To Heaven or Hell: An Introduction to the Soteriology of Bartolomé de Las Casas (original) (raw)
Related papers
Las Casas' Articulation of the Indians' Moral Agency: Looking Back at Las Casas Through Fichte
Ethnic Studies Review, 2020
ABSTRACT This article deals with Bartolome´ de Las Casas’ contribution to the notion of universal human rights. Though much study has been devoted to Las Casas’ work, what remains understudied is the Spanish philosopher’s conception of religion, which in many ways resembles what Kant called “the religion of reason.” For Las Casas, then, Christianity was conceived more as a rational system of ethics than as a compendium of Biblical and scholastic dogmas. Like the later Enlightenment philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Las Casas believed that all humans belonged to the same universal community of rational beings. By examining Las Casas together with Fichte, this article sheds further light on Las Casas’ anticipatory notions of moral agency, formal freedom, rational religion, and the rights of a free people against the use of coercion—regardless of their race, religion, or culture. They are the ideas underpinning his notion of universal human rights (Paulist and Thomist in nature), and his ethics of the Other, who “is just like me”: a rational, feeling human being, deserving of equal justice and rights.
Religions, 2023
This article introduces the key issues and scope of the 16th-century debate over the rights of the native American peoples encountered by Columbus and the Castilian conquistadores. The historic attempt by theologians and missionaries to limit imperial expansion and to defend the dignity of conquered peoples is an example of Western self-criticism and a fundamental contribution of the Catholic Church to the slow emergence of human rights discourses. This article then focuses on the first pages of Bartolomé de Las Casas’s Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, a text that played a pivotal role in the formation of the Black Legend against Spain, but also in the drafting of the Leyes Nuevas (New Laws) of 1542. While the Short Account’s hyperbolic and explosive prose are well-known, its religious roots can be detected in the prologue and preface, with their discussion of biblical kingship, virtuous Indians, mortal sin, and (un)Christian behavior.
From Theocracy to Natural Law: Consideration on Las Casas's Intellectual Evolution
Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History, Third Series, 13 (2016), pp. 205-224.
IN THE CONTEXT of the Spanish conquest and subsequent domination of the Americas, Bartolomé de las Casas based his defense of the American Indians on the Aristotelian and Thomist view of humans as naturally social beings. This view implied that institutions such as marriage, law, and political authority, necessary for the proper sustainment of a society, are rooted in human nature and thus remain fully valid even without the concurrence of supernatural grace. This is the theoretical foundation for Las Casas's anthropological work. However, Las Casas did not confront all the theoretical and practical consequences of his natural-law perspective until his final years. After addressing the anthropology of Las Casas, I comment on his key political writings in order to shed light on how Las Casas's anthropological views affected the evolution of his political thought toward the end of his life.
Theology and Indigenous Cultures of the Americas: Conditions of Dialogue
Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 2013
Pascuzzi, for her invaluable help in editing this text, and Professors Joseph A. Colombo and Eugenia Constantinou, for their insightful comments. I am also indebted to the prominent Mexican indigenous theologian, Eleazar López Hernández, for his advice and support as I was giving shape to this essay. Please note, unless I indicate otherwise, translations from Spanish or Portuguese to English throughout this text are my sole responsibility.