The U.S. is notoriously ethno- and Eurocentric, often unaware of the rich contributions that are available to it from its own hemisphere. Pazmino addresses that failing and, for people interested in theology and Christian education, explores the wealth of the Latin American experience. From there he poses a model of Christian education influenced by the Latin American viewpoint.
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This review is from: Latin American Journey: Insights for Christian Education in North America (Paperback)
This is an insightful book for those seeking an introduction to Liberation Theology in Latin America juxtaposed with the church in North America. It is a book about what it means to take seriously the multiplicity of culture in both North America and Latin America and how it affects education equity, more particularly Christian education. Robert Pazmino gives a first hand interpretation of his experiences as both a Latin American minority in the United States and as an American of Hispanic descent journeying through Latin America. He discusses three primary things in the book. The first thing he does is define Liberation Theology, its tenets, those who primarily adhere to it, and its history. He then compares it to the predominant intellectual theology of North America, which he claims is devoid of the social commands of the gospel. The second thing he does is claim that Christian leaders from Latin America and North America need to be in a dialogue with one another about what it means to be the Church. They have opposite strengths (orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy) and therefore must bridge the gap and open communication to build a healthy, growing, global church body. Third, he discusses in detail the model of multicultural education that maintains ethnic identity in hopes of education equity for all.
Pazmino claims North America's theological strengths lie in its ability to reason proper meaning from scriptural texts, orthodox. Latin Americas strength, he says, is in its orthopraxis, the ability to experience the word of God and see it implemented to set man free from destructive evils. He calls these evils the "Destroyers in the land." They include, among others, ever-present poverty, substance abuse, prostitution, devastation of ethnic culture, institutional violence, devaluation of human life, and destruction of the environment. God's will in Liberation Theology is discerned as seeking the full liberation of people, communities, and societies. This, he states, is not the concern among Christians in North American. He writes that the new paradigm for North America demands support for various conflicts, such as the poor and oppressed in different parts of the world as well as their own country. As such, it should internalize some of the praxis aspects of Liberation Theology. In the end he challenges the church in the US to evaluate how it has exploited the world, people, cultures, and land because the world is hurting, as in Latin America, and they are part of that hurt. The only fix, he claims, is through open dialogue with those who adhere to Liberation Theology for they understand what it means to fight against the "destroyers of the land." To reduce the amount of injustice in both Latin America and the United States Pazmino calls for education equity. He says that it is the role of Christian leaders to create educational environments in which students from all cultural groups will experience educational equity. "Equity," he writes, "is assessed in terms of access to educational resources, irrespective of difference, the presence of appropriate ethnic role models, contextual, and shared power and authority." For to long, he writes, the banking of education has reproduced inequality in the America's. "Banking Education" is a system that presents content (pedagogy) as a commodity dispensed to the educated elite, teaching them to consume and keep the current social structure intact regardless of inequalities. With a multicultural approach to education that is always forming and reforming to social realities (good and bad) Pazmino believes inequalities will be minimized, ethnicity valued, culture not lost, and education equity possible. I found Pazmino's book to be informative about the pluses and minus's of both Liberation Theology and the theology of North Americans (in general). It was evident throughout the book that he is very aware of the need to educate lay people in a theologically correct manner, which includes an emphasis on social justice and cultural awareness. His greatest weakness in the book is that he is rather pedantic and could have summed up his main arguments in a more rudimentary way. With such a desire to reach the lay people, empower them, and develop Christian leaders his writing style was overly academic. I believe he loses some authority, even understanding, when driving home significant points in his book. Then again...it may just be me. Informative book overall.
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