Review of Justo L Gonzalez, Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes

David Lowe. Review of Justo L Gonzalez, Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996).



In review of this book, I believe the main point is that it is important for the reader to be able to understand biblical texts based on their own context and perspective. Context and perspective play an important role in understanding the Bible and engaging it in relation to discipleship and spiritual growth. Seeing the Bible through Hispanic eyes allows the read to see the Bible from another dimension enabling the reader to understand Scripture in a new light.

In the opening of the book, Gonzalez begins with a story about a question posed to him regarding the inerrancy of the Bible. He responded that yes the Bible is inerrant, however; “same cannot be said for any interpretation of the Bible” (12). Gonzalez informs the reader that “to read the bible is to enter into a dialogue with it” (14). Furthermore, he adds that “texts do not err” but that instead it is “writers and readers who err” (14). So with this in mind Gonzalez attempts to help the reader understand that questions of biblical inerrancy are not so much about inerrancy as much as it is authority (14).

As previously stated, the main point of the entire book is for the reader to be able to understand the biblical texts based on their own context and perspective. That is still true, but to further clarify the aim of the book is to delve deeper into Hispanic hermeneutics. Specifically, the author discusses five varying themes of Hispanic hermeneutics of which are Marginality, Poverty, Mestizaje and Mulatez, Exiles and Aliens, and Solidarity (32).

As the author notes in his text, the Hispanic culture cannot be confined to one particular people or segment of the Hispanic population. Gonzalez says:
“some of us are descendents of the original inhabitants of these lands, who were here long before the arrival of the first Europeans. Some of us are descendents of African slaves brought to work for Spanish masters. Some of us are descendents of the Spanish conquistadors and colonizers. Most of us are mixture of these and other strains. In background, some of us are Mexican, other Puerto Rican, other Cuban, or Dominican, or Central American. Some can claim more than one of these various backgrounds. Some of us were born in the United States. Others came as political exiles. Still others came for economic and other reasons. Many of us are not even quite sure why we are here. Some call ourselves “Latino/as,” others “Hispanics,” or “Hispanic Americans.” Some prefer more concrete identifications: “Chicano,” “Puerto Rican,” “Cuban American,” “Mexican –American,” “Salvadoran,” and so on” (32).

The importance of understanding or aim of Santa Biblia: The Bible through Hispanic Eyes is that Hispanic culture is diverse and in that diversity a wide variety of views can be discerned from the reading of the biblical text. None of these views are wrong, as much as they are all contextual and based on an individuals perception. Perception, for the reader, becomes reality so the perception of a person’s reading of the biblical text becomes the reality of the text for that individual.
The central argument of this book is to understand the ways in which an individual can understand and interpret Scripture given one’s background and cultural context. Our Hispanic bothers and sisters offer us unique ways in which we as fellow Christians can read, interpret, understand and act upon Scripture. The following few paragraphs offer a glimpse into the themes of the book and some of the ways the author goes about arguing how one can understand and interpret Scripture given the reader’s background and cultural context.

As Christians, we should be able to appreciate the themes and experiences of our Hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ. We can do that through the five varying, aforementioned; themes discussed in this book. As non-Hispanic Christians, we too experience some of these themes in varying scenarios and situations. For example, the author states that “the value of marginality is crucial, not only for reading the Scripture, but also for reading the history of the church, and even for reading our task as a church today” (45). One such task is meeting the needs of those on the margins, by being Jesus to them.
In marginality, we as a church have opportunity to reach out to those on the margins and to welcome them into our churches. The author states “a reading from a perspective and experience of marginality tells the church that bringing the marginalized to the very center of God’s love and community is essential part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ-so essential, that the doubt arises: In a society and a world in which so many are marginalized, is it legitimate for a church to call itself at the same time both “mainline” and “Christian”? (55).

In review of the theme of poverty, Gonzalez makes it clear “in general, the Latino experience in the United States is one of poverty” (57). As Christians, we are called to be in “partnership” and to share our resources in order to meet the needs of those in our community (70). Gonzalez points to this sharing of resources when he references Deuteronomy 15:4-5 which says “there will, however; be no need among you…if only you will obey the Lord your God”? (74). In the world of most Hispanic communities, this sharing concept comes naturally versus the average American who is selfish and often finds this concept hard to grasp to share what they have worked so hard for with those, whom may be perceived in a different light.

The Hispanic culture can find its origin in a mixed background as the result of Spanish conquest of those in Mexico or the mixing of Spanish and those of African backgrounds. Gonzalez says “We read much of the Bible from a perspective of ethnic and cultural purity” (80). Hispanics find solace in understanding that Christ himself was the product and came from a lineage of women who were not of Jewish descent. The author notes that “Mestizaje, both genetic and cultural, is part of the biblical reality, even though the deuteronomist historian may have tried to suppress it” (90).

Hispanics in many contexts, especially those in the United States can relate to the biblical stories of Exiles and Aliens for they themselves have lived this life or are still living it. Gonzalez informs the reader that those “who were born here and those whose ancestors have lived in this country for generations, have little or no desire to move toward the center, for they fear that the cost will be a loss of identity” (93). This philosophy and outlook on their situation thus impacts their perception and interpretation of Scripture and life.

The last major theme in the text in review is that of solidarity. This solidarity in one aspect is one of family connection and relationship and extensions within not just the nucleolus of the family, but the extended family itself. The author states “the present notion of the nuclear family is a relatively recent phenomenon, mostly the result of the industrial evolution and of developments that took place since then (105). The concept of extended family is important and for Christians we serve as an extended family and we have a responsibility to welcome those into our family who are without a family. “Our churches must be a welcoming home for those who have no home and a family for all those who have no functional family” (105).

In review of the content of the book, I now want to critically review, in my opinion, the intent of the book and whether the author was able to accomplish his goal. I will do this through the asking of a few questions related to the text.

Early in the introduction Gonzalez stated that “reading is always a dialogue between the text and the reader” or the understating of the text from an individual perspective (13). Did Gonzalez make clear in his text the truth of this statement? I do believe Gonzalez was able to demonstrate that in his analysis and commentary that the perspective of the individual is important in the understanding of the Bible in the context of the reader. For example, in chapter 3, we gain perspective through Hispanic eyes in the story of Jesus lineage. For the average reader of the Bile Jesus lineage is purely Jesus, yet we know the other side of the story now.

Does the Bible speak to us where we are or can we even relate to a text which is centuries old? As I reviewed the themes, poverty came to mind in answering this question. For a large segment of the Hispanic population in the United States are on the margins or considered poor. From their eyes though, we learn of the concept of community and how from a scriptural standpoint we can learn to share in our abundant resources. Through this theme Gonzalez clearly establishes for us a way of understanding the Bible through the Hispanic context and perspective.

Through the reading of Santa Biblia: The Bible through Hispanic Eyes, I ask how I have been shaped through this book and its aim. Clearly at this point in the review, I see Gonzalez’s aim and of understanding the Bible through one’s own context and perspective. When a reader engages the biblical text in dialogue their context and perspective plays a major role in the understanding of the scripture and its life application. By understanding this, we can appreciate differences and learn in an ecumenical environment.

In closing, my thoughts regarding this book are that context is important when we read or interpret the Bible. From a New Testament perspective, it is critical to understand how Jesus speaks to us in varying ways. Viewing the Bible through Hispanic eyes allows one to see how the Bible is able to speak to each one of us where we are and bring meaning and purpose to us in that stage in our Christian journey. The reading of this book has enlightened me and opened my own eyes up to the possibility of seeing more than just meets the eye in Scripture. As the Holy Spirit, in my own context and perspective leads me, I will be open to new possibilities within God’s Word.