When Jesus walked the earth, why didn’t he change the world by waltzing in on a valiant steed, changing governmental systems, throwing out Cesar and creating an uproar with the people in power? The answer is quite simply that Jesus led change through a bottom-up system rather than a top-down system. Jesus spent most of his time on earth walking alongside the outcasts, the beggars, the fisherman, and the Gentiles. Liberation theology is rooted in this same belief that God has an unconditional regard for the poor. The poor being defined broadly, and going far beyond just economic boundaries.
Liberation Theology believes that it is not the role of Christians to “fix” the poor, but rather to learn from, and alongside the poor. It not a burden that everyone just has to care for those that are less fortunate, but rather a part of their own theology and their own growth as human beings. The unconditional regard for the poor does not mean that the poor should be the only regard, but rather that because of their needs it should be the duty of Christians to love and serve them the way that Christ demonstrated. The word poor can mean a lot more than just low socio-economic status, it can mean being a part of an oppressed race, or class for example.
The idea of Liberation Theology started in Latin America, and this portion was studied extensively by Leonardo and Clodovus Boff. In Latin America there is immense suffering and hunger that everyone, but especially the church
of oppression, understanding the central core of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor
heavily emphasized God’s preference of those who are oppressed and challenged scholars to review their preconceived notions on scripture study. In addition, A Theology of Liberation made religion more accessible and meaningful to those who faced oppression or poverty ("Gustavo Gutierrez and the Preferential Option for the Poor"). In Liberation Theology, according to Gutierrez, Liberation Theologians take upon a view from those individuals who are on the lower end of the social and
Liberation theology refers to the liberation of oppressive regimes through Christianity. For instance, liberation theology was used to combat the military government in El Salvador. This is important because it shines the light on how theology played a fundamental role in the liberation of the Salvadoran Civil War. Furthermore, there are many branches to liberation theology for example biblical, pastoral, theological and revolutionary. These branches are unique in how they carry out their action, but the objective is still the same. In other words, these different branches all have the same objective. For example, biblical theology emphasis social justice through the scriptures of the Bible. On the other hand, revolutionary theology emphasized
Elizabeth Johnson wrote “The God Who Breaks Chains” and in this essay she discusses Black liberation theology. Black liberation theology is defined as a type of theology, which contextualizes Christianity to help Black people overcome oppression of their past and present. This type of theology allows black people to find psychological healing from times of slavery,
Gustavo Gutierrez coined the term “liberation theology” and its roots come from Latin America. According to the dictionary, liberation theology is defined as “a 20th-century Christian theology, emphasizing the Biblical and doctrinal theme of liberation from oppression, whether racial, sexual, economic, or political” (dictionary). Liberation theology arose principally as a moral reaction to the poverty and social justice in Latin America. This particular reason is why Gustavo Gutierrez adapts this method and relies on it heavily because of his
(Luke 10:25-37). Jesus taught this so that Christians would treat everyone the way that they would want to be treated. In Luke 6:20-26, Jesus said. “That the poor were special to him and that their suffering would be rewarded in heaven.” He also went on to say, “The rich who ignored the suffering of the poor would be punished.” One of Jesus’ most important teachings on poverty was in Matthew 25:31-46. To the affect Jesus said “Whenever you help anyone in need you are helping me.” Christians believe that when they help someone they are helping Jesus and that they will be rewarded for it. These are the main Christian teachings on wealth and poverty.
Christians believe that they have a responsibility for other people in the world. A responsibility towards those less fortunate is very important to Christians, they believe it is their duty to help the poor and those less fortunate. It is important for Christians to be responsible and care for the people in countries of poverty. God made people in his own image, as it stats in “Pacem in Terris,”: “God also created man in His own image and likeness, endowed him with the intelligence and freedom, and made him lord of creation, as the same psalmist declares in the words: Thou hast placed him only a little below the angels, crowning him with glory and honour and bidding him rule
One important indicator on the Catholic Church’s stance on Liberation Theology and general social activism in Latin America will be to see if Archbishop Oscar Romero is accepted into sainthood. The iconic and controversial religious leader worked tirelessly to help the lower-class in El Salvador. His teachings and beliefs that the marginalized peasants should be treated justly made him a living legend among his countrymen and isolated him from the nation’s corrupt elites. Although he never specifically condoned violence, his sermons played no small part in fomenting a bloody peasant uprising and civil war that raged for over a decade. In the last few years, a strong effort has been made to canonize Romero. Although he is revered not only in his own country but throughout the world, there exist a few issues that could possibly preclude him for becoming a saint. He is still strongly disliked by the vast majority of the wealthy and powerful ruling class of El Salvador, he, indirectly and inadvertently, helped bring about a violent conflict that ravaged his nation and, perhaps most importantly, his canonization may appear to be a carte blanche validation of Liberation Theology and the Marxist uprisings that were often associated with the movement. The canonization of Oscar Romero will redefine the seminal ideal of a modern-day saint and could quite
Liberation theology calls followers of Jesus to work together to create a just society that brings change and align themselves with the oppressed. All of my sources Gustavo Gutierrez, Paul Farmer, and Sohail Hasmi place defending the rights of the poor as a central aspects of their arguments. Which is why I am led to believe that my sources could come together, even if they have different point of views. In Gustavo Gutierrez’s Theology of Liberation, he argues this theology is about committing to abolish injustice to build an improved society. A strong part of his argument is when he describes that in order to advance to a just society, Christians must “abolish the present status quo and attempt to replace it with a qualitative different
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the
Arising out recent class discussion topics touching on the ideas of James Cone’s ideas on Liberation Theology and the relationship between the Cross and the Lynching Tree, our group decided to focus the topic of our presentation around Liberation Theology. However, in order to create a counter argument to stimulate further discourse, we introduced the Theology of Prosperity, as an opposing theological concept, to our presentation. Hence, we came up with the topic of Liberation Theology vs. Theology of Prosperity.
Liberation theology is situational. The emergence of liberation theology and the interpretation of the Bible under liberation theology stems directly to the participants place in society. As the title suggests, liberation theology interprets the Bible as a document of hope that will give strength and validity to a struggle against an oppressor. Liberation theology rises out of a new political consciousness. The oppressed people have to realize they are oppressed and that the Bible text can be used as a tool to overcome their oppressors. In regards to South Africa, there was an awakening when the black people realized their lack of influence in politics, the huge economic disparity between rich and poor, and their low
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the first Beatitude. It tells us that we should accept people for who they are and not the material things they have. You should not treat a person who lives in a nice house and drives a nice car any different then someone who lives in a less desirable house and drives an old car. You should treat everyone how you would like to be treated. Just because someone can not afford some of the things as you might be able to does not mean that they are a bad person. We should accept everyone into our community.
It was a way of thinking and interpreting the bible. However it ended up being more than that. It analyzed history from different perspectives and acknowledged Marxism thoughts. (V.A.1) One main purpose of liberation theology was to help the poor.
There are three main arguments believed to be the explanations for the existence and persistence of poverty. The first account is the Dependency-Based Explanation that puts the blame of poverty to the individual or to their cultural background. The Exclusion-Based Explanation and Structural-Based Explanation are the next two which establishes the society that condemns people to poverty.