Theology in the Mother Tongue: Oral Bible Translation and Embodied Faith (Fausto Liriano) Ep. #216

What if the Bible isn’t something you read—but something you hear, memorize, and perform?

In this groundbreaking episode, Dr. Fausto Liriano shares his work translating the Bible into indigenous languages without writing it down. Through oral Bible translation projects in Guatemala, Mexico, and the Philippines, Dr. Liriano helps communities internalize Scripture in their own languages—through performance, storytelling, and memorization.

He explains how this work challenges not only Western assumptions about literacy and theology, but also confronts colonial patterns in missionary work, translation philosophy, and even what counts as “canonical” Scripture. The episode explores how indigenous languages often mirror Hebrew’s poetic ambiguity more than Spanish or English do, why repetition and redundancy are theological tools, and how people with no formal education are memorizing and performing hours of biblical material with precision and reverence.

Dr. Liriano also reflects on the need for contextual theology in Latin America—one that isn’t imported from the North, but developed by the people, for the people. He calls for a theology of corruption, of wholeness, and of embodied participation in God’s word.

For more on Fausto's work: https://translation.bible/staff-profile/fausto-liriano/

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Latin American Theology 01:59 Misunderstandings of Latin American Theology 04:47 The Need for Contextual Theology 07:41 Corruption and Its Impact on Theology 10:43 The Role of Indigenous Voices in Theology 13:52 Oral Bible Translation in Guatemala 16:47 The Value of Orality in Cultural Contexts 25:08 Translating for Indigenous Cultures 27:57 Exploring Orality in Biblical Texts 30:13 The Process of Oral Bible Translation 34:57 Community Engagement and Performance 37:41 The Importance of Oral Tradition 42:14 Navigating Colonialism and Canonization 44:29 The Heart of Translation: Language and Connection