Ten Theology Books to Watch For – June 2023

Theology without Deception: God, the Poor, and Reality in El Salvador

Jon Sobrino

(Orbis Books)

In this theological memoir, drawn from conversations with journalist Charmo Mármol, Jesuit Jon Sobrino relates the story of his journey from Spain to El Salvador, and how his confrontation with the poor and oppressed―those his fellow Jesuit and future martyr Ignacio Ellacuría called “the crucified people”―shaped the development of his theological work.

Sobrino’s memories are strongly shaped by the witness of the martyrs, particularly Jesuit Rutilio Grande, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and the members of his Jesuit community at the Central American University who were assassinated in 1989 by Salvadoran troops.

For all who are familiar with Sobrino’s work, and all who struggle with the meaning of faithful discipleship in a world marked by violence, injustice, and suffering, Sobrino’s frank and soul-searching reflections are essential reading.

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Modern Chinese Theologies: Heritage and Prospect

Chloë Starr, Ed.

(Fortress Press)

This is the first volume in a series of three exploring modern Chinese theology. This volume covers “Mainland and Mainstream”–church theologians of mainland China who were predominantly associated with mainline or missionary-established denominations.

In the post-1949 era of the People’s Republic this translates into theologians and theological movements associated with the state-authorized church: the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the (Protestant) Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The volume is broadly chronological, with each Part forming a thematic unity. Part I covers “Republican and Wartime Theologies,” with seven chapters exploring theologies of resistance, ethics, and themes of indigenization and Sinicization. Part II considers “Protestant Denominational Developments” in the first half of the twentieth century: the complex legacy of mission history in China and the relationship between denominational church belonging and theological development. Part III, “Reform Era Theologies and Methodological Considerations” begins in the height of the Maoist era, and addresses the changing relationship between Christian and Communist thought in the writings of TSPM theologians; the theological use of China’s Christian past, and the development of Roman Catholic theological education in the twenty first century.

The sixteen essays of the volume represent a new generation of critical voices from the mainland, Hong Kong, and North America. The volume opens up the critical questions that have galvanized the modern Chinese church–who are we, as Chinese Christians? How can our Christian faith serve the nation? What form should an indigenous church take?–and offers new perspectives for a contemporary audience.

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