About the Author

Until his untimely death in 2018, Vitor Westhelle was professor of systematic theology at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. A prolific writer and teacher, he was author of several books, including The Scandalous God: The Use and Abuse of the Cross (Fortress, 2006), and co-editor of several others.

Robert A. Butterfield's vibrant and varied career includes serving congregations in Illinois and Iowa, teaching in an ecumenical institute in Brazil, and spending many years teaching, preaching, and writing in Portugal for the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Reviews

"The translation of these early essays by Vitor Westhelle, originally published in Portuguese, offers to the English-speaking reader several entry points to the genealogy of the classic themes that came to characterize this monumental theologian. Here we see the alchemy between the pressing issues faced by Latin America in the 70's and 80's, and a splendid liberationist and Lutheran theological approach. Westhelle shows that true praxis always involves a deep intellectual engagement with our times, yet not devoid of a playful and poetic undercurrent. It is this combination between seriousness and play, depth and levity, eschatology and history, that keeps captivating all those who have been touched by Westhelle's magical wand. This book is no exception, since it is a unique portrait of the early brilliance of one of the most prominent Lutheran theologians in recent times. May it inspire a new generation of theological scholars seeking breadth and depth in these convoluted late modern times." --Dr. Guillermo Hansen, Luther Seminary"In this book, a true theologian of the cross achieves unique connectivity between space, time, and words: surprising, revealing, provoking. This collection forms an important part of the legacy of one of the most brilliant theologians of our time." --Antje Jackelén, Archbishop, Church of Sweden