U.S. Hispanic/Latino Biblical Interpretation: A Critique from within

Abstract

This article is a critique of the philosophy and praxis of biblical interpretation as conceptualized and modeled by some of the most prominent Latino/a theologians in the U.S. In addition to problematizing this issue with questions and comments of relevance for Hispanic and church realities, the writer—a Bible scholar himself and an ordained minister who believes in the integration of theory and practice, and someone involved in issues affecting this ethnic constituency—also provides some practical suggestions to move the field of biblical interpretation to the next level. The hope is that some of his colleagues, and even those who belong to a different ethnic group, take these comments into account so that biblical scholarship is useful for the guild, Hispanic/Latino theology in general, the life and mission of the Church, and society as a whole.