Liberation Preaching

by Justo L. González, Catherine Gunsalus González

Book by Gonzalez, Justo L.

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

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

[CJ Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

At turns maddening and wonderful. If you've read a dozen preaching books that are all kinda the same, this may be worthwhile if you are able to spit out the gristle and enjoy the meat.

[Anthony Spina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best preaching book I’ve read. Chapter 3 and 4 on the Neglected Interpreters and Some Pointers on Biblical Interpretation were the best part of the book for me. Wrestling with questions of how we think about power and $$ within the church, it was a fantastic read.

Chapter 4 gave a few helpful tips on biblical interpretation- this chapter is one I’ll need to return to: Read the Political Situation (of the congregation/audience), Include the Wider Context (esp of those not in the room), Consider the Politics of the Text, Reassign the Cast of Characters (e.g. we might not be the main character in the passage), Imagine a Different Setting (imagine it studied/read in different circumstances), Consider the Direction of the Action (how we lay claim to the relevance of the text for us today), Avoid Avoidance (w/ challenging texts).

[JD Waggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gonzalez team applies liberation theology to homiletics, basically, and they do a fine job of it. They fall into the trap that any method does, which is to say they acknowledge that they have a bias but then operate as though it's fine because at least it's the right bias. Once you firmly remember that and read this in conjunction with other ways to preach sermons, this is a great resource for reminding those who preach to be aware of how so many Scriptural texts have been used to keep the "least of these" in that least position. Very good resource, but again, remember to use it in conjunction with other resources.