Liberation Through Reconciliation - by O Ernesto Valiente (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book argues that Jon Sobrino's Christology offers the basis for a Christian spirituality of reconciliation that effectively overcomes conflict by attending to the demands of truth, justice, and forgiveness. It envisions a Christian discipleship and a theology of reconciliation inspired by Jesus' praxis and the values of God's Kingdom.

Book Synopsis

In the past one hundred years alone, more than 200 million people have been killed as a consequence of systematic repression, political revolutions, or ethnic or religious war. The legacy of such violence lingers long after the immediate conflict. Drawing on the author's experiences of his native El Salvador, Liberation through Reconciliation builds on Jon Sobrino's thought to construct a Christian spirituality and theology of reconciliation that overcomes conflict by attending to the demands of truth, justice, and forgiveness.

Review Quotes

"This book skillfully takes up the theological tools forged by Jon Sobrino and extends their reach by articulating a theology and spirituality of reconciliation that confronts honestly, even painfully, situations of conflict, oppression and suffering today. What is the future of liberation theology? Books like this one and the praxis that it details." -- Matthew Ashley, University of Notre Dame

"Ernesto Valiente has uncovered new riches in the spirituality of Jon Sobrino and given new texture to the discussion of reconciliation in Latin America. This book is an important contribution to the further development of the theology of liberation today."-Robert Schreiter, Catholic Theological Union

"In this excellent book, I appreciate especially the architecture of the theological reflection. Valiente departs from a painful historical event--a civil war, which is the worst of all wars because of the many sequelae it leaves--to put forward an interpretation of reconciliation that responds to the festering wounds that take so long to heal. The book steers clear from facile wishings for peace and reconciliation and goes to what is essential in the Christian life: what Jon Sobrino calls "the principle of mercy." Step by step, the book delves more deeply into its underpinning theological foundation to weave together, with clarity and novelty, Sobrino's spirituality and Christology."-Gustavo Gutierrez, O.P.

About the Author

O. Ernesto Valiente is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He has published "Renewing the Theology of Martyrdom," Irish Theological Quarterly 79 (2014), "From Conflict to Reconciliation: Discipleship in the Theology of Jon Sobrino" Theological Studies 74 (2013) and "From Utopia to Eu-topia: The Mediation of Christian Hope in History," in Hope: Promise, Possibility, and Fulfillment.