Just Exactly What is Liberation Theology?

                                                    Just Exactly is Liberation Theology?

                                                    Dr. Juan A. Carmona

                                                    Visiting Professor of Theology

                                                    Tainan Theological College and Seminary


There are many people who have heard the term "Liberation Theology." They react to the term in different ways.  Some will completely ignore it because they have no interest whatsoever in theological issues.  To them, theology is a hobby for those who have such interests, or at the very least, something which has no relevance to life, at least not their life.

Then there are those who judge Liberation Theology on the basis of hearsay.  Their view of Liberation Theology is based on what they have heard said by other people who have no direct familiarity with the subject. Their view, in essence, is based on second-hand information.  In some cases, they will base their view of Liberation Theology on what they have read, not in the field itself, but rather on writings of those, who again, have no direct knowledge of or engagement with Liberation Theology.

Then there are others who will react viscerally to the rumor that Liberation Theology is a "Marxist infiltration of the Church, and of classical Christian theology."  Because Liberation Theology makes use of critical and social analysis, they figure that it must be Marxist-based, or at the very least, Marxist inspired.

The purpose of this essay is to debunk these myths and to put Liberation Theology into proper perspective. The essays are written on the basis of the writer's familiarity with the basic texts of Liberation Theology, and also his experience as a lecturer at various schools of theology, as well as his presently serving as Visiting Professor of Theology at the Tainan Theological College and Seminary in Tainan City, Taiwan.

In a very general sense, Liberation Theology begins with the doctrines of Creation, the Fall, and Redemption. Liberation Theology takes seriously the divine initiative in all of these events.  It affirms God as the Creator of all things, and the Liberator of humankind from the consequences of the Fall, i.e. slavery to sin, both individual and systemic.

In that same vein, Liberation Theology focuses on God's acts of liberation from the physical slavery of the Hebrew people in Egypt.  Yahweh God speaks to Moses and says to him "I have heard the cry of my people."  God identifies with the affliction, misery, and suffering of the Hebrews.  God conveys to Moses that he is being called to initiate the process of dismantling the structures of slavery, and leading the people out of what at one time was the house of abundance, and then became the house of bondage.

The failure to acknowledge and recognize the biblical roots of Liberation Theology will result in a gross misunderstanding of what it is, and cause many to demonize it, and even distort not only its contents but its thrust. In addition, if one fails to recognize the biblical roots of Liberation Theology, then the tendency will be to either think of it as one school of theological thought among others, and also to equate it with secular ideologies and movements such as Marxism and political and social revolution.  It will also result in placing Liberation Theology within the framework of extreme humanism, which tends to "write off" divine initiative and overemphasize human achievement.

The task of defining Liberation Theology is a difficult and complex one.  There is no one "theology of liberation."  One will find diversity of thinking and methodology in Liberation Theology.  It is not one particular way of thinking.  There is as much diversity in Liberation Theology as there is in classical Christian theology.  Nevertheless, there is an underlying unity in Liberation Theology's trend of thinking.

As previously pointed out, Liberation Theology is not monolithic by any stretch of the imagination. There are differences as to motifs and prisms through which Liberation theologians engage in social analysis.  The one thing that most, if not all Liberation Theologians have in common, is that they believe that oppression and suffering are the starting points for biblical interpretation and theological reflection.  While historically speaking, the Scriptures and the traditions have been seen as sources which shed light on the human political and social situation, Liberation Theology does just the opposite, i.e. departs from the reality of the human condition in order to derive an understanding of the biblical message and of the traditions.  While that approach brings the risk of eisegeis (reading into biblical text), it also brings the advantage and the excitement of making the text and the tradition come alive.  It allows for there to be interaction between the the text and the traditions on the one hand, and on the other hand, the current situation.

Subsequent essays will focus on the historical development of Liberation Theology in Latin America, and the major assumptions and presuppositions on the part of Liberation Theologians.

This essay is submitted in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Dr. Juan A. Carmona

For Further Reading:

Hugo Assmann, Practical Theology of Liberation. London: Search Press, 1975

Ester and Mortimer Arias, The Cry of My People.  New York: Friendship Press, 1980

Leonardo Boff, Teologia desde el Cautiverio.  Bogota: Indo-American Press Service, 1975

Jose Miguez Bonino, Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975

Juan Luis Segundo, "Capitalism Versus Socialism: Crux Theologica," in Frontiers of Theology in Latin America, ed. Rosino Gibellini. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1979.