Leonardo Boff

"In his latest work, the noted Latin American theologian Leonardo Boff extends the intuitions of liberation theology, showing how they contribute to answering urgent questions of poverty and ecological degradation. If faith fails to appreciate the ecological paradigm, Boff argues, it only adds to the crisis and begs for reform." "Focusing on the threatened Amazon of his native Brazil, Boff traces the economic and metaphysical ties that bind the fate of the rain forests with the fate of the Indians and poor of the land. He shows how liberation theology must join with ecology in reclaiming the dignity of the earth and our sense of a common community. To illustrate to possibilities, Boff turns to resources in Christian spirituality, ancient and modern, including cosmic Christology and the vision of St. Francis of Assisi."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor

Introducing Liberation Theology

Clodovis Boff

This work deals with the basic questions that are tackled by liberation theology - oppression, violence, domination and marginalization. It then goes on to show how the Christian faith can be used as an agent in promoting social and individual liberation, and how faith and politics relate.

In this book, Brazilian Leonardo Boff, Franciscan priest and professor of theology, joins other contemporary theologians in defending both the truth and the practical value of the doctrine of the Trinity. For Boff, the community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not only the truth about God; it is also the prototype of human community dreamed of by those who wish to improve society, the model for any just, egalitarian (while respecting differences) social organization. Frequently expressing agreement with Moltmann's 'The Trinity and the Kingdom', Boff argues that true and relevant Trinitarian faith must begin not with the oneness, but with the threeness of God; not with theistic speculation about God as the solitary One, but with openness to the self-revelation of God as a community or society of divine persons, who are what they are in their co-existence, co-relatedness, and self-surrender to each other. Boff also suggests how a social doctrine of the Trinity enables us to overcome the conflict between individualistic capitalism and collectivistic socialism, oppressor and oppressed, male and female, church authorities and church members.

Trinity and Society

Virtues are values underlying human practices. We are at the dawn of a new era, an era of global ethics requiring some core virtues. These core virtues are hospitality, co-living, respect, tolerance, and communality. Book 1 treats the virtue of hospitality that is a right and a duty of all, and which is still to be discovered and practiced unconditionally. Book 2 deals with the virtues of co-living, respect, and tolerance, which are important virtues if the peoples of the earth are to live together in peace in our common home, the planet Earth. Finally, Book 3 deals with the virtue of communality; this is a very important virtue because a large part of humanity experiences hunger and thirst, which is something scandalous in this day and age, and which demonstrates a lack of humanity, because we possess the technical means and political framework to resolve this situation. If these core virtues become a reality, they will transform human practices into something beneficial both to human beings and to the planet Earth, our common home.

For Another Possible World

Virtues

Virgilio P. Elizondo

Ecology and Poverty

Francis of Assisi

From Dialogue to Confrontation

Liberation Theology

Mark Hathaway

Drawing on insights from quantum physics, deep ecology, and the new cosmology, they articulate a new vision of liberating action. Hathaway and Boff lay out a path of spiritual renewal, ecological transformation, and authentic liberation.

Exploring the Ecology of Transformation

The Tao of Liberation

Anselm Grun

Two leading theological and spiritual writers, one from Germany and the other from Brazil, exchange reflections on the nature and presence of God. While Anselm Grun puts more emphasis on finding God within us, Leonardo Boff focuses more on God's presence in the unfolding story of the universe. But they agree that both dimensions must be brought together and that the essence of God is love.

Finding God Within Us and in Creation

Becoming New

Uma viagem pelas histórias originárias das cores dos peixes e das vozes dos pássaros, da mandioca, do guaraná, das estrelas e do amor. Em O casamento entre o Céu e a Terra, o professor, teólogo, filósofo, escritor e grande defensor dos Direitos Humanos Leonardo Boff reúne histórias, relatos e mitos originários dos indígenas do Brasil. Recolhidas ao longo dos anos e vindas de diversas etnias, essas narrativas são prova da inestimável contribuição desses povos a nossa cultura, nossa língua, nossos costumes e nossa forma de compreender a natureza. Cada uma delas é capaz de nos conectar à sabedoria ancestral desses povos e somá-la, enfim, a nossa sabedoria contemporânea. "O livro que agora está em suas mãos, caro leitor, cara leitora, é um importante instrumento para apresentar-lhe a visão indígena de interagir com a natureza. [...] Leonardo Boff, usando seu jeito amoroso, vai nos conduzindo pelas narrativas apresentadas para nos proporcionar um olhar crítico, mas também repleto de magia, que ainda alimenta a vida de nossos povos originários." – Daniel Munduruku "Revisitemos a sabedoria indígena e sonhemos, por um momento, os mesmos sonhos que eles sonharam. Vamos rir, chorar e aprender. Aprender especialmente como casar Céu e Terra, vale dizer, como combinar o cotidiano com o surpreendente, a imanência opaca dos dias com a transcendência radiosa do espírito, a vida na plena liberdade com a morte como um unir-se com os ancestrais, a felicidade discreta nesse neste mundo com a grande promessa na eternidade. E, no termo, teremos descoberto mil razões para viver mais e melhor, todos juntos, como uma grande família, na mesma Aldeia Comum, generosa e bela, o planeta Terra." – Leonardo Boff

Contos dos povos indígenas do Brasil

O casamento entre o céu e a terra

Holy Trinity, Perfect Community

Why the furor over this book? Why was Church: Charism and Power the subject of a Vatican inquiry? The reason, ironically enough, has little to do with its alleged use of Marxist thought, but rather with its critical understanding of the church in the light of the gospel. Church: Charism and Power is a provocative, devastating critique of the ways in which power, sacred power, is controlled and exercised in the Roman Catholic Church. It is a militant book, a radical book, but it is by no means defective in orthodoxy. In fact, with all its criticism it offers a brilliant defense of the historical claims of Roman Catholicism. Its central thesis argues that since the fourth century the church has fallen victim to a kind of power that has nothing to do with the gospel and everything to do with the dynamics of power with all of its inevitable abuses. This historical reality, enshrined in the monarchical model of the church, was undermined at the Second Vatican Council and replaced by that of the church as people of God. This 'laical' model is closely allied in Boff's exposition with the notion of the church as sacrament of the Holy Spirit: the church as "sign and instrument of the now living and risen Christ, that is the Holy Spirit." A pneumatic ecclesiology such as this would lead the church back to its primitive dynamics of community, cooperation, and charism. It would create a church in which everyone shared equally and where flexible and appropriate ministries conformed to needs as they arose. Is such a church possible? Is it not simply the utopian dream of idealists and sectarians down through the ages? No, says Father Boff, given the incredible growth throughout Latin America of comunidades eclesiales de base, base communities, where the people express and achieve their desire for participation and where the hierarchy divests itself of its titles and ecclesiastical baggage, creating a common desire for community and equality. This model of the church has acquired an unexpected historical possibility: the new church is in the process of being born. This church, the church being born from the faith of the poor, has rediscovered for itself--and for the church universal--the living presence of the dangerous memory of Jesus Christ.

Liberation Theology and the Institutional Church

Church: Charism and Power

L’attuale situazione mondiale presenta molteplici fattori di crisi che mettono a rischio la continuità della nostra civiltà e perfino la sussistenza della vita sul pianeta. Quali sono le alternative possibili all’odierno modello di sviluppo basato sul profitto e sullo sfruttamento illimitato delle risorse? Possiamo anticipare la grande crisi della Terra e trasformare una possibile tragedia in una nuova convivenza con la natura e tra i popoli? Leonardo Boff indica una rotta per evitare la nostra distruzione: cambiare modo di vivere e seguire la Natura, che ha sempre trovato una via d’uscita e di crescita. Attraverso una ricognizione documentata sull’evoluzione del cammino umano, un percorso accessibile che parte dal cuore.

Una ritrovata armonia fra umanità e ambiente

Forse la Terra si salverà

Liberating Grace

In this critical survey of Marian literature, a leading Latin American theologian offers fresh insights into the ultimate meaning of the feminine as it applies to men, women, Mary, and God

The Feminine and Its Religious Expressions

The Maternal Face of God

Kein Zweifel: Die Erde befindet sich in einer schweren Krise. Die Erschöpfung der Ökosysteme, Pandemien wie Covid-19, ein tiefes Misstrauen gegenüber der Demokratie, eine weltweite Konjunktur autoritärer Regime und ein brutaler Neoliberalismus sind die Krankheitssymptome des "Anthropozäns". Sie sind aber nicht notwendig Vorboten des Endes unserer Zivilisation, sondern können als die Geburtswehen eines neuen Erdzeitalters, des "Ökozäns", begriffen werden. Ob dieser Übergang gelingt, hängt nicht zuletzt von einer kosmischen Spiritualität ab, die Boff hier in ihren Grundzügen skizziert.

Deutsche Übersetzung: Bruno Kern

Das Stöhnen der Erde: Geburtswehen einer neuen Welt

Today, humanity stands at an historic crossroads. Deepening poverty and accelerating ecological destruction challenge us to act with wisdom and maturity: How can we move toward a future where meaning, hope, and beauty, can truly flourish?

Examines whether Catholicism should be adapted to suit an individual country's culture and analyzes the structure of the Catholic Church

Leonardo Boff

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