Liberation theologies are the most important theological movement of our time. In the 20th century, their influence shook the Third and First Worlds, grass root organizations and the affluent Western academy, as well as the lives of priests and laypeople persecuted and murdered for living out their understanding of the Christian message. In the 21st C their insights and goals remain – unfortunately – as valid as ever.

From the ruins of promised liberations that cruelly oppressed the poor, the authors turn our attention to an authentic liberation -- spiritual, economic, and political -- that is informed by the gospel of Christ the Liberator. -- Richard John NeuhausPast adherents of [liberation] theology would do well to attend to these arguments simply because, as the authors so compellingly observe, the lives of millions of the poor and oppressed are at stake. -- Michael Cromartie, research fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C.The authors concentrate on the really important issue -- what kind of liberation theology does the world really need? It needs a political theology based in the Bible and on sensible politics and economics, they say. It's hard to dispute that. This is an excellent and much needed book. -- Clark Pinnock, professor of Christian interpretation, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario

The Future of Liberation Theology envisions a radical new direction for Latin American liberation theology. One of a new generation of Latin American theologians, Ivan Petrella shows that despite the current dominance of 'end of history' ideology, liberation theologians need not abandon their belief that the theological rereading of Christianity must be linked to the development of 'historical projects' - models of political and economic organization that would replace an unjust status quo. In the absence of historical projects, liberation theology currently finds itself unable to move beyond merely talking about liberation toward actually enacting it in society. Providing a bold new interpretation of the current state and potential future of liberation theology, Ivan Petrella brings together original research on the movement, with developments in political theory, critical legal theory and political economy to reconstruct liberation theology's understanding of theology, democracy and capitalism. The result is the recovery of historical projects, thus allowing liberation theologians to once again place the reality of liberation, and not just the promise, at the forefront of their task.

Enrique Ambrosini Dussel is and has been one of the most prolific Latin American philosophers of the last 100 years. He has written over fifty books, and over three hundred articles ranging over the history of the Latin American philosophy, political philosophy, church history, theology, ethics, and occasional pieces on the state of Latin American countries. Dussel is first and foremost a moral philosopher, a philosopher of liberation. But for him, philosophy must be liberated so that it may contribute to social liberation. In one sense, "beyond philosophy" means to go beyond contemporary, academicized, professionalized, and "civilized" philosophy by turning to all that demystifies the autonomy of philosophy and turns our attention to its sources. "Beyond philosophy," also means to go beyond philosophy in the Marxian sense of abolishing philosophy by realizing it. This is the definitive English language collection of Dussel's enormous body of work. It will allow the reader to get a good sense of the breath and depth of Dussel's opus, covering four major areas: ethics, economics, history, and liberation theology.

Liberation theology has become an essential component of almost every major debate over Latin America today. It has changed the face of political life in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti; contributed to the rise of “people power” in the Philippines; even played a role in the growing discontent of debt-plagued Brazil. Now, using the plainspoken approach that made his Inside Central America the indispensable book on current affairs in the region, Phillip Berryman traces the origins, spread, and impact of liberation theology. He shows how its proponents have radically reinterpreted basic Biblical themes (such as the Creation and the Exodus) from the perspective of the poor and isenfranchised. By not asking “What must I believe?” but rather “What is to be done?” they make a direct connection between religious beliefs and political life.

The Preferential Option for the Poor beyond Theology draws on an interdisciplinary group of contributors to explore how to practice a commitment to the preferential option for the poor.

'Certainly one of the most promising theological statements of our time.' --The Christian Century 'Not for the timid, this brilliant book calls for nothing short of the overthrow of patriarchy itself.' --The Village Voice