LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY 

                      JOSE PORFIRIO MIRANDA 

                      ARE CHRISTIANITY AND MARXISM COMPATIBLE? 

Many people whose notion of Liberation Theology is based on hearsay and market-place rumors, tend to think that Liberation Theology is Marxism in disguise.  They believe that it is a theological sanitizing of revolution and violence as a means of social change.  They have not, for the most part, bothered to pick up a single book written by an author of Liberation Theology, nor have they seriously engaged with the contents in the field.  

One such person that they believe (again, based on hearsay) to be a "Communist in disguise" is Jose Porfirio Miranda.  They see the title of his book "Marx and the Bible," and without having read it, they judge the book by its cover, and then are quick to say "You see, I told you so."  The reaction to Liberation Theology is then, as a visceral one, rather than one based on critical and analytical thinking or rigorous research.  As one colleague of mine put it, "they are allergic to research."  

Jose Porfirio Miranda is one of the most controversial Latin American liberation theologians.  He seems to occupy his own space, having virtually no contact with the church or his theological colleagues.  A native of Mexico, Miranda is a leading advocate of Marxism as an essential tool for understanding and changing Latin American society.  He has attempted to bring out many affinities between Marxist teachings and biblical faith (Ferm, op. cit. pp. 34-35. Miranda studied economics in Germany at the Universities of Munich and Munster and in 1967 received a licentiate in biblical science from the Biblical Institute, Rome. He has taught at the Universidad Metropolitana Tztapalapa in Mexico City.).

His first book, Marx and the Bible: A Critique of the Philosophy of Oppression put him at the forefront of Latin American biblical exegesis (Jose Porfirio Miranda, Marx and the Bible. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1974).

His basic theme in this study is the positive correlation between Marx and the Bible.  Neither will have love without justice or justice without love. Both affirm that love and justice make no sense apart from the social matrix; both insist that human beings can lose their selfishness for the sake of loving the neighbor; both seek to change the world for the better rather than to simply understand it; both believe that such a change for the better can indeed take place (Ferm, op. cit. p. 35).

Miranda asks "Is it more utopian to hope for the transformation of the world through justice than it is to hope for the definitive elimination of sin in the world?  Is it more utopian to believe in the resurrection of the flesh than in the abolition of all the injustices, enmities and cruelties in the world?...In both Marx and the Bible the basis for all thought is this thesis which is the most revolutionary imaginable: Sin and evil are not inherent to humanity and history; they began one day through human work and they can therefore be eliminated (Marx and the Bible, p. 277).  

Miranda takes  pains to note the similarities between Marx and the Apostle Paul.  Both emphasize the totality of evil. Both believe that injustice and sin can be eliminated, because selfishness is a "fallen" condition, not a natural one.  Whereas Marx sees injustice and sin as primarily the consequences of an economic system (capitalism), Paul finds them imbedded in earthly principalities and powers (Ferm, op. cit. p. 35).

In his book, Being and the Messiah: The Message of St. John, Miranda stresses his earlier theme that love and justice are also one and the same in the Johannine tradition. He says that the defining characteristic of the God of the Bible is that fact that He cannot be known or loved directly; rather, to love God and to know Him means to love one's neighbor and to do one's neighbor justice (Jose Porfirio Miranda, Being and the Messiah: The Message of St. John. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1977, p. 137). 

In fairness, it should be pointed out that Miranda is not an ideologue who simply bends and twists both Christianity and Marxism to make them fit together.  Miranda is highly critical of many components of Marxist ideology; yet he is not afraid to see the positive features in Marxism and the resemblance they bear to many biblical insights.  Miranda is justified in criticizing those anti-Marxists who have never bothered to read Marx, but who have settled for a passing acquaintance with Marx through the sometimes distorted lenses of his antagonists.  What is crucial to stress here is that the Marxist component one finds in some, but not all, Latin American Liberation Theology cannot be fairly and fully appreciated until one is willing to come to terms with Jose Miranda (Ferm, op. cit., p. 38).

By no means should we minimize Miranda's own deep Christian faith. He affirms again and again that one really believes in Jesus Christ only if one also believes that the this world can be changed for the better and that the reign of God can be realized on this earth.  For Miranda the bottom line is that to  do justice-"to preach good news to the poor....to set a liberty those who are oppressed"-is to follow Christ and to know God (Ibid.).

Can religion and Marxism resonate with each other in any way?  Is it possible to eliminate sin without eliminate the causes and roots of sin?  These are the types of questions that need to be raised when making the comparisons that Miranda as a theologian of liberation writes and speaks.  These issues will continue to exist and be addressed as long as the struggle for justice continues. 

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.

Dr. Juan A. Carmona 

Past Visiting Professor of Theology 

Tainan Theological College/Seminary