Liberation Theology

In order to determine how Liberation Theology applies and relates to issues of colonization and social justice, we must first have an understanding of what it is and what it is not.  What follows below is a description of what Liberation Theology is not and what it is.

WHAT IT IS NOT

There are many who base their conception of Liberation Theology on what they have heard from others.  What they have heard is usually negative, and in many cases, the "others" themselves are not acquainted with Liberation Theology.  Those who think negatively about Liberation Theology are getting second and even third-hand information about it and that is why their perceptions about Liberation Theology are so distorted and warped.

Contrary to what many people believe, Liberation Theology is not a school of thought that originated in the Roman Catholic Church.  As a matter of fact, as will be pointed out below, Liberation Theology did not begin as a school of thought in any church, but rather is a movement.

Many people, especially those who are theologically-speaking uninformed, think of Liberation Theology as Marxism "in disguise."  The reason for this is because Liberation Theology in some cases, makes use of Marxist categories in terms of social analysis.  Many Liberation theologians are very conversant with Marxism and make use of Marxist terms in order to describe how they view the need for social change and transformation.  But this writer (yours truly) humbly and respectfully submits that Liberation Theology is not Marxist at all.

There are those who believe that Liberation Theology is just another school of thought or even a mindset.  But I say that it goes much further than that, and subsequently is something that will never cease, be irrelevant, or "go out of style."

WHAT IT IS

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 the previously-mentioned historical events.  Liberation Theology affirms God as the Creator of all things, the Liberator of humankind from the consequences of the Fall, i.e. slavery to sin, both individual and systemic, and the Sustainer of the universe.

In that same vein, Liberation Theology focuses on God's act of the liberation of the Hebrew people from physical slavery in Egypt.  Yahweh God speaks to Moses and says to him "I have heard the cry of my people."  God's hearing the cry of the people is the pivotal moment in history that engineers the process of liberation.

In the Exodus narrative, God identifies with the affliction, misery, and suffering of the Hebrews.  God conveys to Moses that he is being called to be the agent through which God's liberation of the Hebrews from slavery will be accomplished.  Moses would lead 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 as to what it is, and cause many to demonize and even distort not only its contents, but also its thrust.  In addition, if one fails to recognize the biblical roots of Liberation Theology, then the tendency will be to think of it as one school of thought among others and begin 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 ignore the divine initiative and overemphasize human achievement.

The task of defining Liberation Theology is a difficult and complex one.  There is no one "Liberation Theology."  Liberation Theology is a variegated affair, both in its motifs and the personalities involved (Rosino Gibellini, ed. Frontiers of Theology in Latin America. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1979, p.x).

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 Western Theology.  Nevertheless, there is an underlying unity in Liberation Theology's trend of thinking.

Liberation Theology offers us not so much a new theme for theological reflection, but rather a new way to do theology.  Theology as critical reflection on historical praxis is a liberating theology, a theology of the liberating transformation of the history of humankind-gathered into ecclesia-and which openly confesses Christ.  It does not stop with reflecting on the world, but rather tries to be part of the process through which humankind is transformed.  It is a theology which is open in the protest against trampled human dignity, in the struggle against the plunder of the vast majority of people, in liberating love, and in the building of a new, just, and fraternal society to the gift of the Reign of God (Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation.  Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1973, p. x).

Liberation Theology is an understanding of the faith, and a re-reading of the Word as it is lived in the Christian community and other communities of faith.  More than anything, it has to do with the communication of faith, and the proclamation of the Good News, which is that the Creator loves all people.  To evangelize is to witness to that love; to say that it has been revealed to us and was made flesh in Christ (Hugo Assmann, Practical Theology of Liberation.  London: Search Press, 1975, p. 5).

Liberation Theology is the "result of a new reading of the Scriptures in a particular historical situation."  The experience of the Exodus becomes the key to a new perception of the Gospel.  The Exodus story is a model for freedom,.  Liberation Theology is a participation in that story (Ester and Mortimer Arias, The Cry of My People.  New York: Friendship Press, 1980, p. 127).

Liberation Theology is seen as "a question addressed to the Christian obedience of our sisters and brothers in Christ, a question which only they can answer.  Liberation Theology is a critical and committed Christian reflection of the people who have decided to join the struggle to construct a different society.  It is not merely a "new school," nor a set of self-contained theological tents or positions.  If  Liberation Theology is made into a new school, it will have its day and be gone (Jose Miguez Bonino, Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation.  Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975, p. xx)."

Liberation Theology is a global way of articulating the task of the intelligence of the faith.  It is not a theme among others in theology.  It is done from the standpoint of captivity (Leonardo Boff, Teologia desde el Cautiverio.  Bogota: Indo-American Press Service, 1975, p. 13

Liberation Theology is the "claim to view theology from the standpoint which the Christian fonts point up as the only authentic and privileged standpoint for arriving at a full and complete understanding of God's revelation in Jesus Christ.  Theology must be validated by the choice which is made for approaches to social development (Juan Luis Segundo, "Capitalism Versus Socialism,: Crux Theologica," in Gibellini, p. 40).

As previously pointed out, Liberation Theology is not monolithic by any stretch of the imagination.  There are differences in motifs and prisms through which different theologians engage in social analysis.  The one thing that most, if not all Liberation Theologians have in common is their belief that biblical interpretation and theological reflection have oppression and human suffering as their starting points.  While historically speaking, the Scriptures and the traditions have been considered as sources which shed light on the present situation, Liberation Theology does just the opposite, i.e. views the Scriptures and the traditions in the light of the situation.  While that approach carries the risk of eisegesis (reading into the text), it also has the advantage of making the text and the tradition come alive.  It allows for there to be interaction between the text and the traditions on the one hand, and the current situation on the other hand as continuous event.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Dr. Juan A. Carmona
Past Professor of Theology
Tainan Theological College/Seminary