Jon SOBRINO, with Charo Mármol. Theology Without Deception: God, the Poor, and Reality in El Salvador. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2023. Pp. 225. $28.00 pb. ISBN:9781608339839. Reviewed by Victor PUSCAS, Diocese of Joliet-in- Illinois, Crest Hill, IL 60403.

This is really a delightful little book that allows the reader to sit quietly next to the author, Charo Marmol, and listen in as he interviews Jon Sobrino. In question-and-answer format, the book walks the reader through the life and ministry of Jesuit Father Jon Sobrino, particularly as it relates to liberation theology, the poor, the politics and economics of El Salvador, the martyrdom of the Jesuits, and an intimate insight into St. Oscar Romero and Blessed Rutilio Grande.

In these conversations with Sobrino his sincerity is striking, especially as he traces his journey from the beginning as a European theologian who discusses and thinks about God to the theologian who discovers in the poor, in the crucified people, the God of life. (x) According to Sobrino, “I discovered that the poor were human beings whom the sin of the world had turned into human waste and scrap. And, without looking for it, what came to my mind is that sin is what gives death…And without looking for it, what also came to mind is that God is the God of life.” (xi)

Furthermore, Sobrino “…came to know the reality of the poor who were impoverished and at the same time bearers of salvation, often brimming with grace and truth, who organized themselves to promote justice. The second and more fundamental thing was that Christians – men and women who looked like Jesus and acted like Jesus – were being murdered.” (48) Thanks be to God, most readers will never know the persecutions for which Sobrino had a front row seat.

For an example, on March 12, 1977, Rutilio Grande was assassinated along with two peasants, a young boy and an elderly man, about seventy years old. Priest and peasants died together, and it is important to maintain the significance of that fact. That day Sobrino encountered Christianity, a Christianity irrupted that he had never experienced or suspected. It was also the case that Jesus of Nazareth, though known and studied for years, became visible to him. (76)

Sadly, Sobrino points out that, in his opinion, the historical Jesus is too much of a hindrance to some modern Catholics for whom orthodoxy and institutional rigidity offer “better Christs.” (105, ff)  Finally, in his Epilogue, Sobrino identifies his two final thoughts for ending this book: first, that in the end, God will be all in all, and second, that unity has already been consummated. (171)

He explains this by revisiting the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and his personal theology. He says, “I have tried to do theology in a very modest way, trying humbly to walk with God…by trying to walk with Jesus of Nazareth…and with Monseñor Romero who understood that the ultimate purpose of telling the truth consists in defending the poor. (174-5). This book is a master class in theology with the gravitas of one who has been on the front lines…and survived!