must nothing good come from Greek thought?) What was mostly new to me here though was the ways in which this imported thinking could lead to justify various forms of oppression. I appreciated his strong rejection of any form of dualism, Platonism, or spiritualism. His discourse in the final chapter on the meaning of spiritual was particularly good.
I would have liked to see more in the book, however. Especially, I would have enjoyed other ways that Hispanics have understood the Bible and Theology beyond merely how certain doctrines might lead to oppression. In this way, the final chapter’s discussion of Mañana was one of the best pets of the book.

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

For its time, this book made some good theological reflections from a Latino/a perspective. My favorite part is on the “other-ness” of God and his section on the Trinity not being for mere speculation, but participation.

[Tyler Grose · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We” before “me.” The Calvinists are NOT gunna like this one

[John Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gonzalez and I disagree on a number of theological points, but I realize, my theology is such that I will rarely agree with anyone on a through z. So I'll try from now on not to judge a book by how wrong someone is (although, clearly, I am the best judge of right and wrong).

Many seminarians know Gonzalez for his two-volume church history work. But anyone interested in Hispanic, especially Puerto Rican, theology, it's hard not to notice the name of Justo Gonzalez. This is my first encounter with Gonzalez outside of his fairly plain church history work. The great thing about this book is how engaging Gonzalez's writing is, it's hard to put the book down.

Gonzalez attempts to put together an ecumenical vision for Hispanic theology. As a young second-generation Puerto Rican trying to reclaim my heritage, I appreciate the work that Gonzalez does to carve out our own vision that takes into account but is not tainted by WASP dominance. The problem is that there are at least two Hispanic experiences: growing up in a Latin American country or neighborhood and rubbing up against traditional Western dominance, and the fairly common second-generation Hispanic experience of growing up as a part of or within the dominant Western culture. As a second-generationer, I understand that many of us are tormented by the question of how Puerto Rican or how Colombian or how Mexican we are. Gonzalez's work does little to include us, effectively producing an ecumenical vision for everyone who shares the first type of experience but not the second, for those two experiences are sometimes worlds apart and create different theological visions. For a non-Hispanic, however, the work is quite substantive and very appropriate.

There are a few chapters near the end of the book that almost leave behind the whole purpose of the book, mentioning the Hispanic life and experience or how that relates to the history and theology that Gonzalez expounds very little in those chapters. In some way what Gonzalez says in those chapters is logically consistent with what he says in the other chapters, but Gonzalez sometimes makes it hard to see why those chapters are included in a book of this kind.

In a world that really needs to understand the Latinos/as in our hemisphere, this book is in fact rather informative. And interesting, for sure.

[Bruce W.]

Justo Gonzalez examines basic concepts of Christian theology through the lens of the Hispanic experience. Seeing in the Hispanic experience a "New Reformation", Gonzalez explores classic divisions of Christian theology: biblical theology ("Reading the Bible in Spanish"), Trinitarian theology, a theology of creation, anthropology, Christology and pneumatology.

While Gonzalez does not make any significant new contributions to Christian theology, his exploration of the themes through the specific lens of the Hispanic experience and with an eye to how these aspects of Christian theology have both been misinterpreted and misused in oppressive fashions is enlightening.

One quibble I would have with Gonzalez is in his brief treatment of evolution in the chapter on creation. While not completely rejecting evolution and endorsing a creationist standpoint, Gonzalez does critique the "survival of the fittest" component of evolutionary theory as profoundly unbiblical. While I can affirm the critique of "survival of the fittest" within a social Darwinism context as unbiblical, the brief treatment of this topic lends itself to a wholesale rejection of evolutionary theory. Evolutionary theory, including the Darwinian concept of "survival of the fittest" is not in and of itself unbiblical. An uncritical application in the form of social Darwinism, however, is. The biblical narrative and the gospel proclamation of God's redemptive love for creation, rather than supplanting the biological process, provides an alternative to human interaction that focus on competition and oppression. This does not in any way negate biological observations and the theories derived from them.

Also, it is not until the final chapter of the text on pneumatology that one learns the significance for Gonzalez of the title of the work, Mañana. It is in the eschatological dimension of Christian theology lived out in the life of the Spirit in which one becomes a "Mañana people" living out in the here and now the "Reignese" (the language of the Reign of God) into a new future.

[Skip Crust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do you find a book on theology from a minority perspective that doesn't make you feel guilty about being a part of the majority. That's one of the things I loved most about this book. For once, I hear from a theologian that every person, regardless of their cultural background, comes to theology with a bias...even cultural biases. In the first few pages, he makes no apologies for his bias, and aims to help us understand why that bias exists, and how it fleshes itself out.

Gonzalez deals fairly with the theology, and makes no apologies for coming about it from the perspective of a Latino, but also is willing to admit the weaknesses and foibles of the Hispanic culture as they have dealt with Protestant Christianity coming out of Roman Catholicism.

He helps us understand and get into the mindset of Hispanics by sharing the long relationship they have with North American culture (specifically American), and shows how that has impacted both positively and negatively their theology. Without making the white reader feel guilty about being white, he uses the precision of a surgeon to delicately dissect the issues.

For the person interested in understanding Hispanics and how to minister best to them based upon their cultural backgrounds, I cannot more highly recommend this book.

[Nate Pequette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me want to stand up and cheer! What a book! Justo Gonzalez not only gives one a very complete hispanic vision, both catholic and evangelical, of the God that became flesh, but also gives one a history of the church that is truly enlightening in his look at the council of nicea, council of chalcedon, and the early church fathers. What we believe matters! It effects the way we live. And Gonzalez pushes us to put to death the God that is often at the heart of theology in the north atlantic, a theology that helps keep those in power comfortable. This book helped me see the God that became flesh that loved, lived, and suffered, for the world. This is a read that challenges us to live our future today. Just brilliant.

[Samantha Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable perspective on the church, poverty, minorities, and of course the Word. González challenges modern day American middle class perspective on Jesus, power, poverty, and the church alongside our role in it all through the history of the church and modern day theology and the misconceptions about ourselves, the church, power, and God. González encourages readers to be Mañana people, approaching the Lord through expectant and joyful anticipation of His Reign to come while living out the Kingdom Come Reality each and every today and cada mañana.

[Noe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!
Justo introduced me to the theology of my family's lineage and helped me understand the way my parents read scripture. I'm no academic, so his books always require a dictionary for me but in many ways they, like Mañana, relae ona basic level and help me interpret scripture so much better and not with a limited Western lens.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

30 years old but this is still gold. Relevant for us today and for all, not only those concerned with Hispanic/latinx cultures. I always enjoy Justo Gonzalez's work.

[Chasen Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction
While hunting in Utah October the white behinds of the Mule deer stand out against the slowly dying fall landscape—but often speckled rocks look similar, tricking the hunter. Movement is necessary in the constancy for any meaningful interaction. In Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective Justo González provides a meaningful contribution against predominant North Atlantic theology in the form of Mestizo Iberoamerican Christianity. From the minority perspective González proudly dismantles the myth of innocence because of his Fuenteovejuna theology.
He is the moving mule deer, making meaningful theology in a sea of monotony and oppression. But, he could stand out more with a clearer theology of revelation—which is never addressed in this text. While the doctrines of God’s nature, the trinity, and the incarnation have new Hispanic life breathed into them when the Bible is read in Spanish, González’ failure to accurately define revelation creates weaknesses in his critique of the Northatlantic idol god, definition of the incarnation, and eschatological call for the “grammar of Reignese.”
Summary
“Theology cannot be done in the abstract” because there is no such thing as a “general theology” that everyone can easily access. However, North Atlantic—Platonic/Capitalistic—theology has become the norm of theology. González argues that God cannot be known through rational objectivity, meaning that God can indeed be biased. God is biased against anything that works against his goals of bringing about what has been promised, sealed, and guaranteed by his Holy Spirit.
Holding to the authority of Scripture above any other form of systematic theology and the Fuenteovejuna (communal) theology of the church, González claims that “authority does not reside in priesthood in the hierarchical sense but rather in . . . the faith of the people” of which the early church has a better grasp of than the Constantinian church. The early church analogous to the minority perspective represents those with common concerns and perspectives shared with “blacks, women, and other underrepresented groups” contrasts with the Constantinian church, representing platonically, capitalistically, Western obsessed episcopates of power.
The ‘early church’ perspective holds to a theology of non-innocence, recognizing the beauties and blemishes of its own culture’s story and that of the Bible’s. Triumphalist historical understanding leads to an incorrect (or dangerous) hermeneutic of the Bible and pastoral application to a people. People become the heroes, not “the God of history and history itself, which somehow continues moving forward even in spite of the failure of its great protagonists.” González invites his readers into responsible remembrance which accepts the social and political horrors of our history (like the Old Testament) but reads the New Testament in the vocative, hoping we are addressed in return. Responsible remembrance creates a unified reading of the Bible against semi-Marcionism—creating an social-political value of transformation found in the Old(er) testament and promised in the New(er) Testament.
Here is the starting point of González’ theology: the unified political agenda of Scripture. Political in the sense that “interpretation is not to understand the Bible better . . . [but] rather to understand ourselves [and our situation] better.” Moving beyond individual transformation, González’ reading of the Bible corrects false ideas of God, of the trinity, and of Jesus’ incarnation. Given that all theology cannot be done abstractly, then “we must also bring a particular perspective to the interpretation of Scripture.”
God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence when not scripturally backed, are but platonic injunctions in the stream of Christianity which mirror “transnational corporations.” The God above is one of the privileged. Arianism, Patripassianism, and even “immanent” trinitarian speculation are more directly tied to people’s social and economic ideals. Docetism, Gnosticism, adoptionism, Nestorianism, and Eutychism fail because “we do not know who God is, nor what it means to be fully human, apart from divine revelation.” González’ God is defined by Scripture from a non-innocent perspective influenced by the eschatological grammar of Reignese which speaks—no yells in one voice—“Mañana!”
Critique
González’ invitation that “unexpected things take place whenever Scripture is read anew and seriously” pastors and challenges his readers while creating lack of clarity on what or how God is revealed. Revelation, in one Christian sense means “the unlimited Divine Life taking from in a particular human life . . . deeply historically anchored.” When González writes “If the Older Testament too is the Word of God [then] . . . the witness [of it] reminds us that God’s salvation is not purely “spiritual”” defines scripture as witness. It appears here that he agrees with Barth that the Bible is not revelation in itself but a recollection of past witness of revelation.
Later, González completely equivocates scriptures with divine revelation when he writes “a divine revelation in purely divine terms would be no revelation at all . . . Scripture certainly speaks of God in anthropomorphic terms.” All revelation becomes mediated via humans. The twin doctrines of the incarnation and imago dei negate the absolute transcendence of God; the former grounding revelation in humanity and the latter ontologically validating human language as a means of revelation.
González fails to accurately define revelation. In the former sense, he claims scripture to be a recollection of God’s acts. In the latter sense, he states that scripture, although mediated, is revelation in and of itself. Earlier he writes “authority resides . . . in Catholicism understood as the faith of the people.” Later, he concludes that “Any God whose existence can be proven is an idol.” This lack of clarity in a basic foundational doctrine of Christianity weakens his analysis and reinterpretation of other Christian doctrines.
When discussing God’s magnitude González writes “like “omnipotence,” we have no idea what “infinity” might mean . . . therefore as a supposed description of the being of God the word “infinite” hardly says anything.” The psalmist clearly writes “Before the mountains were brought forth or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Scripturally, González’ complaint becomes invalid and contrary to his definition of scripture. If he had a clearer definition of revelation, this argument could be avoided. When he equivocates scripture with revelation of God’s attributes, then his readers must wrestle with the whole Biblical text, even if it aligns with Greco-Roman philosophy.
Later in discussing God’s attributes González claims that “Christians, in their eagerness to communicate their faith to the Greco-Roman world, began interpreting their God in Platonic terms . . . which from that point on would serve to support the privilege of the higher classes.” First, it is obtuse to claim that non-higher-class people can fail to understand God within platonic descriptions. Every culture has a metaphysic, and the Christian duty is to translate the Gospel into that.
Second, González clearly writes earlier that “anthropomorphic language should not scare us.” Is the reader to understand that Hellenistic philosophy lies outside the realm of anthropomorphic language while every other cultural way of speaking falls within it? Or is González’ claim that platonic laden theology fails to progress the minority voice which holds a purer view of scripture due to their “hermeneutical advantage over those whose history is still at the level of guilty innocence.” What is or is not anthropomorphic language?
Third, while correcting false idea of the incarnation, González’ claim’ that “we do not know who God is . . . apart from divine revelation” fails to validify what divine revelation is, thus logically leaving open an equal standing between Hellenistic, Hispanic, and North Atlantic interpretation of scripture. The minority voice’s thoughts even with all their hermeneutical advantages are not ontologically closer or more valid than others. Gonzalez has failed to argue for the opposite to be true.

González’ theology becomes a repacking of orthodox Christianity based in a different grammar than that of the intellectual, powerful, North Atlantic elite—a different way of seeing God. This repacking needs to be lauded loudly because God “ will hear the desire of the meek . . . to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed.” A clearer definition of revelation would strengthen González’ point that the theology of the minority, the Bible reading of the Hispanic, and speaking the Bible in Spanish is ontologically closer to the truth than that of the North Atlantic. The fact is the same Bible is revealed to the Greek and to the mestizo Iberoamerican, but defining revelation will help decide who is reading it more rightly.
Conclusion
In Mañana, Justo González tackles the feat of summarizing the whole host of Western theology and reinterpreting it from a Hispanic point of view—in less than 200 pages! Personally, I found this book immensely stimulating and rewarding to read. I would and have recommended this book to anyone wanting a good orthodox entry point into the Christan doctrines of trinity, Christology, pneumatology, and even some atonement theory. The huge weakness of this book is González’ lack of clarity around what is and what is not revelation; however, this does not stop his pastoral call to read the Bible anew in Spanish. With evangelistic zeal, he ends with a call to his readers that true spirituality must be rooted in the Reign of God, in the good news of Jesus death and resurrection. Reading the Bible with Hispanic eyes, at least to González, comes closer to that reign than that of the North Atlantic.



Works Cited
Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics: Volume I: The Doctrine of the Word of God § 1–7. The Word of God as the Criterion of Dogmatics. T&T Clark, 2010. https://doi.org/10.5040/9780567690432.

González, Justo L. Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990.

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World: A Global Introduction. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2019.

Sanneh, Lamin O. Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture. 2nd ed., rev. Expanded. American Society of Missiology Series, no. 42. Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 2009.

[Nicholas Meriwether · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this gave me a greater appreciation of Gonzalez’s other work- Santa Biblia.

Gonzalez rightly points out that all theology is historically and culturally located, and thus gives ample description of the theological development that occurred in Latin America and even as that has moved with Latin Americans in the US. One point that I found fascinating is the way that generally, Latin Americans do not have idealized people in the past. In American culture, there is sometimes a tendency to have only good characters in your history, which can affect biblical interpretation with figures like Jacob and David. You don’t want to look for things to imitate from a person who even the Bible does not present as worthy of imitation in many cases! Coming from a background of both child sacrificing pagans on one side and bloodthirsty conquistadors on the other, there is an easier recognition that there are people in the past that shouldn’t be imitated. Another emphasis is how the Latin American church in both its Catholic and Protestant branches have taken the biblical call to care for poor and marginalized very seriously, even at personal risk.

Unfortunately, I found there were a mix of overstatements and stretched connections in much of the book. For example, he asserts that the political meaning is the primary meaning of the Bible. In other words, finding the power dynamics and who to advocate for is more important than any other sense (like doctrine, spiritual formation, general application to life). Or that other branches of the Church do not read the Bible to apply it to their lives. It seems that political meaning is part of how the teachings of the Bible interact with every part of life, not necessarily as the primary one. He also critiques the Nicene council for being too pro empire in their decisions, but goes on to talk about how Constantine was personally counseled by Arian theologians (despite the council condemning Arianism as heretical). His one claim seems not to necessarily follow the other. One of the strange connections he makes is between doctrine and praxis - the doctrine of the omnipresence of God is a justification by Westerners for globalized corporate expansion. Yeah, that’s a stretch.

[Misael Galdámez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was ready to give this book 4 stars until I read the last chapter, which moved me deeply. I also had this strange feeling reading it. I felt like someone has been probing some of my thoughts and musings for the last few years and putting them to paper, but I don’t know if I’ve had these because I’m Latino or what.

In any case, I really enjoyed this book. These are some of the themes I took away from a Hispanic reading of theology and scripture:

1. Earthiness/being embodied as good and God-ordained.
2. An honest dealing with our own violent histories and the Bible’s characters
3. God’s kingdom and reign breaking into earth concretely through tangible means
4. Reversal of social orders and God’s closeness to the poor and marginalized
5. The suffering Christ as a sign that God suffers with us
6. God’s kingdom is a future reality coming to fruition now through the Holy Spirit
7. Those who do not see the reign as sociopolitical, often can’t because of privilege or “neo-Gnosticism”

There so much good content in this book. It’s a useful corrective to some of the malaises of modern-day Evangelicalism, which is too often disembodied, “apolitical,” and which benefits from the present order. But may God’s kingdom come indeed today as is in Heaven.

[Graciela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read. I love this book, Justo Gonzalez explores topics of theology, faith, and being non-western. His approach to looking at scripture and spirituality through a non-western Christain lens allowed me to see how I had conformed my spirituality and questions towards God from a Western point of view and not from my cultural point of view. I read this book in 2014 and up until that I had changed my name to be Grace since it was easier for people to say but after I read the book I went back to my birth name Graciela. I realized my experience as a brown woman had value and could shine a light on scripture. I read this for a Seminary course and Justo was a special speaker in 2015 at Fuller Theological Seminary and I drove from Arizona to meet him, he signed my book and I got to thank him for existing in the Theological field.

[Antonio Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people have reservations around ethnic-interest theology and by "many people" I include myself.

This is the book to read to show that it can actually be done well. This is solid, orthodox Christian theology presented from a Hispanic cultural perspective and with a particular concern for its application in the Hispanic community. Gonzalez brings his encyclopedic knowledge of Church History to bear on historical Christian heresies - and points out the ones that are especially tempting for marginalized people.

As a Hispanic Protestant myself, I appreciated his analysis of the Hispanic Protestant position - how we relate to Catholicism and to the Hispanic culture that is infused with it, how we read the Bible from our unique vantage point, etc.

[Dave Papendorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. González is critical enough to be rightfully challenging with only a few elements that made me question his hermeneutics or historical interpretation. His critique is well-stated and necessary; I was really happy to read and be "poked" by this book. González is also charitable and fair in almost every instance. While there are some elements that are out of date, it is only because this book was written 30 years ago. Overall, a good read.

[Janessa Nations · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. I love that he started off with so much history and context and then used that to ground in his theology. It was well thought out, well laid out, and easy to understand. My only caution is that he walks the fine line of doing the very thing he criticizes others of. All in all, a great read.

[Damon Vinciguerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye opening experience for a white privileged male to see how parts of my faith have unexpectedly been shaped by the secular cultures throughout our history. I would recommend this to anyone open to expanding the scope of their faith. It also provides great theological discussion for why we should care about this world and the people in it; and not just wait idly for the next life.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book in "Cosas Encontradas" en La Zona Colonial en Calle Mercedes (Santo Domingo) This book is what got me into Theology and it was the perfect introduction to understanding Theology and the history of God. Great book, also love Gonzalez interviews on YouTube. Very well informed.

[Ryan and Sara Wendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Splendid book that dives into Christian theology written from a Hispanic perspective. Gonzalez's scholarship in this book is an asset to Caucasians. It is an eye-opening read that speaks to the minority experience. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be theologically awakened to fresh perspectives on Christian theology written from the perspective of a Hispanic.

[Anthony Spina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a few years to finish but an excellent read! Differs from Santa Biblia in that that is more focused on a Hispanic approach to Scripture. This work is primarily concerned with how a Hispanic lens impacts the way we understand (systematic) theology.

[JULES A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This text is a key referent in the development of US Latino/a Theology.

This text is a key referent in the development of US Latino/a Theology by a leading historian and theologian, Justo Gonzalez.

[Casey Stringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most influential works of any genre, let alone theology or liberation theology, I’ve ever read.