by Luis Aranguiz Kahn. Part 2 of 4. Read the whole article as a PDF here.

In Latin America, there have been some developments on Eco theology that come from other traditions. I cannot speak theologically from Latin America without mentioning one of the main Latin American theological frames, Liberation Theology.^[1] In a Pentecostal view, we could say that Pentecostals were worried about “spiritual issues” while liberationists were worried about “worldly issues”.

However, I would like to go beyond this distinction because it is not that liberationist Christians were not worried about spiritual issues but that they understood spirituality in other terms. And it is not that Pentecostals were not interested in worldly issues, but that they understood worldliness in other terms. I would like to take two concepts from liberation theology.

The first comes from the hand of Leonardo Boff; in his book Ecología: Grito de la tierra, grito de los pobres^[2], the Brazilian theologian develops a critical analysis of technological human progress. In his view, modern civilization is oriented by an anthropocentric (then androcentric) concept that divides human being and cosmos, and therefore, technological progress concludes as domination over nature. This can be seen clearly in the various forms of natural exploitation in the region, especially those regarding mining, water and forests.^[3] The call of Boff is to rethink our cosmology, so we can better savor the greatness and glory of God in his creation. Continue reading Is a Pentecostal Liberation Theology Possible? →