In 1913 Protestant missionaries working in Mexico
brought a severely wounded revolutionary soldier to
the United States where doctors saved his life, but
had to amputate one leg. The solider was young
Alberto Rembao. He went on to become one of the key
architects in the development of a socially conscious
Latino Protestantism in the generation preceding
liberation theology. Some writers accuse Rembao and
his generation, the so-called "liberal phase" of
Latin American Protestantism, of acquiescing to white
American missionaries and focusing on reaching Latin
America's elite with liberal bourgeois values and a
utopian social gospel. This book shows that Rembao
was a more complex figure. Previously unexplored but
critical for understanding Rembao are the ideals of
internationalism and renewed social concern that
arose after World War I and became central to
mainline Protestant missions and other organizations
with which he worked. These ideals led Rembao to
promote holistic aspects of Christianity toward a
better world of peace, fraternity and justice. In
the process he challenged undemocratic politics,
racist U.S. immigration policies, paternalistic
mission practices and more.