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In the Company of the Poor: Conversations with Dr. Paul Farmer and Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez
This book reflects intersection between the lives, commitments, and strategies of two highly respected figures Dr. Paul Farmer and Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez joined in their option for the poor, their defense of life, and their commitment to liberation. Farmer has credited liberation theology as the inspiration for his effort to do social justice medicine, while Gutierrez has recognized Farmer's work as particularly compelling example of the option for the poor, and the impact that theology can have outside the church. Draws on their respective writings, major addresses by both at Notre Dame, and a transcript of a dialogue between them.
206 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2013
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2139 people want to read
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Michael Griffin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
March 4, 2017
So many good, concrete, practical thoughts in here, and such a worthwhile read.
Poverty is a scandal and an affront. To be poor is have a life of insignificance and to suffer an early death. In order to eradicate poverty, we've got to change our minds and actions. One of the first and most crucial concepts is to always act with a preferential option for the poor - meaning the poor get treatment first, and the rich last. This approach is pragmatic, particularly in the field of medicine. After all, disease and death already have a preferential option for the poor. It's also scriptural. Go read the Sermon on the Mount or Matthew 25 if you don't believe me. The last should be first. That's justice.
However, it's not always as easy as we think. Even free treatment for the poor doesn't go far enough in medicine. Poverty itself must be addressed, because free treatment doesn't mean a thing if you don't have enough food or transportation. Conventional wisdom tends to blame the victims of the violence of poverty for these issues, without looking deeper. That's because our world is set up on a preferential option for the RICH.
As one of the rich, it's up to me to realize that living in a "First World" country is an arbitrary distinction meant to dissociate me from the reality that I do in fact live in the exact same world as those who we would say live in "Third World". My actions and choices matter in the lives of people I don't know. We've got to live alongside each other, and realize that disease and poverty know no borders, and our cozy distinctions do nothing but make us complacent and blind to the scandal and violence of poverty that we've got a role in eradicating.
It might seem to be a challenge to apply some of this to my daily life at the moment, as I'm not a theologian or medical professional. But there is a place for each of us in eradicating poverty, which is a huge theme of the Bible. Living with and sharing community those who are affected by poverty, working to eliminate poverty on individual and structural levels. These are worthy, lofty goals that seem insurmountable in some ways. Holding out hope isn't going to be the answer. Creating the reasons for hope is an important way to give an answer for the hope we have. We must create it, in small, insignificant ways as well as in large and dramatic ways. That's praxis - not just an idea, but the work that ties to it.
Poverty is a scandal and an affront. To be poor is have a life of insignificance and to suffer an early death. In order to eradicate poverty, we've got to change our minds and actions. One of the first and most crucial concepts is to always act with a preferential option for the poor - meaning the poor get treatment first, and the rich last. This approach is pragmatic, particularly in the field of medicine. After all, disease and death already have a preferential option for the poor. It's also scriptural. Go read the Sermon on the Mount or Matthew 25 if you don't believe me. The last should be first. That's justice.
However, it's not always as easy as we think. Even free treatment for the poor doesn't go far enough in medicine. Poverty itself must be addressed, because free treatment doesn't mean a thing if you don't have enough food or transportation. Conventional wisdom tends to blame the victims of the violence of poverty for these issues, without looking deeper. That's because our world is set up on a preferential option for the RICH.
As one of the rich, it's up to me to realize that living in a "First World" country is an arbitrary distinction meant to dissociate me from the reality that I do in fact live in the exact same world as those who we would say live in "Third World". My actions and choices matter in the lives of people I don't know. We've got to live alongside each other, and realize that disease and poverty know no borders, and our cozy distinctions do nothing but make us complacent and blind to the scandal and violence of poverty that we've got a role in eradicating.
It might seem to be a challenge to apply some of this to my daily life at the moment, as I'm not a theologian or medical professional. But there is a place for each of us in eradicating poverty, which is a huge theme of the Bible. Living with and sharing community those who are affected by poverty, working to eliminate poverty on individual and structural levels. These are worthy, lofty goals that seem insurmountable in some ways. Holding out hope isn't going to be the answer. Creating the reasons for hope is an important way to give an answer for the hope we have. We must create it, in small, insignificant ways as well as in large and dramatic ways. That's praxis - not just an idea, but the work that ties to it.
October 1, 2023
"But just that it is true that human beings are not exchangeable commodities, so too must we acknowledge that even equitable economic growth is not a panacea for social suffering, nor will it replace compassion and mercy and solidarity as values worth valuing" - Paul Famer on pg 134.
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of essays and conversations from Paul Farmer & Gustavo Gutierrez. Dr. Farmer's experiences within the field of global health were incredibly interesting and disheartening (especially regarding the spread of epidemics of diseases that already have a cure). He makes a powerful point about the rare position health providers get to be in, as they are naturally close to people suffering in their job, and how that position can be used to love & care for those in their most vulnerable. The theological sections could sometimes be a bit above my head, but I still enjoyed reading about how those ideas intricately connect with medicine & global health.
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of essays and conversations from Paul Farmer & Gustavo Gutierrez. Dr. Farmer's experiences within the field of global health were incredibly interesting and disheartening (especially regarding the spread of epidemics of diseases that already have a cure). He makes a powerful point about the rare position health providers get to be in, as they are naturally close to people suffering in their job, and how that position can be used to love & care for those in their most vulnerable. The theological sections could sometimes be a bit above my head, but I still enjoyed reading about how those ideas intricately connect with medicine & global health.
October 11, 2018
This book is an amalgam of random articles by Farmer and Gutierrez, with an interview at the end. Farmer was clearly more into it than Gutierrez, and the amount of pages written by each author reflect that.
Don't expect to get much from Farmer, however. The chapters he wrote were terribly organized, and lack any notion of a clear purpose. Don't expect to spend much worthwhile time digging into them. They're worth reading once, however, due to the personal stories he gives about his medical work in poverty stricken areas, and the relation of sickness and poverty. It's eye opening, and more people need to be exposed to the difficulties people face on a daily basis. It's a necessary first step.
Gutierrez's stuff interacted with the theological impetus for making a 'preferential option for the poor,' and in so doing categorically dispels the myth that his theology lacks spiritual emphasis. He shows that Christ's internal workings in someone are a necessary prerequisite for the type of solidarity he pushes in his liberation theology. At the very least, it is integral. Moreover, his personal piety and love for the lord becomes manifest in the short amount of time he's present in the volume.
If you're going to read anything, though, make sure to read the last interview; it's the gem of the book. They speak frankly and clearly. It's also the place where Gutierrez is able to come out the most. It's like he's hidden away in his written work in the book. The interview brings out his passion for the lord and its subsequent passion for the poor in the most potent way. It's also the place where they just give the most practical advice. They explain the difficulties present in their work and its common pitfalls.
Overall, it was okay. I recommend everything before the interview ambivalently, but I strongly recommend reading the interview so as to get to know Gutierrez in a more personal way.
Don't expect to get much from Farmer, however. The chapters he wrote were terribly organized, and lack any notion of a clear purpose. Don't expect to spend much worthwhile time digging into them. They're worth reading once, however, due to the personal stories he gives about his medical work in poverty stricken areas, and the relation of sickness and poverty. It's eye opening, and more people need to be exposed to the difficulties people face on a daily basis. It's a necessary first step.
Gutierrez's stuff interacted with the theological impetus for making a 'preferential option for the poor,' and in so doing categorically dispels the myth that his theology lacks spiritual emphasis. He shows that Christ's internal workings in someone are a necessary prerequisite for the type of solidarity he pushes in his liberation theology. At the very least, it is integral. Moreover, his personal piety and love for the lord becomes manifest in the short amount of time he's present in the volume.
If you're going to read anything, though, make sure to read the last interview; it's the gem of the book. They speak frankly and clearly. It's also the place where Gutierrez is able to come out the most. It's like he's hidden away in his written work in the book. The interview brings out his passion for the lord and its subsequent passion for the poor in the most potent way. It's also the place where they just give the most practical advice. They explain the difficulties present in their work and its common pitfalls.
Overall, it was okay. I recommend everything before the interview ambivalently, but I strongly recommend reading the interview so as to get to know Gutierrez in a more personal way.
October 3, 2020
This book had me drinking the kool-aid! Liberation Theology is the backbone to the work Paul Farmer does. What a vastly different approach to theology from what the colonized Christianity we are so accustomed to.
I, admittedly, really struggled through much of the biblical overtones in the book shared by Father Gustavo. This book does an excellent job stripping the modern (and historical) dogmatic principles of “I, me” Christianity and flips it with Father Gustavo’s emphasis on a preferential option for the poor. This is the central tenet to everything he does. The parallels between his and Paul Farmers work motivates anyone with even an ounce of decency in their heart for social justice to be transformed.
Remain open and focused on creating hope and action for a world stricken with structural violence and this book will inspire you. Let’s do the work, y’all. I’d recommend this book to any and every “Christian” NOT centering their devotion toward walking humbling with the poor. Heck, every Christian read this- please! I’d recommend this book to every person practicing some form of medicine lacking the awareness that our most important practice is creating a preferential option for the poor.
I, admittedly, really struggled through much of the biblical overtones in the book shared by Father Gustavo. This book does an excellent job stripping the modern (and historical) dogmatic principles of “I, me” Christianity and flips it with Father Gustavo’s emphasis on a preferential option for the poor. This is the central tenet to everything he does. The parallels between his and Paul Farmers work motivates anyone with even an ounce of decency in their heart for social justice to be transformed.
Remain open and focused on creating hope and action for a world stricken with structural violence and this book will inspire you. Let’s do the work, y’all. I’d recommend this book to any and every “Christian” NOT centering their devotion toward walking humbling with the poor. Heck, every Christian read this- please! I’d recommend this book to every person practicing some form of medicine lacking the awareness that our most important practice is creating a preferential option for the poor.
September 6, 2018
Non-fiction, important, hard to get through.
This had a lot of religious philosophy in it about WHY we should help the poor. I was looking for HOW to help the poor. Paul Farmer, the author, a doctor and anthropologist and Director of Something at Harvard makes a difference through Partners in Health. I liked his parts of the book the best.
Here are quotes I liked:
"Poverty is not only the ranking spiritual problem of our times, but also its greatest scandal."
"Who among us does not wish to make a difference?"
"Material poverty is never good, but is an evil to be opposed.
Poverty is due to structural injustices that privilege some while marginalizing others.
Poverty is a complex reality and is not limited to its economic dimension. To be poor is to be insignificant. Poverty means an early and unjust death."
This had a lot of religious philosophy in it about WHY we should help the poor. I was looking for HOW to help the poor. Paul Farmer, the author, a doctor and anthropologist and Director of Something at Harvard makes a difference through Partners in Health. I liked his parts of the book the best.
Here are quotes I liked:
"Poverty is not only the ranking spiritual problem of our times, but also its greatest scandal."
"Who among us does not wish to make a difference?"
"Material poverty is never good, but is an evil to be opposed.
Poverty is due to structural injustices that privilege some while marginalizing others.
Poverty is a complex reality and is not limited to its economic dimension. To be poor is to be insignificant. Poverty means an early and unjust death."
May 31, 2017
This man is amazing!
July 23, 2020
I really liked the content and there was so much good theology there to grasp. I really want to read more from Gutierrez, however the switching back and forth between two authors was not as effective for me. Nevertheless, the community health work of Paul Farmer and it's connection with liberation theology is important. I see this as an introduction, and I would prefer something more in depth on both topics.
July 27, 2017
This book changed my life.
The theology of Gustavo Gutierrez and the work of Paul Farmer have served as boundless font of inspiration for myself and many others who grapple with the question, "how do you show the poor and the marginalized that God loves you?"
The theology of Gustavo Gutierrez and the work of Paul Farmer have served as boundless font of inspiration for myself and many others who grapple with the question, "how do you show the poor and the marginalized that God loves you?"
March 19, 2025
A dialogue between 2 of the people I must admire in the world (even though they unfortunately are both dead.) This book changed the way I look at the world and imagine solutions to seemingly insurmountable injustices
March 23, 2023
Outstanding description of liberation theology in theory and action.
March 24, 2014
An interesting read by Farmer and Gutierrez on the principles of liberation theology, and the intersection of religion, theology, global health, and poverty eradication.
The two points that the book hammered home for me were; accompaniment, in which those who wish to eradicate poverty accompany those in poverty on their journey. This has a background in theology, but also makes sense. When I look at my own service in Guatemala, a big part of what I think was most successful was accompanying those in my community on their journey, and helping them where possible to face problems and solve them.
The second point was "a preferential option for the poor." Both Farmer and Gutierrez advocate for providing a preferential option favoring the poor to help them lift out of poverty. He gives the example of MDRTB in Haiti, and how although the clinics for Zanmi Lasante were giving free treatment, there were still barriers "structural violence" as Farmer deems it, which prevented the poor from reaching their goals, they were not receiving enough food with the medicine and could not afford transport to the clinic. Thus, by listening further to the plight of the poor and devising afurther preferential option for the poor, they did a better job of reducing MDRTB. I definitely agree, but my question is: how far to push this...? If you teach a man to fish, is it enough? If you give him a pole, is it enough? If you give him hooks, worms and tackle, is it enough? What about if you give him a boat? Or tell him where to fish? Or give him fare to the fishing hole? Or take him there? I guess my question is: when do we draw the line? When is there a preferential enough option for the poor?
This also has to do with my work at Project CURE-is sending equipment enough? If it saves one life and breaks, was it worth sending? What if it saved no one? Where do we draw the line
In the company of the poor had a lot of religious text in it, which was a new kind of reading, but I think the essays were interesting even if by the end I definitely got the point.
The two points that the book hammered home for me were; accompaniment, in which those who wish to eradicate poverty accompany those in poverty on their journey. This has a background in theology, but also makes sense. When I look at my own service in Guatemala, a big part of what I think was most successful was accompanying those in my community on their journey, and helping them where possible to face problems and solve them.
The second point was "a preferential option for the poor." Both Farmer and Gutierrez advocate for providing a preferential option favoring the poor to help them lift out of poverty. He gives the example of MDRTB in Haiti, and how although the clinics for Zanmi Lasante were giving free treatment, there were still barriers "structural violence" as Farmer deems it, which prevented the poor from reaching their goals, they were not receiving enough food with the medicine and could not afford transport to the clinic. Thus, by listening further to the plight of the poor and devising afurther preferential option for the poor, they did a better job of reducing MDRTB. I definitely agree, but my question is: how far to push this...? If you teach a man to fish, is it enough? If you give him a pole, is it enough? If you give him hooks, worms and tackle, is it enough? What about if you give him a boat? Or tell him where to fish? Or give him fare to the fishing hole? Or take him there? I guess my question is: when do we draw the line? When is there a preferential enough option for the poor?
This also has to do with my work at Project CURE-is sending equipment enough? If it saves one life and breaks, was it worth sending? What if it saved no one? Where do we draw the line
In the company of the poor had a lot of religious text in it, which was a new kind of reading, but I think the essays were interesting even if by the end I definitely got the point.
November 27, 2013
I highly recommend this book.
Even though some of the essays have been published elsewhere, the juxtaposition of the thoughts of Farmer and Gutiérrez provided me with a lot of food for reflection in my ministry here in western Honduras.
I need to revisit the book before writing a full review - or before writing an entry on my blog.
Even though some of the essays have been published elsewhere, the juxtaposition of the thoughts of Farmer and Gutiérrez provided me with a lot of food for reflection in my ministry here in western Honduras.
I need to revisit the book before writing a full review - or before writing an entry on my blog.
December 5, 2020
Reading Farmer and Gutierrez talk about the importance of accompaniment and a preferential option for the poor is deeply admirable and inspiring, but I sometimes felt bogged down by jargon from their respective fields.
December 22, 2019
This is a wonderful introduction into the idea of liberation theology and how this idea can take form in a medical context and in a general sense as a philosophy of life. In short, as Dr. Gustavo states, "Liberation theology starts with the question of what we mean to the poor when we say 'God loves you' and how we can enact that." The book toggles between essays by Dr. Farmer and by Fr. Gutierrez and concludes with a direct dialogue between the two men. It is clear through the text that both men have had an influence on one another in their thinking and action in the world.
I believe that there are gems of insight for anyone in this book that make it worth the read. If you are interested in the praxis of theological thinking or interested in global health and how to address poverty, this is a must read book into basic principles.
My favorite quote, in which Fr. Gustavo cites philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, I believe embodies the philosophy of liberation theology:
"The grammar book of any language will tell you that the first person is 'I' and 'I am', but I think the first person is 'you are.' After we have recognized that you are, we can say, 'I am.' Emmanuel Levinas calls this the priority of the ethical over the epistemological. First you establish a relation with the other, and then you have a basis for choosing to pursue knowledge. How we should be toward others, not what we can known, is the central question of philosophy."
I believe that there are gems of insight for anyone in this book that make it worth the read. If you are interested in the praxis of theological thinking or interested in global health and how to address poverty, this is a must read book into basic principles.
My favorite quote, in which Fr. Gustavo cites philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, I believe embodies the philosophy of liberation theology:
"The grammar book of any language will tell you that the first person is 'I' and 'I am', but I think the first person is 'you are.' After we have recognized that you are, we can say, 'I am.' Emmanuel Levinas calls this the priority of the ethical over the epistemological. First you establish a relation with the other, and then you have a basis for choosing to pursue knowledge. How we should be toward others, not what we can known, is the central question of philosophy."
January 15, 2018
"In the Company of the Poor" offers a good, if not simplified, introduction to Gutierrez' primary theses. The book's editors select and synthesize Father Gutierrez' liberation theology to the benefit of readers unfamiliar with his works. Given the text's short length, certain aspects of Gutierrez' systematic theology are given little attention (i.e. eschatology or the notion of integral liberation). However, this is primarily due to the book's overall topic: How global health may be informed by liberation theology. Global health and Paul Farmer are the book's primary subjects. Liberation theology (and Gustavo Gutierrez) serve to inform how the primary subjects have and will continue to evolve.
Once more, this book is first and foremost about Paul Farmer and Partners in Health. That being said, the text highlights global health as one (in a million) different ways to apply liberation theology across disciplines. If medicine or global health are not your primary areas of interest, there is still much to learn. "In the Company of the Poor" is an enlightening case study on how theological disciplines inform not just doctors and health providers, but educators, policy makers, economists, social workers, and more.
Once more, this book is first and foremost about Paul Farmer and Partners in Health. That being said, the text highlights global health as one (in a million) different ways to apply liberation theology across disciplines. If medicine or global health are not your primary areas of interest, there is still much to learn. "In the Company of the Poor" is an enlightening case study on how theological disciplines inform not just doctors and health providers, but educators, policy makers, economists, social workers, and more.
March 9, 2025
A soteriological and overall theological mess which does, however, point to an unavoidable truth: care for the poor!
How Gutierez and Farmer get there though is far from sound. Letting your theology be chiefly inspired by 20th century philosophers (or any philosopher) is never a good idea. When you're within a Roman Catholic soteriological framework wherein justification and sanctification are wrongly conflated and grace is mediated through nature, adding on a "prefential option for the poor" creates a dangerous amalgamation. The poor is now your doorway to Christ, the means by which you most truly experience communion with God. This also means that there's no answer for suffering, and no recognition that we all rightly fall under the consequences of our sinfulness. The oppressed poor is spiritually elevated due to their material status, independent of their spiritual status.
There are good points raised here, but this theological framework cannot be adopted by any orthodox protestant.
How Gutierez and Farmer get there though is far from sound. Letting your theology be chiefly inspired by 20th century philosophers (or any philosopher) is never a good idea. When you're within a Roman Catholic soteriological framework wherein justification and sanctification are wrongly conflated and grace is mediated through nature, adding on a "prefential option for the poor" creates a dangerous amalgamation. The poor is now your doorway to Christ, the means by which you most truly experience communion with God. This also means that there's no answer for suffering, and no recognition that we all rightly fall under the consequences of our sinfulness. The oppressed poor is spiritually elevated due to their material status, independent of their spiritual status.
There are good points raised here, but this theological framework cannot be adopted by any orthodox protestant.
April 21, 2024
To speak of an injustice without opposing the killing nature of that injustice is an extension of its killing. Farmer & Father Gustavo are not only admirable in their work but in their hearts and words, which endlessly seek to remind us that distant tragedies are everyday reality, infinitely present in every moment, and equally our need to work towards resolving them.
“Poverty is not some accident of nature but the result Of historically given and economically driven forces. Human beings constitute the social world, and we will always shape it.”
“This is exactly what is meant by the concept of structural violence: inequity that is "nobody's fault, that is just "the way things are,"that we live with because we cannot or will not or do not know how to address the conditions that create unequal outcomes for rich and poor.? This idea, of an unjust social order that was in itself a form of structured violence…”
“Poverty is not some accident of nature but the result Of historically given and economically driven forces. Human beings constitute the social world, and we will always shape it.”
“This is exactly what is meant by the concept of structural violence: inequity that is "nobody's fault, that is just "the way things are,"that we live with because we cannot or will not or do not know how to address the conditions that create unequal outcomes for rich and poor.? This idea, of an unjust social order that was in itself a form of structured violence…”
May 18, 2018
Poverty is early, preventable death. Disease and the "structural evil" of society that enables this death have a preference for the poor, so must our responses if they are based in the equality of all humanity and motivated by need. Understanding of this and action to address it comes from truly being in community with the poor as fellow humans.
Challenging, demanding, theologically and spiritually oriented, set of essays and dialogues on liberation and accompaniment.
Challenging, demanding, theologically and spiritually oriented, set of essays and dialogues on liberation and accompaniment.
January 14, 2024
Personally, as someone not really steeped in Gutierrez’s theology, I did not really get much out of this book.
I fear that by going through Farmer in sequential order, I read him lapsing into the same academic/saying-the-same-thing-in-more-words that Arundhati Roy has in her own career.
Still, for those who seek to bridge these worlds together in their life, I think the book might be good. For me, perhaps I haven’t had that reckoning yet.
I fear that by going through Farmer in sequential order, I read him lapsing into the same academic/saying-the-same-thing-in-more-words that Arundhati Roy has in her own career.
Still, for those who seek to bridge these worlds together in their life, I think the book might be good. For me, perhaps I haven’t had that reckoning yet.
August 14, 2018
I love all of Paul Farmer's work. This one was interesting because it went back and forth between Farmer's medical and anthropological perspective on liberation theology's preferential option for the poor and Gustavo Gutiérrez's spiritual perspective on it as a theologian. It was helpful to see the overlaps and distinctions between their work.
April 7, 2022
Dr. Paul Farmer and Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez on a preferential option for the poor. Farmer is a hero of mine and I’ll be a student of his forever, despite his untimely death. But I can’t say I loved the way this was organized or written. I wish it had been a more intentional collaboration, rather than a post hoc collection, between these two visionaries.
February 7, 2023
Great book by a few faithful men who have inspired through their life long commitment to a cause. Love the way theology and nedi overlap here with a focus on the lives expression of faith commitments. One common theme that was unexpected was humility. Both authors speak humbly and with a deep commitment to others that was refreshing.
July 28, 2024
Insightful, inspiring series of essays and conversations about the idea of ‘accompaniment’ and how it is essential to be in relationship with those we seek to serve. Rooted in clinical medicine, anthropology, and liberation theology, it affirmed many things that I have learned are true about my own profession.
July 24, 2017
Great introduction to liberation theology.
April 11, 2020
Will be guiding my research career
August 28, 2020
Where theory (Liberation theology) meets praxis (public health efforts). A great read for those looking to learn how theology can influence Public Health.
February 15, 2022
Get ready to get convicted. If you’re looking for more of a primer, read chapter 3
March 20, 2024
“My mother is not a shirt”
January 16, 2025
A glimpse into the lives of two inspiring people. This book very thought provoking, and at times pretty sense, but overall I enjoyed it.
February 22, 2025
This had important content, weirdly was very hard for me to get through. But I appreciated the connection between health care availability and the theology of liberation
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews