We Drink from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People

Rating:
Summary: Why the controversy?
Review: Gutierrez has written about "liberation theology" in layman's language. Not only is the book informative, it is a guide to personal spirituality.

After completing the book, I find it difficult to understand why "liberation theology" has been such a controversial topic within the political and church establishments for the past 30 years. Why had a US government study claimed "liberation theology" a greater threat to Latin America than communism? And why had the authorities in Rome silenced both Gutierrez and Boff for their positions on liberation theology?

We Drink from Our Own Wells is formated into three sections. The first section contains two chapters that define "new" spirituality as practiced among the poor in Latin America.

The second section is comprised of three chapters that focus on scripture; particularly the gospels of the evangelists and the epistles of Paul. Much attention is given to the social gospel of Christ. The concepts of flesh, spirit, and body are extensively discussed, as are the terms "discipleship" and "community".

The five chapters in the final section are summarized in Henri Nouwen's superbly written Forward: "...filled with deeply moving texts written by Christian men and women who have experienced persecution and suffering but have been witnesses to the living and hope-giving God in the midst of their sufferings."

The 202 pages include 33 pages of notes, 4 pages of scripture references (over 200 entries), a 15 page Forward written by Henri Nouwen, and a 5 page Preface by Gutierrez for the 20th Anniversay Edition.

Rating:
Summary: Why the controversy?
Review: Gutierrez has written about "liberation theology" in layman's language. Not only is the book informative, it is a guide to personal spirituality.

After completing the book, I find it difficult to understand why "liberation theology" has been such a controversial topic within the political and church establishments for the past 30 years. Why had a US government study claimed "liberation theology" a greater threat to Latin America than communism? And why had the authorities in Rome silenced both Gutierrez and Boff for their positions on liberation theology?

We Drink from Our Own Wells is formated into three sections. The first section contains two chapters that define "new" spirituality as practiced among the poor in Latin America.

The second section is comprised of three chapters that focus on scripture; particularly the gospels of the evangelists and the epistles of Paul. Much attention is given to the social gospel of Christ. The concepts of flesh, spirit, and body are extensively discussed, as are the terms "discipleship" and "community".

The five chapters in the final section are summarized in Henri Nouwen's superbly written Forward: "...filled with deeply moving texts written by Christian men and women who have experienced persecution and suffering but have been witnesses to the living and hope-giving God in the midst of their sufferings."

The 202 pages include 33 pages of notes, 4 pages of scripture references (over 200 entries), a 15 page Forward written by Henri Nouwen, and a 5 page Preface by Gutierrez for the 20th Anniversay Edition.

Rating:
Summary: It changes your view of Spirtuality
Review: This book applies to everybody who is looking to stregthen his or her spirtuality. It looks at the Latin American version of Christianity which is a good reminder that there are more types of spirtualities than the American ones. It a good read, well written and it draws well on the scripture.