The Claims of Liberation Theology - Essay Example

Running Head: The Claims of Liberation Theology The Claims of Liberation Theology [The [The of the The Claims of Liberation Theology Introduction Liberation theology is a broad and variegated phenomenon. It encompasses a wide range of ways of thinking the faith in the face of oppression. Of course, when one speaks of liberation theology, one is generally using the term in reference to its expression in published form, and this is the sense in which it will most often be used in this essay. But it is important not to lose sight of the rich and fruitful thinking at "base" level that feeds the professional work through which liberation theology has become known throughout the world. What unites these three levels of theological-liberational thought It is the one basic inspiration: a faith that transforms history, or, as others would put it, history seen from the basis of the ferment of faith. This means that the liberation theology of a Gustavo Gutirrez is substantially the same as that of a Christian laborer in northeastern Brazil. The basic content is the same. The sap that feeds the branches of the tree is the same sap that passes through the trunk and rises from the hidden roots underground. The distinction between the levels is in their logic, but more specifically in their language. Theology can be more or less articulate; popular theology will be expressed in everyday speech, with its spontaneity and feeling, whereas professional theology adopts a more scholarly language, with the structure and restraint proper to it. It is not hard to see what liberation theology is when one starts at its roots-that is, by examining what the base communities do when they read the Bible and compare it with the oppression and longing for liberation in their own lives. But this is just what professional liberation theology is doing: it is simply doing it in a more sophisticated way. On the middle level, pastoral theology uses a language and approach that draw on both the ground level and the scholarly level. Truth, in the Bible, includes fidelity, justice, and firmness. To believe is to have confidence, to give oneself to God, to be faithful. God is worthy of faith because he is truthful, for, as the prophets often repeat in the Old Testament, his word is firm and he always fulfills what he promises. The fulfillment takes place in history, and thus, God appears truthful through history. Christ is the fulfillment of the Father's promise which makes us his children in him. This is according to the acts and words of Jesus. The Father fulfills his promise in the death and resurrection of Jesus. To be a Christian is to accept that the promise begins to be fulfilled and realized in a historical context. In the Bible, the act of knowing is not relegated to a purely intellectual level. There exists contemporary yearn for a mechanical correspondence in the relationship between knowing and transforming and living a truth which verifies itself in history. Nevertheless, the cultural world in which we live allows us to discover a starting point and a horizon in which we can delineate a theological reflection which must appeal to its own sources. The theology of liberation differs from such theologies as those of development, revolution, and violence not only in a different analysis of reality based on more universal and radical political options, but above all, in the very concept of the task of theology. The theology of liberation does not intend to provide Christian justification for positions already taken and does not aim to be a revolutionary Christian ideology. It is a reflection which makes a start with the historical praxis of people. It seeks to rethink the faith from the perspective of that historical praxis, and it is based on the experience of the faith derived from the liberating commitment. For this reason, this theology comes only after that involvement; the theology is always a second act. (Bonino, 1975, 109-14) Its themes are, therefore, the great themes of all true theology, but the perspective and the way of giving them life is different. Its relation to historical praxis is of a different kind. The theology of liberation is a theology of salvation incarnated in the concrete historical and political conditions of today. Those historical and political mediations of today, valued in themselves, change the life experience and pattern, as well as, the reflection on the mystery hidden from of old and revealed now, the love of the Father and human fraternity, and the operating salvation in time, all of which give a deep unity to human history. We do not have two histories, one by which we become children of God and the other by which we become each other's brothers. This is what the term liberation wants to make present and underline. Maskings and Perspectives A theological reflection in the context of liberation, takes its point of departure from the perception that the context obliges us to rethink radically our Christian being and our being as Church. This reflection upon the Word accepted in faith will appeal to the different expressions of contemporary human reasoning, of human sciences and also of philosophy. But above all, it will have reference to the historical praxis in a new way. Easy attitudes and a certain preoccupation with contemporary styles have in effect led some to speak of the same old things while simply adding the adjective "liberating" and, thereby, selling old merchandise which was beginning to pile up. Another attempt along the same lines is to interpret in a "spiritualistic" way everything which has to do with the liberation of Christ. In this way, all the human and historical impact is taken away and it can be accepted by the political and ecclesiastical system to the degree that it questions nothing, to the degree in which the "other" of such a system is not made present, and one remains "within the family." (Ferm, 1986, 190-92) But, as we have said already, what we understand by theology of liberation supposes a direct and precise relation with the historical praxis. And this historical praxis is a liberating and subversive praxis. It is identification with persons, with races, with the social classes which suffer misery and exploitation, identification with its concerns and its battles. It is an insertion into the revolutionary political process. (Araya, 1983, 79-82) The theological sketch of which we dispose ourselves today in this line of thought is but the point of departure keeping in mind the importance of the theory of knowledge. This knowledge should be applied to the construction of a society which functions for the poor. The theology of liberation poses certain fundamental questions in the field of theological method; it demands continual questioning of biblical hermeneutic, conditioned by a greater clarification of its Old and New Testament foundations; it introduces a distinct perspective in order to think of the articulation between faith and politics; it underscores the importance of a Christology for a committed Christian in the revolutionary process; it leads to radical questions in ecclesiological matters. But, all this is but the initial planning. There will not be a distinct theological perspective until it comes from the social practice of the true Latin American people, of the people which has its earthly roots within the geography, the history, the indigenous race, and the culture of a profound and today silent people. From this point, a new interpretation of the evangelical message will take place along with the expression of the experiences it has brought about throughout history. All this implies a historical process of vast proportions. If what we have today as the theology of liberation can contribute to it and raise the possibility for new understanding of the faith, it will have accomplished its task of transition. It is nothing more than a Christian generation declaring its consciousness in ecclesial communion at a given moment of history. And this generation begins just now to break with the dominating system and to discover the "other" of the world in which it still lives. From the underside of history a significant gap between the professions and practices of modernity is visible. Rights are vociferously proclaimed by various governments and enshrined in venerated documents, yet modernity has not brought freedom to much of the world. Specifically there remains a qualitative difference in the respect accorded political and socio-economic rights. As regards to this, the liberationists affirmed that if the societal training does not truly initiate from the authenticity of global capitalism, from the reality, in Gutirrez's words, of "the monopolistic domination of the popular class, especially the poor, by capitalism." (Gutirrez, 1983, 57) As a substitute the societal training demonstrates the enduring authority of the neo-scholastic tactic that starts with metaphysical manifestation on natural law and inquires about to relate the consequences inferred from such an expression to actuality. (Sobrino, 1984, 7-38) An Integrated and Integrating Theology It is important to realize that these three sorts of theological reflection do not take place separately from or alongside each other. Most of the time, they are practiced integrally, with integration at any level. So, for example, it can happen on the popular level with a pastor and a theologian sitting among the people, in the community center, reflecting on their struggle and their progress with them. Or it can take place at the professional level, when, for example, pastoral ministers and lay persons from base communities attend courses in systematic theology. There are more and more lay persons taking courses in theology or attending conferences on growth in faith. But the most obvious integration is at the intermediate level, that of pastoral liberation theology. This is seen most clearly at church conferences, where you can find pastoral ministers-bishops, priests, religious, and lay persons-telling of their problems, Christians from base communities recounting their experiences, and theologians contributing their insights, deepening the meaning of the events under discussion and drawing conclusions from them. One notable aspect of these conferences is that they are not confined to church personnel: persons from other disciplines who can contribute and are committed to the progress of liberation also take part: sociologists, economists, teachers, and technicians, all putting their professional expertise at the service of the people. So one can see how liberation theology, at least the model of it that is emerging from a church committed to liberation, is a progressively integrating factor among pastors, theologians, and lay persons, all linked together around the same axis: their liberative mission. This is a long way from the old fragmentation, still largely operative, among a canonical, official theology, elaborated by curial and episcopal bodies, a critical, confrontational theology, elaborated in centers of study and research, and a spontaneous theology elaborated on the mar-gins of the church. All members of the people of God think about their faith: all of them, not only the professionals, "do" theology in a way. There can, indeed, be no faith without a minimum of theology. Faith is human and involves a "longing to understand"-fides quaerens intellectum-as the classic theologians put it. All who believe want to understand something of their faith. And as soon as you think about faith, you are already doing theology. So all Christians are in a certain sense theologians, and become more so the more they think about their faith. The subject of faith is the subject of theology-thinking and thought-out faith, cultivated collectively in the bosom of the church. The base communities, trying to draw lessons for today from the pages of the Gospels, are "doing" theology, theologizing. Furthermore, popular theology is thinking about the faith in solidarity: all give their opinions, completing or correcting those of others, each helping the other to assimilate the matter more clearly. How Liberation Theology Works in Practice Liberation theology does not end with the production of theological works in centers of theological study and research, or institutions in which the church trains its priests and lay specialists. Such places are hardly the epicenters from which liberation theology emanates; its theologians are not armchair intellectuals, but rather "organic intellectuals" and "militant theologians," working with the pilgrim people of God and engaged in their pastoral responsibilities. They certainly keep one foot in centers of study, but their other foot is in the community. Liberation theology is linked with a specific community and forms a vital part of it. Its service is one of theological enlightenment of the community on its pilgrim way. You can find it any weekend in any slum, shantytown, or rural parish. It is there alongside the people, speaking, listening, asking questions, and being asked questions. It will not take shape in the form of an "ivory tower" theologian, one who is only a theologian and knows only theology. Liberation theology has to be skilled in the art of articulation to a high degree: it has to articulate the discourse of society, of the oppressed, of the world of popular, symbolic, and sacramental signs, with the discourse of faith and the normative tradition of the church. In the field of liberation, trying to know theology alone means condemning oneself to knowing not even one's own theology. So, liberation theologians have to be at times pastors, analysts, interpreters, advocates, brothers or sisters in faith, and fellow pilgrims. Above all else, they have to be vehicles of the Spirit so as to be able to inspire and translate the demands of the gospel when confronted with the signs of the times as they are emerging among the poorer classes of society, in faithful reflection, hope, and committed love. You will also find liberation theologians where the people of God congregates: in retreats, in diocesan planning meetings, in Bible study groups, in discussions of rural pastoral problems or discrimination against women, in debates on the problems of ethnic minority groups and cultures. In such groups their role is that of advisor. They hear the problems brought by the people, listen to the theology being done by and in the community-that is, the basic reflection that is the theology of the people reflecting on its life and progress. Liberation theologians will be found in interdisciplinary discussion groups, round-table groups concerned with questions of social communications and the like, putting forward the view of a church that has taken seriously the option of solidarity with the poor. In all this, they will be doing theology with the people. Finally, of course, liberation theologians will also be found at their desks, reading, researching, and preparing their lectures and courses, writing s and articles. This is where they exercise the theoretical, professional side of their calling. This is where the experiences gathered at the base and the work done by pastoral ministers are critically examined, reflected on in depth, and worked into concepts-that is, dealt with according to the scientific criteria of theology. From here, theologians go out not only to do pastoral work and take part in meetings and discussions, but also to give lectures, to attend theological congresses, sometimes overseas, to speak in the centers of power and productivity. In this they are doing theology from the people. A new evangelical perfectionism emerged to challenge the marriage of conservative theology to conservative politics and, at the same time, to challenge what it perceives to be the sterility of the combination of liberal theology and liberal politics. In one way or another, these thinkers are convinced that the gospel of Jesus Christ provides direct, unambiguous moral guidance. They are also conservative in their use of the Bible, although they do not necessarily believe that every moral injunction in the Bible is of equal significance. John Howard Yoder is a particularly striking leader in this new movement. In his The Politics of Jesus, Yoder argues that Jesus is himself the norm for Christian ethics and that the perfection in love enjoined by the life and teaching of Jesus is fully relevant to human existence. We should therefore reject the false choice between compromising Jesus as the true norm of our actions in order to be 'effective' in the social world and the withdrawal from the world in order to preserve our Christian perfection. (Yoder, 1972, 245-50) Yoder does not finally concern himself about the actual shape of the future: 'the calculating link between our obedience and ultimate efficacy has been broken, since the triumph of God comes through resurrection and not through effective sovereignty or assured survival.' (Yoder, 1972, 245-50) References Araya, Victorio. El Dios de los pobres. San Jos, Costa Rica: Sebila, 1983. (Engl. trans., The God of the Poor: The Mystery of God in Latin American Liberation Theology. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1987) 79-82 Bonino, Jos Mguez. Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975. 109-14 Ferm, Deane W. Third World Liberation Theologies: An Introductory Survey. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1986. 190-92 Gutirrez, Gustavo The Power of the Poor in History, trans. Robert R. Barr (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis s, 1983), 57. Sobrino, Jon The True Church and the Poor, trans. Matthew J. O'Connell (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis s, 1984), 7-38 Yoder, J.H. (1972). The Politics of Jesus. Michigan, William B. Eerdmans publishing company and The Paternoster Press. 2nd edn. 245-50 Read More