Another parallel occurrence, with similar consequences, was the development of women’s theology both in the United States and abroad. Some of the women discounted the Bible as outright oppressive. Although I tried to understand—and, to the degree that such a thing is possible, did understand—the reasons and the depth of their anger, they were not particularly helpful in bringing the Bible back to life. But there were other women who struggled with the Scriptures and with its traditional interpretations, with the conviction that the Bible could and should be interpreted differently, and would thus support rather than hinder the liberation of women. One such woman was Catherine Gunsalus, who later became my wife. Shortly after we were married, we were asked by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.) to write a study book on women in the Bible who did new things.7 It was a most rewarding experience. The Bible had been good to Catherine! And, partly through her influence, the Bible was once again good to me!
This was also the time when, in my own inner identity, I began to move from being a Latin American living temporarily in the United States to being a Hispanic in the United States. I traveled throughout the United States, meeting Latinos in various regions and denominations, sometimes speaking or preaching to them, but many other times listening to what they had to say. I visited national Hispanic conventions of several denominations. I worshiped in Pentecostal churches in Los Angeles and Episcopal churches in the Bronx. I joined the Hispanic Instructors group at Perkins School of Theology, and taught brief courses for Hispanics there and in several other seminaries. I joined the Rio Grande Conference—a United Methodist annual conference primarily serving the Hispanic population of Texas and New Mexico. In all these settings I met and heard people who interpreted the Bible in ways that were radically relevant to their situation, and also in ways that were refreshing and liberating. The Bible was good to them! And, partly through their influence, the Bible was once again good to me!
Which Hispanic Eyes?
The very fact that I have gone through the various stages described above should serve as a warning that there is no such thing as the Latino perspective on the Bible—or on anything else, for that matter. There are many Hispanics—probably the majority—who continue to interpret the Bible in the naively joyous, precritical way in which I read it when I was a teenager. (A type of reading which, at least in part, can find vindication in some of the postmodern critiques of modernity and its presuppositions.) There are others—mostly in the so-called mainline denominations—who are still caught in the dilemma in which I was when I finished my schooling, not knowing what to do with the Bible, and yet convinced they must do something with it. And there are still others—a rapidly growing number—for whom the Bible is good once more, because it speaks directly to their struggles and hopes.
When the Hispanic Instructors at Perkins were discussing the project that resulted in this book, it was clear to all of us that this would not be simply a compilation of all sorts of Latino interpretations of the Bible. Saúl Trinidad, a pastor from Detroit, told of a Latino church that uses Deuteronomy 22:5 to ban women who wear pants—even though when that passage was written neither men nor women wore pants! Others mentioned the growing influx of dispensationalist interpretations, where the Bible is read in order to discover what prophecies are being fulfilled in our day, and what will happen next—even though similar interpretations have been offered through the centuries, and not one of them has been right! In conclusion, said the Reverend Trinidad, “The fact that I am Hispanic (or rather mestizo) is no guarantee that my reading will be through Hispanic eyes.”
In those words, Trinidad was using the phrase “through Hispanic eyes” in a narrower sense than simply through any Hispanic eyes. In a literal sense, Hispanic eyes are those that read Deuteronomy 22:5 as a prohibition against women wearing pants. And Hispanic eyes are also those that read the passages about the beast in Revelation as referring to the European Common Market. Yet that is not what we mean by “Hispanic eyes” in this context.
What we mean by “Hispanic eyes” is the perspective of those who claim their Hispanic identity as part of their hermeneutical baggage, and who also read the Scripture within the context of a commitment to the Latino struggle to become all that God wants us and all of the world to be—in other words, the struggle for salvation/liberation.
In this context, the story of Moses is instructive. Hebrews hits the nail on the head: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God . . .” (Heb. 11:24-25). Like Moses, a growing number of Hispanics can share in the wealth, comfort, and prestige of the NorthAmerican mainstream. Most of the Hispanic Instructors who were participating in this exercise are among that number. Yet, we also know that there is an even greater and faster growing number of Hispanics who live below the poverty line, with little or no educational opportunities, inadequate housing, and slight reward for their work and their efforts. The culture and traditions that we all share are constantly devalued by the dominant culture, and by its expression in the media and in academic circles. Those of us who do not live under the harsh conditions of other Latinos are constantly tempted to distance ourselves from them. It would not be difficult to do so, for thanks to our education—and, in the case of the Hispanic Instructors, our ecclesiastical connections—we could easily pass for children of the daughter of Pharaoh. But, as Trinidad pointed out, “There is a point at which we have to take hold of our own identity. Only then can we really read the Bible through Hispanic eyes. It is not only a matter of leaving aside the comforts of life, but rather an option of consciousness and of identity.” This is never an easy matter, and most often is not planned. Again, at this point it may be well to remember the story of Moses, who opts for the children of Israel, not out of a considered decision, but simply out of a reaction against the injustice of an Egyptian overseer, and who then goes through a long period of exile before that option comes to fruition in the vision of the burning bush.
Such are the “Hispanic eyes” through which we intend to read the Bible in the pages that follow.
Finally, a further word of clarification. Obviously, much of what Hispanic eyes see is what most other eyes see. Returning once again to the simile of a landscape and many observers from different perspectives, if at the center of the landscape there is a river, it is most likely that most observers, no matter what their perspective, will see the river. They will all have this in common, as something that binds them together. Yet, when speaking of their different perspectives they will speak not so much of the river itself, but of the various ways the river and the rest of the landscape appear from their particular standpoints. One will talk of the sun glistening on the river. Another of the palm trees reflected on the water. Still another of the contrasting colors of the water. This does not mean that there is no river in common. It means simply that, when speaking of varying perspectives, it is the differences that stand out. Likewise, when speaking of “the Bible through Hispanic eyes” there is much that such eyes will see that will coincide with what Christians have seen throughout the ages. Indeed, much of what the Hispanic Instructors read and heard in the process of this project was no different than what they would have read and heard in other Christian contexts. Yet that is not noted here, for our purpose is to explore and to show what “Hispanic eyes” or a Latino perspective can contribute to the understanding of the Scripture, not only on the part of Hispanics, but also of those others who, albeit from different perspectives, share the same landscape and the same faith with us.
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