By Januarius Asongu, PhD

I — The Liberation Question After Realism

The preceding chapters established the ontological, methodological, and epistemological foundations of Synthetic Theological Realism and Critical Synthetic Realism. Theology has been grounded in reality, disciplined by critique, and oriented toward intelligibility. Yet theology cannot remain purely theoretical. Christian revelation concerns not merely correct understanding but human transformation. Truth in Christianity is salvific. Theology therefore reaches completion only when realism becomes liberation.

The modern theological landscape has frequently separated truth from liberation. Certain theological traditions emphasized doctrinal correctness while neglecting historical suffering, thereby rendering theology intellectually coherent yet pastorally distant. Conversely, liberationist movements emphasized social emancipation while occasionally weakening metaphysical grounding, risking reduction of theology to political analysis. The contemporary theological task requires overcoming this division.

Christian revelation presents truth and liberation as inseparable. The Gospel proclaims not only knowledge about God but freedom in God. Christ declares that truth itself liberates, indicating that liberation is fundamentally epistemological before it becomes social or political. Liberation begins when reality is rightly known.

Synthetic Theological Realism therefore introduces the concept of epistemic liberation. Human beings suffer not only from material injustice but from distorted perception of reality. Sin, ideology, fear, and cultural fragmentation obscure truth, imprisoning the human person within false understandings of self, society, and God. Liberation requires restoration of truthful vision.

The biblical tradition repeatedly associates salvation with illumination. Prophetic critique exposes idolatry as false perception of reality. Wisdom literature links righteousness with knowledge of truth. The New Testament portrays conversion as movement from blindness to sight. Salvation involves cognitive transformation as well as moral renewal.

Augustine interpreted sin precisely in epistemic terms. Disordered love produces distorted knowledge; humanity turns away from truth toward illusion.¹ Liberation therefore requires reordering of desire so that intellect may perceive reality correctly. Theology participates in this process by guiding understanding toward truth.

Thomas Aquinas similarly connected sin with intellectual distortion. While human reason remains capable of truth, moral disorder clouds judgment, leading to misinterpretation of reality.² Grace heals not only the will but the intellect, restoring orientation toward truth. Liberation thus possesses metaphysical depth beyond political emancipation.

Modern liberation theology recovered the social dimension of this insight by recognizing that injustice shapes perception collectively. Structures of oppression generate ideological systems that conceal reality from both oppressor and oppressed. Gustavo Gutiérrez argued that theology must begin from the experience of the poor because suffering reveals dimensions of reality obscured within privileged perspectives.³ Liberation involves unveiling truth hidden by unjust structures.

Critical Synthetic Realism affirms this insight while expanding its scope. Liberation must be epistemically grounded if it is to remain genuinely theological. Oppression distorts not only economic relations but knowledge itself. Ideologies function as epistemic prisons that prevent recognition of truth. Theology contributes to liberation by restoring intelligibility grounded in reality.

In The Splendor of Truth, I described contemporary civilization as experiencing an epistemic fracture in which societies possess unprecedented informational access yet lack shared criteria for truth recognition.⁴ This fracture produces cultural anxiety, polarization, and moral confusion. Liberation therefore requires more than structural reform; it requires recovery of truth itself.

Epistemic liberation begins when individuals and communities rediscover participation in reality beyond ideological construction. Theology becomes healing knowledge—a discipline restoring the capacity to perceive truth rightly. Liberation emerges through intellectual conversion as much as through social transformation.

This approach allows Synthetic Theological Realism to engage liberation theology without abandoning metaphysical realism. Liberation does not replace truth; it presupposes truth. Social emancipation becomes sustainable only when grounded in reality rather than ideological projection. Theology serves liberation precisely by affirming that reality itself opposes injustice.

The Church’s mission thus acquires renewed clarity. Evangelization involves proclamation of truth that liberates human persons from false images of God, distorted self-understanding, and dehumanizing social structures. Theology assists this mission by articulating intelligibility capable of guiding transformation.

The concept of epistemic liberation also clarifies the relationship between theology and culture. Modern societies often confuse freedom with autonomy detached from truth. Such freedom ultimately produces fragmentation rather than flourishing. Authentic liberation requires alignment with reality. Human dignity emerges not from self-creation but from participation in truth grounded in divine being.

Synthetic Theological Realism therefore understands liberation as participation in reality rightly known. Truth liberates because reality itself is ordered toward human flourishing. Theology becomes an instrument of liberation when it restores confidence that truth exists and can be known.

The remainder of this chapter develops the theological implications of this claim. We must now examine more deeply the relationship between sin and epistemic distortion, for liberation presupposes understanding what binds humanity in the first place.

II — Sin as Distortion of Reality

If liberation requires restoration of truthful vision, theology must first explain why humanity fails to perceive reality rightly. Christian theology names this condition sin, yet sin must be understood with greater conceptual precision if it is to illuminate contemporary experience. Critical Synthetic Realism interprets sin not merely as moral failure but as epistemic distortion—a disruption of humanity’s participation in reality itself.

The classical theological tradition consistently linked sin with disordered knowledge. Augustine described sin as curvatus in se, the inward turning of the self away from divine truth toward self-referential illusion.⁵ The human intellect does not cease functioning, yet its orientation becomes misaligned. The sinner does not simply reject truth consciously; rather, perception itself becomes distorted. False goods appear desirable because reality is no longer seen clearly.

Thomas Aquinas expanded this insight by distinguishing between ignorance arising from finitude and ignorance arising from moral disorder.⁶ Human beings naturally possess limited knowledge, yet sin introduces an additional obscurity affecting judgment. The will influences cognition, shaping how evidence is interpreted and which truths are resisted. Sin therefore possesses epistemological consequences.

Modern theology often reduced sin to psychological or social categories, thereby losing this epistemic depth. While psychological and structural dimensions remain important, Christian theology insists that sin ultimately concerns alienation from truth. Humanity inhabits a condition in which reality is simultaneously present and misperceived.

Critical Synthetic Realism rearticulates this classical doctrine within contemporary intellectual conditions. Epistemic distortion manifests today not primarily through explicit rejection of faith but through fragmentation of meaning. Individuals inhabit informational environments saturated with competing narratives lacking shared criteria of truth. Ideology replaces discernment, and identity replaces reasoned judgment.

The concept of ideology proves particularly illuminating. Ideology functions as a closed interpretive system that filters reality according to predetermined conclusions. Within ideological frameworks, facts are interpreted selectively, and contrary evidence is dismissed. Ideology therefore operates as a form of epistemic sin, constraining the capacity to encounter reality openly.

Alasdair MacIntyre argued that modern moral discourse suffers from precisely this condition: competing traditions lacking shared rational foundations generate endless disagreement without resolution.⁷ Ethical debates persist because participants inhabit incompatible interpretive worlds. Epistemic fragmentation becomes a cultural manifestation of sin understood as distortion of reality.

Liberation theology identified similar dynamics within structures of oppression. Social systems shaped by injustice produce ideological narratives that conceal exploitation.⁸ Oppression persists not only through economic power but through distorted perception. Both oppressor and oppressed internalize false understandings of reality that perpetuate injustice. Liberation therefore requires unveiling truth hidden beneath ideological structures.

Synthetic Theological Realism integrates this liberationist insight with metaphysical realism. Epistemic distortion arises wherever human beings construct interpretations detached from reality’s intelligible order. Sin operates simultaneously at personal, cultural, and structural levels because distorted knowing spreads socially through institutions and narratives.

The digital age intensifies this condition dramatically. In The Splendor of Truth, I described contemporary society as experiencing an epistemic fracture characterized by informational abundance combined with declining trust in truth itself.⁹ Digital mediation accelerates formation of echo chambers reinforcing prior assumptions. Individuals increasingly encounter representations of reality filtered through algorithmic selection rather than rational inquiry.

Such conditions reveal sin’s epistemic dimension with renewed clarity. Humanity becomes trapped within self-confirming interpretations resistant to correction. Truth becomes subordinate to identity, and dialogue collapses into polarization. Liberation requires restoration of epistemic openness capable of receiving reality rather than manipulating it.

The theological significance of this diagnosis cannot be overstated. Evangelization within fragmented cultures cannot rely solely upon moral exhortation or doctrinal assertion. The deeper task involves healing the conditions of knowing itself. Theology must assist humanity in recovering the capacity to recognize truth.

Joseph Ratzinger frequently warned that dictatorship of relativism arises when societies lose confidence in objective truth.¹⁰ Relativism appears tolerant yet ultimately imprisons humanity within subjectivity. Without truth, freedom becomes arbitrary power. Epistemic distortion thus produces moral and political consequences.

Critical Synthetic Realism therefore understands sin as alienation from intelligibility. Humanity resists participation in the Logos that grounds reality. Liberation requires reconciliation not only with God but with truth itself. Grace heals cognition by restoring openness to reality.

This healing dimension clarifies the meaning of conversion. Conversion is not merely emotional change or ethical reform; it represents epistemic transformation. The believer begins to see differently. Scripture repeatedly describes salvation using imagery of illumination—light overcoming darkness, sight restored to blindness. Theology participates in this process by guiding understanding toward intelligibility grounded in divine reality.

Sin also explains theological stagnation. When theology becomes ideological—defending systems rather than seeking truth—it participates in epistemic distortion. Critical Synthetic Realism calls theology itself to continual conversion. Theologians must remain vigilant against intellectual pride, cultural captivity, or fear-driven resistance to development.

The recognition of sin as epistemic distortion prepares the constructive dimension of liberation theology within the STR framework. If distortion binds humanity, theology must function as healing knowledge capable of restoring truthful participation in reality.

We therefore turn to the question of theology’s therapeutic vocation.

III — Theology as Healing Knowledge

If sin represents distortion of reality, liberation must be understood as restoration of truthful participation in being. Theology therefore assumes a fundamentally therapeutic vocation. Christian theology is not merely speculative reflection upon divine attributes nor solely ethical instruction concerning human behavior. It is healing knowledge—an intellectual and spiritual practice ordered toward restoration of humanity’s capacity to know, love, and inhabit reality rightly.

The biblical tradition consistently presents salvation under the imagery of healing. The ministry of Christ unites proclamation of truth with acts of restoration: sight returned to the blind, understanding granted to disciples, liberation offered to those imprisoned by fear and falsehood. Healing concerns the whole human person—body, intellect, will, and community. Theology participates in this healing mission by clarifying the truth that liberates.

Patristic theology understood salvation precisely in these terms. Irenaeus described redemption as recapitulation, the restoration of humanity’s original orientation toward God.¹¹ Athanasius articulated salvation as participation in divine life, whereby human nature is healed through union with the incarnate Logos.¹² Knowledge of God becomes transformative because divine truth restores humanity’s proper relation to reality.

Augustine deepened this insight by linking healing directly to illumination. The human heart remains restless because it seeks truth yet pursues substitutes incapable of satisfying desire.¹³ Sin fragments perception, causing humanity to mistake lesser goods for ultimate fulfillment. Theology aids healing by directing desire toward reality grounded in God.

Critical Synthetic Realism retrieves this therapeutic vision for theology after postmodern fragmentation. Modern intellectual culture frequently treats knowledge as power or information rather than transformation. Education accumulates data while leaving existential disorientation unresolved. Theology responds by recovering knowledge as participation in truth capable of healing fragmentation.

The therapeutic dimension of theology operates at multiple levels. At the personal level, theology heals existential anxiety by grounding human identity in reality rather than social construction. Contemporary culture often encourages individuals to define themselves autonomously, yet such autonomy produces instability because identity becomes detached from ontological grounding. Theological realism restores stability by affirming that human dignity arises from participation in divine being rather than subjective invention.

At the communal level, theology heals fractured social relations. Ideological polarization thrives where truth becomes inaccessible. Communities divided by competing narratives lose capacity for dialogue. Theology contributes to reconciliation by reestablishing shared orientation toward reality. Truth becomes a common horizon enabling communication across difference.

At the cultural level, theology heals civilizational fragmentation. In The Splendor of Truth, I argued that modern societies increasingly possess technological power without metaphysical orientation, resulting in epistemic dislocation.¹⁴ Knowledge expands while wisdom declines. Theology restores integration by reconnecting scientific, ethical, and spiritual knowledge within a unified vision of reality.

Liberation theology anticipated aspects of this therapeutic vocation by emphasizing praxis. Gustavo Gutiérrez argued that theology emerges from reflection upon lived experience of liberation.¹⁵ Knowledge becomes authentic when oriented toward transformation of unjust conditions. Critical Synthetic Realism affirms this insight while emphasizing that praxis must remain grounded in truth. Liberation detached from realism risks replacing one ideology with another.

Theology as healing knowledge therefore integrates contemplation and action. Understanding precedes transformation because distorted perception perpetuates injustice. Yet understanding remains incomplete without concrete embodiment. Theology heals when truth reshapes both consciousness and social practice.

Bernard Lonergan’s concept of conversion illuminates this process. Lonergan identified intellectual, moral, and religious conversion as interconnected movements restoring authenticity to human knowing and acting.¹⁶ Healing occurs when individuals transcend bias and become attentive to reality. Theology facilitates conversion by cultivating habits of inquiry oriented toward truth.

This understanding also clarifies the Church’s pastoral mission. Evangelization cannot be reduced to transmission of doctrinal propositions alone. The Church encounters individuals shaped by cultural fragmentation, existential anxiety, and epistemic confusion. Theology serves pastoral ministry by articulating intelligibility capable of addressing these conditions. Faith becomes credible when experienced as healing rather than ideological imposition.

The therapeutic character of theology further explains the importance of theological education. Formation in theology should cultivate intellectual virtues enabling discernment within complex cultural environments. Students learn not merely what to believe but how to think truthfully. Theology becomes formation of vision—a training in perceiving reality through participation in divine wisdom.

Critical Synthetic Realism also reinterprets liberation in spiritual terms. Liberation involves freedom from fear generated by distorted images of God. Religious superstition frequently portrays divine action as arbitrary or punitive, producing anxiety rather than trust. Theological realism heals such distortions by presenting God as intelligible love sustaining creation.

This insight connects directly to the emergence of Critical-Liberative Theology. Liberation must extend beyond political emancipation toward epistemic and spiritual transformation. Theology heals when it restores humanity’s participation in truth capable of sustaining freedom. Critical-Liberative Theology therefore arises organically from Synthetic Theological Realism rather than representing a separate project.

The healing vocation of theology ultimately reflects the incarnation itself. Christ reveals divine truth not abstractly but therapeutically—restoring sight, reconciling relationships, and renewing human existence. Theology participates in this incarnational logic whenever it mediates truth oriented toward flourishing.

Having established theology’s therapeutic character, we must now explore how liberation unfolds within the global context of contemporary Christianity. The next section examines the emergence of a global theological horizon shaped by plurality, dialogue, and synthesis.

IV — Epistemic Liberation and the Global Church

The therapeutic vocation of theology cannot remain confined to individual transformation. Christianity is irreducibly communal and historical. Liberation therefore unfolds within the life of the Church as a global reality. Synthetic Theological Realism reaches its ecclesial culmination when epistemic liberation becomes the shared mission of the universal Church in a fragmented world.

The contemporary Church exists within an unprecedented historical situation. Christianity is no longer centered within a single cultural or civilizational framework. The demographic and intellectual vitality of global Christianity now extends across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and diverse diasporic communities. Theology must therefore operate within a polycentric ecclesial landscape shaped by multiple historical experiences.

This transformation represents not merely geographic expansion but epistemic transition. For centuries, theological discourse often assumed cultural homogeneity grounded in European intellectual traditions. While those traditions produced immense theological richness, they cannot alone exhaust the Church’s understanding of revelation. The global Church now encounters reality through plural historical lenses that illuminate previously neglected dimensions of faith.

Epistemic liberation requires recognizing this plurality without surrendering unity. The Church does not become fragmented because theological voices multiply; rather, catholicity deepens when diverse experiences contribute to shared pursuit of truth. Unity arises not from uniformity but from participation in reality grounded in divine Logos.

The Second Vatican Council anticipated this development by affirming the legitimacy of cultural diversity within the Church’s life and mission. Gaudium et Spes recognized that historical experience shapes theological reflection while remaining oriented toward universal truth.¹⁷ Theology must therefore engage local contexts without dissolving into relativism.

Liberation theology emerged historically from such contextual engagement. Latin American theologians interpreted the Gospel through the experience of poverty and political oppression, revealing the social implications of Christian faith with renewed clarity.¹⁸ African and Asian theologians similarly explored inculturation, demonstrating that revelation encounters humanity within particular cultural worlds.

Critical Synthetic Realism affirms these developments while proposing a unifying epistemological framework. Contextual theology becomes possible precisely because reality transcends any single context. Cultural mediation enriches understanding when oriented toward truth rather than identity alone. Epistemic liberation enables dialogue among traditions because all participants seek shared reality.

The global Church therefore becomes a community of mutual learning. Theologians from different regions contribute insights shaped by historical experience—colonialism, modernization, migration, technological transformation, religious pluralism. Each perspective reveals aspects of reality requiring integration within synthetic theology.

In Beyond Doctrine, I argued that theology after Christendom must move beyond models of missionary unilateralism toward reciprocal exchange within the global Church.¹⁹ Epistemic liberation manifests when theological authority becomes dialogical rather than hierarchical. Truth emerges through shared discernment guided by the Spirit.

This dialogical vision addresses one of the central crises of modern theology: fragmentation of discourse into isolated academic specializations and cultural silos. Theological communities often speak past one another because interpretive frameworks remain unintegrated. Synthetic Theological Realism provides a methodological structure capable of integrating diverse insights without suppressing difference.

The global Church thus becomes the historical site of theological synthesis. Theology no longer belongs exclusively to academic institutions or particular cultures but emerges from interaction between lived faith and intellectual reflection across the world. Epistemic liberation occurs when communities recognize themselves as co-participants in the search for truth.

This development also reshapes evangelization. Mission cannot be understood as transmission of fixed cultural forms but as encounter between Gospel and culture producing mutual transformation. The Church learns even as it proclaims. Evangelization becomes epistemically reciprocal.

Joseph Ratzinger emphasized that Christian universality rests upon truth rather than cultural expansion.²⁰ The Gospel unites humanity because it corresponds to reality itself. Epistemic liberation therefore strengthens catholicity by grounding unity in truth rather than institutional power.

The digital age intensifies both the possibilities and risks of this global moment. Communication technologies enable unprecedented exchange of ideas, yet they also amplify fragmentation through algorithmic isolation. Theology must cultivate intellectual virtues enabling discernment within this environment. The global Church becomes both beneficiary and guardian of intelligibility within technological modernity.

Critical Synthetic Realism therefore interprets the global Church as a community of epistemic healing. Theology contributes to liberation by fostering shared orientation toward truth capable of sustaining dialogue across cultural, political, and ideological divides. The Church becomes sacrament of intelligibility within a fractured world.

Yet this global synthesis remains incomplete without explicit theological articulation of its future direction. Epistemic liberation prepares the transition toward a constructive theological horizon in which Synthetic Theological Realism unfolds into Critical-Liberative Theology.

The final section of this chapter therefore gathers the argument and prepares the transition to the next stage of the work.

Part V — From Synthetic Theological Realism to Critical-Liberative Theology

The argument developed throughout this chapter has sought to demonstrate that liberation does not stand alongside truth as a secondary concern of theology but emerges from truth itself. Synthetic Theological Realism began by affirming that theology must be grounded in reality; Critical Synthetic Realism clarified the epistemological discipline necessary for responsible theological knowing. The present chapter completes the movement by showing that realism and critique converge in liberation. Truth, rightly understood, becomes intrinsically emancipatory.

Christian theology has often struggled to hold together orthodoxy and liberation. At times doctrinal fidelity appeared opposed to social transformation, while at other moments liberationist movements risked detaching praxis from metaphysical grounding. The division proved destructive for both sides. Theology lacking liberative force becomes abstract and pastorally ineffective; liberation lacking ontological grounding becomes unstable and vulnerable to ideological capture.

Critical-Liberative Theology emerges precisely as the resolution of this tension. It represents not a departure from Synthetic Theological Realism but its historical maturation. If reality is intelligible, if truth can be known, and if distorted knowing constitutes humanity’s deepest bondage, then theology must participate actively in the liberation of human consciousness and society.

Liberation begins epistemically. Humanity cannot transform unjust structures while remaining imprisoned within false interpretations of reality. Ideology, fear, superstition, and relativism function as epistemic chains restricting human flourishing. Theology contributes to emancipation by restoring confidence that truth exists and that human beings are capable of participating in it.

The Christian doctrine of sin, interpreted as epistemic distortion, reveals why liberation must involve conversion. Conversion restores alignment between intellect, will, and reality. Grace heals cognition, enabling recognition of truth previously obscured. Liberation therefore becomes participation in divine illumination rather than merely political achievement.

The incarnation provides the definitive theological model for this process. In Christ, divine truth enters history not as abstraction but as transformative presence. The ministry of Jesus unites proclamation and liberation: forgiveness restores dignity, healing restores agency, and truth restores vision. Christian theology continues this incarnational logic whenever it mediates knowledge oriented toward human flourishing.

Critical-Liberative Theology thus extends liberation theology’s central intuition while deepening its metaphysical foundation. Gustavo Gutiérrez rightly emphasized that theology must attend to the cry of the poor, recognizing that injustice distorts both social structures and human perception.²¹ Synthetic Theological Realism affirms this insight while insisting that liberation remains sustainable only when grounded in ontological realism. Liberation succeeds because reality itself resists dehumanization.

This integration allows theology to transcend ideological polarization that has frequently divided contemporary theological discourse. Conservative theology sometimes defended doctrinal stability without adequately addressing structural injustice. Progressive theology sometimes prioritized social transformation while weakening metaphysical coherence. Critical-Liberative Theology refuses this false dichotomy. Truth and justice belong together because both arise from participation in divine reality.

The global Church now stands at a historical threshold requiring precisely such synthesis. Christianity inhabits a world marked simultaneously by technological acceleration, cultural pluralism, political instability, and existential uncertainty. Traditional frameworks alone cannot address these conditions, yet abandonment of tradition would sever theology from its grounding. Synthetic Theological Realism provides continuity; Critical Synthetic Realism ensures intellectual responsibility; Critical-Liberative Theology directs theology toward transformative mission.

The theologian’s vocation therefore assumes renewed significance. Theology becomes an act of mediation between truth and suffering, contemplation and action, tradition and future. The theologian serves liberation not by replacing doctrine with activism but by revealing the liberative power inherent within truth itself.

In Beyond Doctrine, I argued that theology must move beyond defensive postures shaped by Christendom toward constructive engagement with a pluralistic world.²² Critical-Liberative Theology represents this engagement’s systematic articulation. Theology speaks credibly when it heals fragmentation, restores intelligibility, and empowers communities to live in truth.

The movement from STR to CLT may therefore be summarized as a threefold progression:

First, theology reaffirms reality against relativism.

 Second, theology disciplines understanding through critical realism.

 Third, theology participates in liberation grounded in truth.

This progression does not abandon classical theology but fulfills it. Augustine’s illumination, Aquinas’s realism, Newman’s development, and Lonergan’s conversion converge within a renewed theological horizon adequate to the contemporary age.

The Church’s mission within a fragmented world thus appears with renewed clarity. Christianity offers not merely moral guidance or spiritual consolation but epistemic healing capable of renewing civilization itself. The Gospel liberates because it reveals reality as grounded in divine love.

Chapter 8 will extend this argument by examining theology after fragmentation—how the global Church may inhabit a synthetic future shaped by dialogue, realism, and liberation. The transition from epistemic liberation to constructive global theology now becomes the next step in the unfolding vision of Synthetic Theological Realism.

Endnotes 

1. Augustine, Confessions, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991).
2. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I–II, q.76–77.
3. Gustavo Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1973).
4. Januarius Asongu, The Splendor of Truth (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2026).
5. Augustine, City of God, XIV.
6. Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I–II, q.85.
7. Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue, 3rd ed. (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).
8. Leonardo Boff and Clodovis Boff, Introducing Liberation Theology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1987).
9. Asongu, The Splendor of Truth.
10. Joseph Ratzinger, Truth and Tolerance (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004).
11. Irenaeus, Against Heresies.
12. Athanasius, On the Incarnation.
13. Augustine, Confessions.
14. Asongu, The Splendor of Truth.
15. Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation.
16. Bernard Lonergan, Method in Theology (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972).
17. Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes.
18. Jon Sobrino, Jesus the Liberator (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993).
19. Asongu, Beyond Doctrine (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2026).
20. Joseph Ratzinger, Introduction to Christianity (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004).
21. Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation.
22. Asongu, Beyond Doctrine.