Customer Reviews

Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes

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I really liked this book and it opened my eyes to a fresh interpretation of the Bible... I started thinking of all the things that never seem to get mentioned when I go to church... I looked at Communion in a completely different light... I saw the Good Samaritan story for what it is... When I listen to a televangelist going on and on about Faith in Christ it seems like they're just trying to convince themselves... I accept Christ... Now lets move on to what he told us to do... Robert McAfee Brown shows how the Christianity of the rich is like watered down milk toast... Every time I turn to some Christian radio program it's always about the evils of homosexuality, alcohol or adultery... It's like a broken record with these guys... I've studied every religion of the world and I never really considered converting to Christianity till I read Unexpected News... I don't see this book as Marxist propaganda... I see it as the only antidote to the Capitalist-Communist conundrum... Jesus spoke truth to power... He stood up to the religious leaders of the time and I'm sure he would have stood up to the Communists as well... The status quo church of today wants you to believe but they don't want you to actually walk in the footsteps of Christ because we would have too many people like Gandhi and Martin Luther King running around changing things... I've heard so-called Christians tell me, "Oh you don't have to do anything like that... Christ did it all for you... You just have to believe." I feel like saying, "I already believe... I just want to know what to do!" This book challenges you to actually do something...

In this book, the author explores the fundamental beliefs of Liberation Theology, common in much of Latin America. Yet he goes further, selecting 10 specific Bible passages, and interpreting them from another perspective.

I found this book extremely thought-provoking. While there are portions that I personally do not agree with, many of Brown's comments will forever color my reading of the Bible. What does it mean that Jesus favored the poor and oppressed? What does that mean for me, as a North American Christian? Brown points a finger at every reader, saying that we have a responsibility to take an active role in helping those around us -- whether that be next door or around the world.

The author may step on a few toes as he goes about making his point, but I firmly agree with him. The rest of the world has a distict perspective on the Bible, and we need to realize that North America does not have a monopoly on Christianity.

In regards to the prevailing Marxist theme, I lived in Central America for four months and saw firsthand many of the realities that brought about the formation of this theology. Socialism, when God is brought into the picture, is not the evil that the United States likes to depict. In many impoverished countries and to many people, it is one of the few options to improve the quality of life.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with the courage to question entrenched beliefs and see life and Scripture through the eyes of much of the impoverished world -- all two-thirds of it.

This book was challenging, convicting and exciting. Brown writes humorously and concisely. At times he writes a bit too epigramatically or too much in pseudo-journalese. Brown closes humbly: he admits he's as guilty of greed and complacency as we are.

My favorite aspect of this book is that it is not just a book *about* liberation theology. This a *devotional* based on liberation theology (in fact, this was my devotional on and off for half a year). Happily, Brown includes whole passages of scripture for study. True, the third world (better, "two-thirds world") interpretations are jarring. For example, the OT reality behind Jesus quoting (and most Bibles mistranslating!) Isaiah's "day of the Lord's favor" almost knocked me out of my seat (see Luke 4).

Two other virtues of this book are 1) that Brown examines other parallel passages in each chapter (to provide a larger biblical basis), and 2) the pointed questions and scenarios Brown poses at the end of each chapter. This book is good for private or group study or just straight reading. Also, Brown offers a good list for further reading.

Some of the other reviews of this book are revealing. Why do we USAmericans get so upset about our capitalism and our money? Because our hearts (and our emotions) are where our treasure is, and vice versa? Why do we have so many problems with these "radical, militant, Marxist" liberation theologians? Because they point out how the God of the Bible has problems with greed, rugged individualism and national elitism? Why do we see Brown and "his ilk" twisting Scripture and eisegeting Marxism into the Bible? Because we don't like to hear Scripture echoed from the nouths of those for and by whom it was written: the poor and oppressed? If the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (I Tim 6:10) and if you cannot serve both God and money (Matt 6:24), why do we cling so firmly to money? What would the big loss be anyway in losing our economic clout -- if we truly hope for *heavenly* riches? The more you live and share with "the least of these" (Matt 25:31ff), I've found, the less radical Brown, et al. sound. Raving neo-McCarthyists deal the Bible a grave blow by capitulating social justice and economic parity into the hands of Marxists. Marx subverted God's Word to his ends (he was raised a Jew, remember), not the other way around.

I am looking for more contemporary books of this nature (it was published in 1984), but will probably "just settle for" reading Gutierrez, Romero, Arrupe, et al. -- precisely what Brown would hope for his readers to do, I think. (PS, I recommend Haugen's _Good News About Injustice_ and Are's _Israeli Peace, Palestinian Justice_. I also recommend watching _Romero_ and _The Mission_ for some liberation visuals!)

I read Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes as part of a 30-week JustFaith program. We read 13 books in total, and this was one of my favorites. Robert McAfee Brown redefines "poor," pointing out with great clarity that no matter how much those of us in developed countries complain, we are rich in terms of anyone in the Third World. Brown takes Bible stories--the Prodigal Son, for instance--and interprets them differently than we might have heard in church.
More good news about this book--it has a sense of humor. Brown made me laugh out loud more than once, especially as he dealt with the issues of women in religion.
This book would be a wonderful Bible study addition for anyone, or an excellent read for any individual interested in an insight into seeking justice for those who possess none.

Just last week while at breakfast with friends I mentioned the words "liberation theology." Moans and raised eyebrows were immediately forthcoming. Interesting in that none of my friends had ever read any liberation theology. I suspect this is not at all unusual in the evangelical community in the U.S.A. At least one of my friends has agreed to read this book by R. McAfee Brown and I can hardly wait until I can pass it on to him.

Having lived and worked in S.E. Asia for the last thirty years, the idea that people from different cultural and economic backgrounds would read and interpret the Bible (or any book for that matter) in ways shaped by their backgrounds hardly seems radical. Yet for those who have lived their faith in a mostly monocultural context (e.g. evangelicals in America) this idea can seem positively revolutionary.

While this book is not specifically about liberation theology it is a helpful exercise in clearing the ground for reading the Bible with fresh eyes and a sensitivity to the context, both local and global, in which we live and move.

If you want a primer on 'Liberation Theology' you might try the author's book by that name. If you want to read several familiar narratives in scripture from a different slant this book will prove interesting. Of course, the author is not himself from the third-world so we have to take his word for it but assuming his "reading" is faithful to those who are from that part of the globe the contrast is provocative.

This book is a very accessible read. Brown writes with considerable wit and his epilogue entitled : "For Those Who Feel Personally Assaulted" sums it up well. Interesting and not to be ignored.

Robert McAfee Brown wrote this difinitive book about Liberation Theology. At a time during the Cold War and when many South American countries were under the iron hand of a dictator, some people of faith in Central and Sout America began to articulate the biblical message of justice. It states that the Christian faith is not just private and personal but pubic and political as well.

Robert McFee is regarded as the articulator for Liberation Theology in our time. An excellent book.

This book by Robt M Brown in 1984 is an indictment of the USA & other Rich Countries for contributing to the Oppression of the Third-World (or Poor) Countries. And the latter makeup about 2/3 of the whole world! This book has a Biblical Perspective, citing ten special Biblical events or passages. This book also reminds me of "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins in 2004, which confirms the same indictment from a political perspective. As one of the richer Americans, I believe "to whom much is given much is required." I & We need to share our wealth in such a way to raise up the poor & oppressed of the world. It is most tragic that 2/3 of the world's persons go to bed hungry each nite!

I am a Catholic priest in the Mississippi Delta. I have also served as a missionary on the streets and in a soup kitchen here in North America, as well as in the jungles of South American. I am also a liberation theologian, and I can say that proudly and without any hesitation. I just wrote an essay to earn a MA in Theology from a Catholic seminary, with a theme of liberation theology interacting to the history of oppression and racism that exists in the Mississippi Delta. The way the author of this book looks at different passages in the Bible from the perspective of the poor throughout the world will give us new insights if we could only open up our hearts to listen. I used the chapter on the Magnificat in this book as an inspiration to write a homily a couple of years ago during Advent, in which I enlisted two of my parishioners in this homily to have a conversation with a priest about how the poor would view the radical message of Mary's Magnificat. A poor peasant from Chile and Mary herself were the ones I had in the conversation in this homily. Most of my parishioners found this homily very refreshing, although I will say that I had several people walk out in the middle of it, the first time I have had that happen. A friend of mine who is still in seminary recounted this incident to one of my seminary professors, who was delighted that I would take such a risk. As a priest, I don't want to always take the easy way out. I want to provoke thought and questioning in my parishioners. This is a great book - you will not be disappointed.

We found this book while reading Rick Steves' book, Travel as a Political Act. Worshiping in a suburban mainline church in California prepares us to read the Bible with certain biases. This book presents a different way to interpret the Bible, what it is like to be oppressed and read the words and experience hope. While a little dated at this time, since it was published in 1984, the views he presents are thought provoking and stimulate interesting conversations in our book study.