Revelation in the Vernacular

by Jean-Pierre Ruiz

Overview

Association of Catholic Publishers 2022 Excellence in Publishing Awards: First Place, Theology
Catholic Media Association, Honorable Mention in Theology: Morality, Ethics, Christology, Mariology, and Redemption

Unveiling divine mysteries across continents and centuries.

Revelation in the Vernacular retrieves a hermeneutics of the vernacular that is rooted en lo cotidi­ano, in everyday life and experience. Traversing time and geography, Ruiz remaps a theology of revelation done latinamente, beginning with sixteenth-century encounters of Spanish colonizers with Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. Drawing on the theology of the Incarnation articulated by Fray Luis de León (1527–91), he offers rich resources for interreligious engagement by believers in today’s religiously diverse world. Through an analysis of the documents of the 2019 Amazonian Synod, including Querida Amazonia, the Postsynodal Exhortation by Pope Francis, he explores a culture of encounter and dialogue that has been a hallmark of this pontificate. From the inscriptions in the caves of la Isla de Mona through the writings of the Latin American Bishops (CELAM), this book establishes a solid basis on which to discern the “Seeds of the Word” in our times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781531505844
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	12/05/2023
Series:	Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Jean-Pierre Ruiz teaches on the faculty of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s Universityin New York, where he is also a senior research fellow of the Vincentian Center for Church and Society. He is a noted Nuyorican biblical scholar and theologian, and his publications include the Catholic Press Association Award–winning book Readings from the Edges: The Bible and People on the Move. A past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S. (ACHTUS), he received their Virgilio Elizondo Award for distinguished achievement in theology. During the Obama administration, Ruiz served as a member of the U.S. Department of State’s Working Group on Religion and Foreign Policy. Ruiz’s research interests include the Apocalypse of John, the place of the Bible in the colonization of the Americas, the Bible and migration, and interreligious dialogue (especially Jewish- Christian dialogue).

Table of Contents

Preface to the Series | ix
Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, Gary Riebe-Estrella, Miguel H. Díaz

Acknowledgments | xiii

Introduction: Revelation a Long Way from Patmos | xvii
Charting This Book

1. Plura Fecit Deus: Colonial Encuentros on Mona Island | 1
Encuentros in Cave Eighteen | 8
Media and Message | 27

2. Verbum Caro Factum Est: The Vernacular and the Incarnation | 31
Fray Luis and the Americas | 37
What Fray Luis Read about the Americas | 37
What Fray Luis Wrote about the Americas | 48
Convergences: Fray Luis on the Vernacular and the Incarnation | 61
In Defense of the Vernacular | 61
The Impact of the Incarnation | 73

3. From the Amazon to the Tiber: Words Incarnate in the World | 77
Dios Te Perdone | 78
Contrition and Confession | 85
Seeds of the Word in Amazonia | 94
Seeds of the Word: Amazonian Synod 2019 | 100

4. “Seeds of the Word”: A Latin American Cartography | 107
CELAM and the “Seeds of the Word” | 107
Aparecida 2007 | 107
Santo Domingo 1992 | 110
Puebla 1979 | 116
Medellín 1968 | 120
Seeds of the Word: The Second Vatican Council | 126
Justin Martyr and Seeds of the Word | 136
Growing the Seeds: Amplifying Justin | 142
Querida Amazonia: Dreaming in the Vernacular | 146

Conclusion: Revelation, a Return to Amona | 153

Index | 159

Editorial Reviews

A fascinating read! Moving back and forth across the Atlantic, this book charts traces of divine mystery revealed in cultural expressions. A surprising 16th-century encounter between an indigenous Caribbean people and the Spaniards colonizing them? Yes. A dramatic 21st-century encounter between indigenous Amazonian people, a supportive pope, and their critics? Indeed. Using original sources, this study lays a trail of clues to the possibility that the self-disclosure of God might be greater than one has imagined or understood.—Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Fordham University

A thorough and engaging study, which traces the Church's long-standing notions of 'seeds of the Word' across the spectrum of religious experiences, especially in Latin America. Beginning with an astounding set of inscriptions by Spanish explorers in a cave on Puerto Rico's Isla de Mona and continuing through 16th-, 20th-, and 21st-century studies by Church teachers, leaders, and councils, Ruiz demonstrates a nuanced understanding and affirmation of divine revelation across cultures and centuries.—Efrain Agosto, Visiting Professor of Latinx Studies and Religion, Williams College

From the Publisher