Letter from the Editor
Welcome to the first issue of Latin American Theology! We believe that you will find in these pages a fresh word that will challenge your mind and soul. The goal of this journal is to make available in English some of the most influential evangelical thinking in Latin America today. We trust that this journal will meet a need in the international Body of Christ. Our hopes will be amply realized if a more fruitful dialogue takes place within the church around the world.
The first article comes from the pen of Ruth Padilla DeBorst, the President of the Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana (FTL). You will be attracted to her narrative style of biblical exposition as she analyzes our contemporary situation. She makes the prophet Zephaniah come alive and speak to us and to the injustice that surrounds us. Originally given as an address at Wheaton College, this message is a difficult yet necessary word to hear.
The Brazilian theologian Valdir Steuernagel delivered a powerful address at the Lausanne Conference for World Evangelization held in Pattaya, Thailand in late 2004. We reproduce his presentation here as he calls us to listen to the
prophet Micah. Steuernagel challenges us to creatively live out justice in an unjust world, to passionately love in a merciless world, and to walk humbly with God in a world (and a church) marked by arrogance and exclusivism.
Arturo Piedra, Professor of Church History at the Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana in Costa Rica, draws open the curtain and allows the rest of the world to see Latin American Protestantism today through his eyes. Piedra directs his analysis to the theological elite whose efforts to reform the church are often marred by arrogance and schisms. He instead recommends a humble and profound commitment to the church and a prophetic imagination compelled more by love than by the need to be right.
One of the main ingredients in a sustained, richer dialogue within the worldwide church is reading each others’ literature. In that vein, beyond the main articles presented in this issue we also include two book reviews. Neither book
reviewer is a native Latin American. Sidney Rooy, a longtime missionary to Latin America, currently writes from Florida while Fritz van der Lecq is pursuing a master’s degree in the United States before returning to his hometown in South Africa. They bring their various experiences to the table and speak back to Latin American authors about their books’ impact. We hope that these reviews will spark other readers’ interest in what their Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters are publishing.
We welcome your comments and suggestions. Let us speak the truth to each other and contribute to the growth of the Body of Christ.
Welcome to the first issue of Latin American Theology! We believe that you will find in these pages a fresh word that will challenge your mind and soul. The goal of this journal is to make available in English some of the most influential evangelical thinking in Latin America today. We trust that this journal will meet a need in the international Body of Christ. Our hopes will be amply realized if a more fruitful dialogue takes place within the church around the world. The first article comes from the pen of Ruth Padilla DeBorst, the President of the Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana (FTL). You will be attracted to her narrative style of biblical exposition as she analyzes our contemporary situation. She makes the prophet Zephaniah come alive and speak to us and to the injustice that surrounds us. Originally given as an address at Wheaton College, this message is a difficult yet necessary word to hear.
The Brazilian theologian Valdir Steuernagel delivered a powerful address at the Lausanne Conference for World Evangelization held in Pattaya, Thailand in late 2004. We reproduce his presentation here as he calls us to listen to the prophet Micah. Steuernagel challenges us to creatively live out justice in an unjust world, to passionately love in a merciless world, and to walk humbly with God in a world (and a church) marked by arrogance and exclusivism.
Yours truly,
Lindy Scott, editor
FTL Regional Secretary for
the USA and Canada
