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Introductory lecture presented by Prof. Anu Mande
LATEST ADDITIONS TO OUR LIBRARY OF FREE BOOKS IN PDF FORMAT:
Latin American
Liberation Theology
By David Tombs
DOWNLOAD (350 page book — PDF — 43MB)
David Tombs offers an accessible introduction to the theological challenges raised by Latin American Liberation and a new contribution to how these challenges might be understood as a chronological sequence. Liberation theology emerged in the 1960s in Latin America and thrived until it reached a crisis in the 1990s. This work traces the distinct developments in thought through the decades, thus presenting a contextual theology. The book is divided into five main sections: the historical role of the church from Columbus’s arrival in 1492 until the Cuban revolution of 1959; the reform and renewal decade of the 1960s; the transitional decade of the 1970s; the revision and redirection of liberation theology in the 1980s; and a crisis of relevance in the 1990s. This book offers insights into liberation theology’s profound contributions for any socially engaged theology of the future and is crucial to understanding liberation theology and its legacies. (This book is in the Creative Commons.)
Latin American Liberation Theology — Moment, Movement, Legacy
25-page article by Prof. Tombs covering 1968-2008
NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AS A FREE PDF BOOK:
BISHOP PEDRO CASALDÁLIGA
In Pursuit of the Kingdom
Writings 1968 -1988
Translated by Phillip Berryman
Distributed with permission of the publisher.
About the late Pedro Casaldáliga (1928-2020):
“It was [his] decades of commitment to the people’s struggles, defending and amplifying the voice of the indigenous, the peasants, the blacks, the women and the most forgotten. Since its inception almost 50 years ago, CIMI has been inspired by Bishop Pedro’s example of prophetic life,” said the Indigenous Missionary Council, using its Portuguese acronym, CIMI. “His life was a gift and grace for all of us.” Download PDF
Toward a Planetary Theology
José María VIGIL (editor)
M. Amaladoss, M. Barros, A. Brighenti,
E.K-F. Chia, A. Egea, P.F. Knitter, D.R. Loy,
L. Magesa, J. Neusner, I.A. Omar, T. Okure,
R. Panikkar, P.C. Phan, A. Pieris, R. Renshaw,
J.A. Robles, K.L. Seshagiri, A.M.L. Soares,
F. Teixeira,
and the
International Theological Commission of
ECUMENICAL ASSOCIATION OF THIRD WORLD THEOLOGIANS
(EATWOT)
Download free PDF file (198 pages)
This book is written for all those who are preoccupied by the future of theology: Where is it headed? How far can it go? Where does it seem to be going?
The result of the investigation that this book presents, directed as it is to people devoted to theology throughout the world and in different world religions, draws a conclusion that is not only positive but a source of enthusiasm: In spite of what many believe, theology is moving, is evolving, is taking risks, is questioning itself, is asking about the transformations that have to be brought about so that it can be a theology for today and a theology for the future. As the religious discipline that it is, it has always been tinged with a halo of eternity, of unquestionability, of immutibility. It seemed that theology—that sacred science!—could not change its classical figure as patrimony of religions and Churches.
Also from the same source:
The Latin-American Agenda is a book-length annual journal of Liberation Theology published
annually in several languages by the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians.
José María Vigil, Editor
English-language Editions
2018 Latin American Agenda, «Gender Equality», in English (3’8Mb).
2016 Latin American Agenda, «Inequality and Property», in English (3’7Mb).
2015 Latin American Agenda, «Human Rights», in English (3’8Mb).
2014 Latin American Agenda, «Freedom, freedom», in English (4Mb).
2013 Latin American Agenda, «The Other Economy», in English (3’9Mb).
2012 Latin American Agenda,
«SUMAK KAWSAY, Living Well – Living Well Together», in English (3’7Mb).
2011 Latin American Agenda, «What God? What Religion?», in English.
2010 Latin American Agenda, «Let’s Save Ourselves Along With Our Planet», in English, (3’7Mb).
2009 Latin American Agenda, «Towards a New Socialism. Utopia Continues», in English (5’3Mb).
2008 Latin American Agenda, «Politics is dead. Long Live Politics!», in English (5’5Mb).
Social Ecology, Ecojustice and the New Testament
Liberating Readings
Carlos Alberto Sintado
Our planet Earth is going through an unprecedented crisis. The current ecological predicament is such that has the potential to annihilate life as we know it today. It is a global phenomenon that concerns every human being and even the whole creation itself. The international community and many organizations have issued persistent calls to change habits and behaviors as well as the basic organizational pattern of societies to make this world sustainable for future generations.
Social ecology is one of the secular disciplines that tries to understand the reasons why we have reached this point as well as suggests new ways to overcome the crisis. Ecojustice is a concern that women and men of faith articulate in order to find in the sources of their own religious traditions guiding principles and resources to confront the current world situation. In this context, people of faith ask whether the Bible has anything to say or contribute to this particular situation.
Throughout history, the Bible has been used, misused, and abused to justify almost anything, even the worst evils humanity has ever known, such as wars, slavery, racism, patriarchy, colonization, marginalization, and exploitation. Nevertheless, the Bible, as witness of the story of God’s good creation and of the pilgrimage of God’s people, has also been seen by many as providing a critical contribution to justice and peace and to the people’s commitment to safeguard God’s creation. This book reads selected New Testament texts–The Gospel of Mark, the letter to the Romans, and the Book of Revelation–using the key tenets of Social Ecology and ecojustice as a basic hermeneutical framework. It deals with three different genres–gospel, letter, and apocalypse–and suggests liberating readings that can inspire and sustain people’s commitment in the struggle to build a sustainable and more humane society, based on justice and peace for all God’s creatures.
The Spirituality of Liberation
By Pedro Casaldáliga and José Maria Vigil
(released in PDF format by authors)
From the Prologue:
The theology of liberation had to produce a spirituality of liberation. In effect it has done so. This is the subject of this book.
This is, as one might have expected, a new spirituality, different from the traditional spirituality in which we older people were brought up. It is also a specifically Latin-Ameri- can spirituality. Like the church itself, it is no less universal for being local. And it is a realist and not a theoretical spirituality.
This spirituality is radically different from that of those who close their eyes to society and politics: that is, to the poor, to the ever-widening abyss betwen rich and poor. This means that it is different from the bourgeois spirituality of the rich and the ‘ ruling classes—though these also contain poor, blind led by blind guides, poor people who also shut their eyes, to poverty, and to themselves.
This spirituality says radical things, and the reader will find them in this book: such as that the poor are the only sacrament for salvation. And that people are divided not into believers and unbelievers, but according to their attitude to the poor.
read more (English translation) ~ ~ ~ edición original en español
Also from these authors, in multiple languages, The Latin American Agenda, an index of twenty-seven years of writing, collecting, editing and publishing scholarly materials on social and religious challenges, visions, progress and problems in Latin America.
Click here to download PDF file
The Liberation Theology of Jesus
A sermon by Rev. Dr. Roger Ray
Liberation Theology & Radical Christianity with Christopher Rowland
Mother Pelican: Theological Reflections on the Need to Transcend Patriarchal Domination
(The pelican is an ancient symbol of unconditional service.) Luis T. Gutiérrez, Editor — https://pelicanweb.org/

Mother Pelican feeding her young
The patriarchal culture of control and domination is the root of all social and ecological violence. It corrupted the original unity of man and woman (cf. Genesis 3:16) and is now disrupting the harmony between humanity and the human habitat. Just as we are now aware that slavery and racism are moral evils, we must become aware that gender discrimination is a moral evil that must be eradicated if solidarity and sustainability are to be attained. The need to reform patriarchal structures applies to both secular and religious institutions. Overcoming patriarchy is a “sign of the times” to the extent that it fosters authentic gender solidarity and nonviolence for the good of humanity and the glory of God. Given the enormous influence of religious traditions, it is especially critical for religious institutions to extirpate any semblance of male hegemony in matters of doctrine and religious practices. read more…
If Not Empire, What? — A Survey of the Bible
From the authors, Berry Friesen and John K Stoner:
The Bible is the most diverse and time-tested set of writings we have on the intersection of life, empire and faith. It deserves careful attention in a time like ours when imperial “solutions” threaten Earth. We are simply asking people to read the Bible the way it was written—as a collection of arguments about life, love and power. Especially, we ask people to pay attention to the big argument, whether God created the world to work by the imperial paradigm of domination and homicidal power or by the peasant-and-commoner vision of compassion and community. We have placed this book into the Creative Commons and offer it to you free of charge as a PDF document. We also invite to purchase printed copies from our book page on Amazon.com. For more information, please visit www.bible-and-empire.net.
The Prison Letters of Norman Lowry
FREE PDF BOOK (also available as paperback)
Arrested for his acts of faith-inspired civil disobedience, Norman Lowry reflects from his prison cell on what it means to follow Jesus in a culture of perpetual war-making.
September 7, 2018 Interview with Norman Lowrey
Peace and Social Justice Show — Sept. 7, 2018
KZFR 90.1 FM People Powered Radio Chico, CA
The Spiral of Violence
(free PDF copy – 6MB) is a classic statement (1971) of many of the concerns of liberation theology by Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife in the underdeveloped northeast of Brazil. Dom Helder Camara is often remembered for having said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist.” This PDF copy was produced by Alastair McIntosh.
Getting the Poor Down From the Cross:
A Christology of Liberation
Complied by Jose-Maria Vigil on behalf of the International Theological Commission. More than 40 Co-Authors: Leonardo BOFF (foreword), Tissa BALASURIYA, Marcelo BARROS, Teófilo CABESTRERO, Oscar CAMPANA, Víctor CODINA, José COMBLIN, CONFER de Nicaragua, Lee CORMIE, Eduardo DE LA SERNA, José ESTERMANN, Benedito FERRARO, Eduardo FRADES, Luis Arturo GARCÍA DÁVALOS, Ivone GEBARA, Eduardo HOORNAERT, Diego IRARRÁZAVAL, Jung Mo SUNG, Paul KNITTER, João Batista LIBÂNIO, María y José Ignacio LÓPEZ VIGIL, Carlos MESTERS, Alberto PARRA, Richard RENSHAW, Jean RICHARD, Pablo RICHARD, Luis RIVERA PAGÁN, José SÁNCHEZ SÁNCHEZ, Stefan SILBER, Ezequiel SILVA, Alfonso Mª Ligório SOARES, José SOLS LUCIA, Paulo SUESS, Luiz Carlos SUSIN, Faustino TEIXEIRA, Pedro TRIGO, José María VIGIL, and Jon SOBRINO (epilogue). Available in English, Spanish and Italian.
World Latin American Agenda 2009 is a collection of articles representing the latest thinking along the boundary when faith encounters oppression. The 2009 edition is about 250 pages and explores the theme “Towards A New Socialism: Utopia Continues.” Click the following links for…
This document is also available in Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, and Italian from the archive of www.latinoamericana.org .
The Violence of Love
by Archbishop Oscar Romero From the publisher: From the stirring foreword by Henri Nouwen to the last page of Romero’s text, this powerful little volume of eloquent, simple meditations never wastes a word. Yet the real depth of Romero’s message lies not in his words themselves, poetic as they are. It lies in the life they give witness to: the hard life of a man who was martyred for his faith. Thus The Violence of Love gives more insight, perhaps, than any biographical account of his life. (Many thanks to Plough Publishing House for making this book available in free English and Spanish PDF editions.) Free PDF file Order paperback online (from booksellers in several countries) more about Archbishop Oscar Romero
Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution
by André Trocmé From the publisher: André Trocmé (1901-1971) is famous for his role in saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis, as pastor of the French village of Le Chambon. But his bold deeds did not spring from a void. They were rooted in his understanding of Jesus’ way of nonviolence and the social implications of Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God on earth. In this book, you’ll encounter a Jesus you may have never met before — a Jesus who not only calls for spiritual transformation, but for practical changes that answer the most perplexing political, economic, and social problems of our time. (Many thanks to Plough Publishing House for making this book available in a free PDF edition.)
Free PDF file (paperback not available at this time)
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, JR.
Free book chapters from the Stanford MLK archives
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” Speech
from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, August 23, 1963
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's ``I have a Dream`` Speech
from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, August 23, 1963
Website Editor’s comment: Why should we listen to this speech today? In the fifty years since Dr. King gave this speech, some overt forms of racial discrimination in the United States have lessened. But systemic forms of discrimination, such as police brutality and substandard schools in minority neighborhoods, continue with powerful negative effects. The work of righting the wrongs of slavery is not yet done. [DR]
“Compared with a White child in the Oakland Hills, an African American born in West Oakland is 1.5 times more likely to be born premature or low birth weight, seven times more likely to be born into poverty, twice as likely to live in a home that is rented, and four times more likely to have parents with only a high school education or less. As a toddler, this child is 2.5 times more likely to be behind in vaccinations. By fourth grade, this child is four times less likely to read at grade level and is likely to live in a neighborhood with twice the concentration of liquor stores and more fast food outlets. Ultimately, this adolescent is 5.6 times more likely to drop out of school and less likely to attend a four-year college than a White adolescent. As an adult, he will be five times more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes, twice as likely to be hospitalized for and to die of heart disease, three times more likely to die of stroke, and twice as likely to die of cancer. Born in West Oakland, this person can expect to die almost 15 years earlier than a White person born in the Oakland Hills.”
Excerpted from A. Iton:
LIFE and DEATH FROM UNNATURAL CAUSES:
HEALTH AND SOCIAL INEQUITY IN ALAMEDA COUNTY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2011
Dr. King’s speech against the Vietnam War,
given in 1967 at Riverside Church, NYC
(appx 1 hour)
Dr. King's speech against the Vietnam War,
given in 1967 at Riverside Church, NYC ::: (appx 1 hour)
Website Editor’s comment: To understand why Dr. King is so adamant and frustrated in the above video, I believe it is important to remember that by 1967 the Vietnam war had been going on for more than ten years, with mounting military losses, (Vietnamese, French, American) and gigantic civilian casualties. It was a war fought in the name of vague slogans. And it was a war that could not be won, but no general or politician wanted to be blamed for losing it and ending it. By the time Dr. King gave this speech, the foot-dragging, rosy-promise-making, and resposibility avoiding, was in full view. And given all this, the tragedy dragged on for another seven years after Dr. King’s death. History has vindicated his brave and often unpopular stance.
I am deeply convinced that facing the truth and telling the truth, especially when it is unflattering to oneself or one’s country, makes a person truly beautiful in the eyes of God. Dr. King spoke the truth than many did not want to hear.
The words that Dr. King spoke forty years ago ring sadly and powerfully true today. Meditating on Dr. King’s words, and then thinking about the situation of America today, we can see that wars develop an insane momentum of their own, become very difficult to stop, and consume all the resources that could have made life better for everyday citizens. The U.S. has now spent more in Afghanistan and Iraq than we spent in Vietnam, close to a trillion dollars, and we have nothing to show for it except thousands of wounded soldiers and millions of impoverished citizens. (DR)
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Edited by Clayborne Carson
(Selected chapters online from the King Institute at Stanford))
From the publisher: A professor of history and the noted author and editor of several books on the civil rights struggle, Dr. Clayborne Carson was selected by the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to edit and publish Dr. King’s papers. Drawing upon an unprecedented archive of King’s own words –including unpublished letters and diaries, as well as video footage and recordings — Dr. Carson creates an unforgettable self-portrait of Dr. King. In his own vivid, compassionate voice, here is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as student, minister, husband, father, and world leader…as well as a rich, moving chronicle of a people and a nation in the face of powerful-and still resonating-change.
Chapter 6: Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Chapter 7: Montgomery Movement Begins
Chapter 8: The Violence of Desperate Men
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Martin Luther King, Jr.
With fiery words of hope, wisdom, and a passion for justice that resonate as much today as they did years ago, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., stirred the deepest convictions of listeners everywhere, inspiring them to extraordinary acts of courage and perseverance that ignited one of the most influential movements of the twentieth century.
A Knock at Midnight is the definitive collection of eleven of Dr. King’s most powerful and spiritual audio sermons, moving and meaningful words to live by for everyone. This volume covers the full range of Dr. King’s preaching career, from the earliest known audio recording of King preaching to his last sermon given just days before his assassination.
Especially featured are the title sermon, among Dr. King’s favorite and most challenging, and seven sermons heretofore not seen in print, with introductions by renowned ministers and theologians such as Reverend Billy Graham, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Bishop T. D. Jakes.
From the King Institute at Stanford
With humor, insight, and a fierce and unstoppable desire for equality, as well as deeply felt compassion, A KNOCK AT MIDNIGHT is Dr. King’s voice today. It stands as one of his enduring legacies … and a resounding call to the soul. It not only reveals words that shaped our history, but lives and breathes with an urgency and relevance that inspires the greatness in us all. “I am convinced that Martin’s faith in the precious, embracing, amazing love of God was rewarded… Several years after his death I saw my friend in a dream. ‘It’s all right, Vincent. It is well with my soul.’ Somehow that message seemed large enough for me, for all of us, forever.”
–DR. VINCENT HARDING
A Call to Conscience
The Landmark Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard, eds.
Purchase this book from online bookstores around the world through this Link to Global-Find-A-Book.)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is known for being one of the greatest orators of the twentieth century, and perhaps in all of American history. In the 1950s and 1960s, his words led the Civil Rights Movement and helped change society. He is best known for helping achieve civil equality for African Americans, but these speeches–selected because they were each presented at a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement–show that his true goal was much larger than that: He hoped to achieve acceptance for all people, regardless of race or nationality.
This companion volume to A Knock at Midnight features the landmark speeches of his career, including: “I Have a Dream”; his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize; his eulogy for the young victims of the Birmingham church bombing; and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” the last speech he gave before his death.
Also featured in this text are introductions from world-renowned defenders of civil rights, who, reflecting on their own experiences, explain how they believe Dr. King’s words can be applied in the twenty-first century. They include Ambassador Andrew Young, Congressman John Lewis, George McGovern, Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, Senator Edward Kennedy, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Dorothy Height, Reverend Leon Sullivan, the Dalai Lama, and Reverend Walter Fauntroy.
Chapters from the King Institute at Stanford
DATE |
TITLE |
5 Dec 1955 |
|
7 April 1957 |
“The Birth of a New Nation,” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church |
17 May 1957 |
“Give Us the Ballot,” Address at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom |
23 June 1963 |
|
28 Aug 1963 |
“I Have a Dream,” Address at March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom |
18 Sept 1963 |
|
10 Dec 1964 |
|
25 March 1965 |
|
4 April 1967 |
વિયેતનામ બિયોન્ડ ("Beyond Vietnam" in Gujarati) |
16 Aug 1967 |
|
3 April 1968 |
Martin Luther King, “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam”
Excerpts from Sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 30, 1967
Selected books of
Fr. Tissa Balasuriya OMI,
in PDF or web page format. from https://tissabalasuriya.wordpress.com/
2009 Charity in Truth
2000 Globalization and Human Solidarity
1991 Right Relationships
1990 Mary and Human Liberation
1984 Planetary Theology
1977 Eucharist and Human Liberation
1976 Jesus Christ and Human Liberation (reprint 1981)
A Buddhist approach to affirmation, protest and witnessing for peace…
News From True Cultivators by Heng Sure & Heng Ch’au. An American Pilgrimage – Three Steps, One Bow for Peace 352 Pages -Text & Photos (1.6 MB PDF file may take up to 30 seconds to download) – Free
The letters of Heng Sure and Heng Ch’au… Three steps and a bow. That’s how they walked it. Two monks on a pilgrimage of peace that took them through a series of wide-ranging encounters and extraordinary experiences — within and without. These letters and photos are a record of their amazing journey.
Two American Buddhist monks on a journey of a lifetime, from downtown Los Angeles to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talamage, California. A journey of more than 800 miles that took two years and nine months to complete. They bowed in peace, and for peace. Touching their foreheads to the ground, opening their hearts with one wish for the world. Peace. For everyone, everyday, everywhere.
From the large and wonderfully generous Urban Dharma Library of free Buddhist e-books
“Green” liberation spirituality streaming video workshop/lecture series now available…
Eco-philosopher, teacher, writer, mother, and friend-of-all-life, Joanna Macy, has generously consented to share free of charge with all who may be interested, the heart of her current teaching and training work.
Go to video series More about Joanna Macy.
“The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are on the way to destroying the world — we’ve actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other.” J. Macy
YouTube videos on Liberation Theology
Black Liberation Theology PBS Bill Moyers Interviews Jeremiah Wright
Paulo Freire: liberation theology and Marx (subtitled)
A Conversation with James Cone Trinity Institute’s Bob Scott talks with theologian James H. Cone about race, religion and violence.
Pax Christi USA interview with Jon Sobrino, SJ (PART ONE) PART TWO Pax Christi USA honored Rev. Jon Sobrino, SJ with the Pax Christi USA Book Award for 2008 at its annual gathering at the School of the Americas Vigil and Action on Friday, November 21. Rev. Sobrino, the sole suriving member of the Jesuit community following the massacre by SOA graduates in November 1989, which claimed the lives of 6 of his brother Jesuits, their co-worker and her daughter, was honored for his book, No Salvation Outside the Poor: Prophetic-Utopian Essays, published by Orbis Books.