Systematic Theology from a Latin American Perspective

The Spanish-speaking evangelical Christian world, while not enjoying the wide selection available in the Anglo-Saxon market, has been fortunate in recent years to have excellent translations of some of the best works of Systematic Theology published in English: Charles Hodge 's (CLIE), Louis Berkhof 's (Libros Desafío), Stanley M. Horton and Wayne A. Grudem's (VIDA), and more recently , Millard Erickson 's (CLIE), which is more up-to-date and comprehensive. All of these, however, come from a different cultural context and were written in English, leading some to assert that Latin American evangelical Christians were theologically dependent on the United States, which served merely as distribution centers for a theology translated from English and packaged within a foreign culture.

Raúl Zaldívar dispels this stigma with the contribution of the first Systematic Theology written by a Latin American, from a Latin American perspective, and with a Latin American approach.

In it, he not only comprehensively analyzes the history of Latin American theological thought, but also proposes a Latin American orientation for each of the many branches of theology: Theology Proper, Anthropology, Hamartiology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Christology, and Pneumatology. He addresses, among other things, issues as pressing in Latin America as external debt, corruption, violence, and structural economic adjustment, all within the context of divine revelation. His purpose is to establish a bridge between Latin American reality and the biblical text, to make the Word of God more alive and effective.

With regard to doctrinal issues in particular, it does not adopt a denominational approach; rather, echoing the distinctively evangelical theological and liturgical pluralism, it presents the viewpoint of the different Churches.

A completely innovative work, as important in its subject matter as it is sophisticated in its content. Useful not only as a theology textbook but also as a foundation for introductory courses on Christian thought.