These essays on Liberation Theology are lectures which I presented and delivered at the Tainan Theological College and Seminary in Taiwan, where I served as a Visiting Scholar/Professor of Theology in the academic years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. The purpose of these essays is to acquaint the reader with the field of Liberation Theology, and to help avoid misconceptions about what Liberation Theology actually is. They are also intended to demonstrate that Liberation Theology lies at the core the biblical and Gospel messages.
Lecture #1
In order for us to begin to tackle the field of Liberation Theology, we first need to define what it is and what are the major assumptions and presuppositions. I will begin by saying that Liberation Theology is not merely another school of theological thought, nor merely a mindset. I goes much further than that, and subsequently, is something that will never be irrelevant nor "out of style."
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 creation and redemption. 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 the same vein, Liberation Theology focuses on God's act of the 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 calls Moses and uses him 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 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 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" the divine initiative and overemphasize human ability and achievement.
The task of defining Liberation Theology is a difficult and complex one. There is no one "theology of liberation." Rosino Gibellini says that Liberation Theology is a "variegated affair, both in its motifs and in the personalities involved (Rosino Gibellini, ed. Frontiers of Theology in Latin America. Maryknoll: Obris 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 European and other theologies. Nevertheless, there is an underlying unity in Liberation Theology's trend of thinking.
Gustavo Gutierrez, the person known for coining the term "theology of liberation," tells us that the theology of liberation offers us not so much a new theme for theological reflection, but rather as a new way to do theology. Theology as critical reflection on historical praxis is a liberating theology, a theology of the liberating transformation of humankind-gathered into ecclesia, and which openly confesses Christ. This is a theology which does not stop with reflecting on the world, but rather, seeks to be part of the process through which the world 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 Gutierrrez, A Theology of Liberation. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1973, p. x)."
Here Gutierrez makes a direct link between theology as reflection and the historical process of transformation. Liberation Theology, according to Gutierrez, would be the application of a discourse about God to the world of concrete historical occurrences. As critical reflection, Liberation Theology leads to self-reflection and to a critique of the Church and society. Liberation Theology, is then, a critical way of looking at the world, and a call for change in the structures of the Church and of the world.
Hugo Assmann says that "Theology is an understanding of the faith, and a re-reading of the Word as it is lived in the Christian community. 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 is has been revealed to us and was made flesh in Christ (Hugo Assmann, Practical Theology of Liberation. London: Search Press, 1975, p. 5). I would rephrase Assmann's statement by saying that Liberation Theology is an understanding of the faith and a re-reading of the Word as it is live, especially in Latin America. Subsequently, one would seek to determine how the faith is to be understood, and how the Word is to be lived in Latin America. That, in essence, would be the task of Liberation Theology.
We may ask as to why this type of theological reflection takes place in Latin America. Assmann says: "This theological reflection is impelled by a desire to speak the Word of the Lord to all people from a position of solidarity (Ibid. p. 6). In Assmann's view, Liberation Theology is an attempt to bring the Word of God to the world. This proclamation would be carried out from the standpoint of taking sides with the poor and oppressed of this world. Assmann is careful to point out that the type of Christian experience determines the form that theology takes at different moments in history. Nevertheless, as he describes it, theology is a task for all times (Ibid.).
Juan Luis Segundo sees Liberation Theology as "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 (Juan Luis Segundo, Liberation of Theology. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1976, p. 8)." Segundo underscores the seriousness of Liberation Theology by posing a test case. He challenges us to posit a confrontation between theology and the task of choosing between a capitalist society and a socialist society. Segundo calls our attention to the need for theology to be validated by the choice which is made for the development of society.
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 different theologians engage in social analysis. The one thing that most, if not all Liberation theologians have in common, is that they believe that biblical interpretation and theological reflection have oppression and suffering as their starting points. While historically speaking, the Scriptures and the traditions have been seen as sources which shed light on the present situation, Liberation Theology does just the opposite, i.e. it uses the present situation to shed light on the Scriptures and the traditions.
While that approach carries the risk of eisegesis (reading into the text), it also carries 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 as a continuous event on the other hand.
Lecture # 2 will focus on the historical development of Liberation Theology in Latin America, and the major assumptions and presuppositions on the part of Liberation theologians.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dr. Juan A. Carmona
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