To date, most of the works in liberation theology to appear in English show their authors at work, "doing theology" in the context of Latin America, a continent nominally Christian but scarred by political repression and every form of economic injustice. The time has now come, however, argues Juan Luis Segundo, to "theologize" about the theology of liberation itself: to examine its methodology; to weigh critically many of its premises; to test constantly its claim to have the Scriptures as its font. Segundo's study will be of value not only to those interested in the theology of liberation, but in theology itself'. He points out that today's theologian is usually a professional, akin to a doctor or lawyer. But what – or whose – interests does he serve in his work? Further, theology today tends to be a subject taught in the curriculum of a seminary or university. It was something quite different in the hands of Jesus and the prophets.
In their hands theology was not only a "religious" instrument but also a political and social instrument which disturbed the powerful even as it brought hope to the powerless. Why has theology today lost its critical bite and its explosive potential? Why is it fearful in the face of real-life social and political situations? Why has it degenerated, for so many of its practitioners, into nothing more than an academic discipline? Theology itself must be liberated if it is to become, as it was for Jesus and the prophets, an instrument of human liberation. That is the central thrust of this landmark work. Segundo presents his case cogently, yet in a style which almost belies his depth of scholarship and powers of analysis as he surveys the contemporary theology of Europe, the United States and Latin America. Max Weber, Karl Marx, Gustavo Guti6rrez, Harvey Cox, and James Cone are but a few of the many writers whom Segundo treats in his trenchant analysis of why "theology must be liberated," and how it can be.