Our 95 Theses: 500 Years after the Reformation ed. by Alberto L. García and Justo L. González (review)

This volume, which is also available in Spanish, is a collaborative and ecumenical work. It includes over a dozen Latino/a professors and pastors from a variety of traditions exploring the relevance of Luther and the Reformation for present-day Latino Christians. The work is bookended by contributions from the editors, two of the foremost Latino theologians of our day. In his introduction, García explains that while aware of the tensions between denominations, "our Latino theology in the United States has always been a joint working project, a teología en conjunto, of Catholics, Evangelicals, and Protestants alike" (20). What unites the writers is a common concern for Latino people: "our point of departure is from below by listening to the cries and aspirations of the people at the margins" (21).

The heart of this book is a series of short reflections, each looking to Luther and the Reformation through a specific lens. These are largely personal accounts; for example, Leopoldo A. Sánchez writes about the challenges of integrating his Latino and Lutheran heritages, and from his experiences lauds Luther's gifts of using the language and music of the German people to incarnate the gospel among them. Other lenses include those provided by Roman Catholic, Baptist, and Pentecostal voices, as well as perspectives exploring Christian formation and Christian mission. In each account, authors address both positive legacies of the Reformation as well as the challenges inherited. They trace the Reformation-era precursors or roots of the denomination, and/or show how a denomination or movement reflects key teachings of the Reformation.

A strength of this book is the ensuing reflection on the relationships between denominations, both historically and theologically. In one chapter, Hugo Magallanes nuances the use of the term "Protestant Reformation," noting that Methodism shares theological but not historical roots with Protestant churches, and thus there is some sense in which Methodists are not "Protestant." In the next chapter, Hilda E. Robles goes to great lengths to thematically connect the Disciples of Christ, with its origins in American Presbyterianism, to Luther and his teachings. Many authors reflect on the significance of the teaching on the priesthood of all believers and express regrets for the continued divisions of Christianity.

The volume's capstone and final chapter is titled simply "Our 95 Theses," which presents the general consensus of the volume's contributors. This chapter is a series of 95 short propositions in the style of Luther's theses meant to provoke further discussion on the state of Latino Christians today. These propositions critique both His-panic churches as well as the entire Christian church and summarize the volume as a whole. For example: "The sorry state in which present-day society and Christianity find themselves requires a new and radical reformation of the church" (279); "The often affirmed statement that there is no compatibility between Protestant faith and Latino culture, is false . . . each of the two is to be employed to enrich, amplify, and even correct the other" (284); "The universal priesthood of believers does not only mean that everyone can approach God directly, but also, and above all, that we are all priests for all" (290). González provides a brief commentary in the preceding chapter, walking the reader through the themes behind these theses.

This book seems to be intended for a readership of Latino/a pastors, judging from the questions "for discussion and reflection" at the end of each chapter. But it would also find a home in a course on ecumenism, Reformation history, or global Christianity. This work makes an important contribution to the small but growing amount of scholarly and pastoral literature on Latino Christians.