Liberation Theology

Question 1

what is preferential option for the poor

Answer 1

• a trend in the Bible that shows a preference for individuals who are on the margins of society and who are powerless
• refers to how Jesus associated himself more closely with the poor and dispossessed

Question 2

Juan Segundo

Answer 2

• whatever criticisms can be levelled at LT for its use of Marxist theory there is an authentic Christian response in the preferential option for the poor
• Christians should not maintain an attitude of neutrality in the face of tragic and pressing problems of humanity
• biblical claim humans in image/likeness of God means he places importance of human dignity at centre of thinking
• gospel advocates peaceful and just life
• but been oppressed is not compatible with peace and justice
• god is the defender of the poor and oppressed so LT has and should have a special concern for the poor urging people to defend them and act to liberate them

Question 3

7 Gospel values

Answer 3

• mission statement that underpins Christianity
• gospel calls for orthopraxis
• to defend the poor so they can live a just and peaceful life

Question 4

how does Segundo differ from Gutierrez

Answer 4

• liberation from personal sin should come first because it might not always be possible to change the world’s social and political structures

Question 5

when and how did the preferential option for the poor gain more traction

Answer 5

• gained wider acceptance
• 1991 Pope John Paul II used the term in his Centesimus Annus
• argued that it reminded the Church to have “constant concern for and dedication to categories of people who are especially beloved to the Lord Jesus”
• went on to argue that the advancement of the poor constitutes a great opportunity for the moral, cultural and economic growth of all humanity
• POFP includes a concern for spiritual poverty

Question 6

spiritual poverty

Answer 6

• something that can be caused by an over-emphasis on material goods and consumerism

Question 7

pope francis following his election in 2013

Answer 7

• rejected many of the trappings of papal luxury
• challenged the Catholic Church to be a poor church for the poor
• continues to drive his old second hand car in Rome and lives in a hostel in Vatican city rather than the Papal apartments

Question 8

what did Ratzinger argue

Answer 8

• its dangerous to take parts of Marx’s theories and use them in theology because it contains intolerant aspects including the denial of the individual and emphasis on class
• perversion of the Christian message for the Eucharist to become a celebration of the power struggle
• danger that violent revolution will take precedent over evangelism
• Christian liberation should be primarily understood as spiritual liberation from sin
• only God can remove suffering that human beings experience
• the church will continue to struggle for the poor but using its own means and its own way
• Marxism is inherently unchristian
• can use its analysis but not its view
• if one tries to take on part one ends up having to accept the entire ideology

Question 9

Kloppenburg

Answer 9

• liberation theology emphasises practical opposition to oppression above the message of the Gospel thereby equating theology with political action and side-lining the spiritual messages of Christianity
• it emphasises structural sin over personal sin despite fact that Jesus reached into people’s personal lives and spoke of individual coming back through God through forgiveness and reconciliation
• places too much emphasis on people being able to deliver liberation/salvation when the Kingdom of God is ultimately brought about by God’s intervention/grace

Question 10

what general criticism did Kloppenburg’s comments lead to

Answer 10

• liberation theology is so concerned about action that it has not paid sufficient attention to Christian theology and specifically in the case of Catholic theologians, the teachings of the Catholic Church
• in starting from action it cannot determine which actions might be right and which might be wrong
• must base it on orthodoxy to know its orthopraxis

Question 11

Richard McBrien

Answer 11

• liberation theology seems to focus almost exclusively on some biblical theories like Exodus and concern for the poor at the expense of others and is more interested in Luke than John’s Gospel
• it defines oppression in economic terms ignoring other kinds of oppression that derive from cultural forces such as sexism and racism
• but perhaps focus needs to start with economic and the rest comes with it

Question 12

what three things point to a need for liberation theology

Answer 12

• for the starving oppressed poor liberation from personal sin is not the most important liberation
• change is happening for the people in our world who live in poverty but its slow and many are getting left behind
• salvation and liberation may first be about inner spiritual change, but there is a point when someone has to do something
• parable of sheep and goats
• focuses on human actions for the most needy

Question 13

what is liberation theology

Answer 13

• a movement that starts with action rather than belief
• focuses on experiences of poor and sees Christianity as a response to the poor, exploitation and alienation
• bringing about kingdom of God/salvation not just events that happen after death but part of the physical struggle in this world to make the lives of the poor better
• began in Latin America in the 60s when theologians pledged themselves to finding the truth of the Christian message in poverty

Question 14

education

Answer 14

• LT drew on work of Freire who thought education should liberate people by raising their consciousness and teaching them how to read the power structures in society
• wanted to transform society not just shift information from one generation to the next
• generally theological explanation comes first as teachers teach pupils and actions second
• LT swaps this
• theology of doing and everyone can do it

Question 15

what is the starting point for Christians

Answer 15

• reflect critically on their experience of life

Question 16

concept of the Kingdom of God

Answer 16

• central to LT
• world made anew not somewhere to go after death - create it on earth by destroying roots of exploitation and oppression
• offers real hope to people
• implies real revolution not just in word and thought

Question 17

Gutierrez

Answer 17

• first must be social and economic liberation
• poverty/oppression caused by humans but can be solved by them too
• then liberation from personal sin
• then people can be reconciled with God and be siblings with Christ
• both essential
• sin is not just personal, structural too

Question 18

what key biblical texts does liberation theology draw upon

Answer 18

• Exodus and the liberation of the people of Israel
  “let my people go so that they may worship me”
• The Magnificat with the announcement of change
  “he has filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away”
• Sheep and Goats
  “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters you did for me”
• Resurrection - ultimate form of liberation
  “everyone who looks to the Son will have eternal life”
• The Beatitudes - road map to liberation
  “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

Question 19

Jesus’ denouncement of the wealthy

Answer 19

“again i tell you it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God”

Mathew 19:24

Question 20

Marx theory of alienation

Answer 20

• reveals there is human activity (exploitation) behind feelings of powerlessness
• the social institutions that foster it seem to have develop naturally but they are not natural
• have been shaped by human action
• shaped by appropriation of the means of production by the powerful

Question 21

Marx on human nature

Answer 21

• humans do not have a fixed nature
• have to work to survive
• unlike other animals they are conscious of their work and can develop new ways of doing
• humans are social beings

Question 22

marx on social nature

Answer 22

“society does not consist of individuals, it expresses the sum of connections and relationships in which individuals find themselves”

• Fletcher said the opposite

Question 23

capitalism

Answer 23

• society reached point it could create a surplus
• class divisions emerged between those who had control over means of producing surplus and those who did not
• those not in control alienated from their work and subservient to those in control
• labour like any other commodity began to be bought and sold
• social division
• worker reduced both intellectually and physically to the level of a machine and so he also becomes dependent on the whims of the wealthy

Question 24

according to Marx how can workers not work independently of Captialism

Answer 24

• to work means to be part of the capitalist machine
• work is living death
• need to work to buy food etc…
• factory work people only relate to their section - no sense of the whole
• dehumanised and unable to live fulfilling lives because they are being exploited by the factory owners as a means to an end
• should be about people not productivity
• we shouldn’t need tax credit, corporations should pay their workers properly
• living wage

Question 25

connected through captialism

Answer 25

• pair of jeans we buy online has passed through many hands yet we may meet and think only about the postal worker that brings them to the door
• we don’t think about the people in the supply chain as fellow individuals with equal rights
• they become dehumanised as part of the supply chain and we too as dehumanised
• capitalism means everyone appropriates the produce of others
• as costs reduce to technological improvements in factories and make it cheaper to produce other factories drive down wages to compete
• we celebrate because our jeans are cheaper but this comes at the exploitation of others

Question 26

when did Liberation Theology grow in popularity

Answer 26

• when LA key battleground in cold war and between competing ideals of capitalism and communism
• violent uprising Marx had predicted seemed to be happening here

Question 27

what did Liberation Theology draw on in terms of Marxism

Answer 27

• idea that the purpose of development is not to increase wealth but human well-being
• industrialisation might lead to greater wealth but this may sacrifice well-being
• the structures of sin that support industrialisation become part of the organisational structure of society
• injustice becomes institutionalised

Question 28

how does Gutierrez mention Marx’s theories of alienation and exploitation and belief that humans have the power to change the world they live in

Answer 28

• we have power to change world as thinking sentient beings
• cautioned against using every aspect of Marxism
• but believed people of LA had a deep rooted desire for liberation from the burdens of capitalism
• called for the church to stand with these movements

Question 29

discuss role of the church for Gutierrez

Answer 29

• not getting involved with politics just helps things stay as they are
• status quo needs to be changed if unjust though
• being Christian requires a person to be political
• responsibility of Church to denounce every dehumanising situation contrary to brotherhood, justice and liberty
• church must be a voice against alienation and exploitation
• orthopraxis before orthodoxy
• working to make people’s lives better before church doctrine
• “the class struggle is a fact and neutrality in this matter is impossible”

Question 30

what is the class struggle for Gutierrez

Answer 30

• to reject the class struggle is to legitimise the existing system and work as part of it
• a system that currently embraces structural inequality and creates structural sin seen most clearly in the poor and oppressed and their injustice

Question 31

Boff brothers words on LTs adoption of Marxism

Answer 31

• LT uses Marxism purely as an instrument it does venerate it as it does the gospel
• freely borrows from Marxism certain methodological pointers that have proved fruitful in understanding the world of the oppressed

Question 32

Fitzgerald

Answer 32

• sums up the appeal of Marxist ideas to liberation theologians
• “according to LT capitalism has clearly been incapable of satisfying basic needs in LA despite the fact that the government and business leaders and professed Christians. Socialism has not provided a satisfactory solution but is more suitable than Capitalism”