Customer Reviews

Introducing Liberation Theology

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So often, when studying theology, readers are prone to seek the opinion of either (1) an author from within their own theological tradition who represents their own theological bias, or (2) an author from entirely outside of the Christian tradition who just so happens to be a specialist in that area of study. Though we should definitely not neglect such sources, it is important to study the first-hand sources written by the trailblazers from within the particular area of study. With Introducing Liberation Theology, by the Boff brothers, the reader is able to do just that.

This book offers a very good, easy-to-understand explanation of the key themes of Liberation Theology in a way that any lay person can understand. Leonardo Boff is a Brazilian theologian and his brother, Clodovis, is a Servite priest in Brazil. The fact that the authors experienced the "grassroots" development of Liberation Theology as the movement itself emerged lends much credibility to their insights for any reader interested in an "insider's" knowledge of the Liberation movement.

The reader is led to understand how Liberation Theology, as opposed to other strands of theology, is truly something that emerged from the oppressed peoples of society, not from the academic ivory towers of the universities or the Catholic Church hierarchy. Accordingly, Liberation Theology has truly become a form of Christian expression and involvement in Church and society, rather than an exercise between scholars. The authors differentiate three levels of Liberation Theology: (1) Professional, (2) Pastoral, and (3) Popular. These distinctions become important through the book as they help guide the reader's understanding of Liberation methodology, key themes, and history. Perhaps most impressive to me, a reader who comes from outside of the Liberation tradition, is the section where the authors discuss the temptations, tendencies, and biases of Liberation Theology. Such intellectual honesty helps me to take more seriously the descriptions and arguments found in other places of this book. Accordingly, I recommend this book as an important companion to anyone interested in learning about Liberation Theology.

Leonardo and Clodovis Boff are liberation theologians, priests, and brothers who have devoted much of their careers to the pursuit and practice of liberation theology in the church and in the world. Leonardo Boff is a professor in Petropolis, Brazil; Clodovis Boff is a professor in Sao Paulo, Brazil - both have used their educational platforms to spread the knowledge of liberation theology from a Latin American base-community perspective throughout the world; however, as liberation theology is a praxis-oriented theology, the Boff brothers continue to work among the poor people (of which there are many in Brazil) to bring about the realisation as best possible the liberating message of the gospel.

In fewer than 100 pages, the Boffs give a succinct and clear overview of liberation theology - this is a theology of the poor, in which the gospel message and the character of Christ are seen as being in solidarity with the poor. Liberation theology is complex, but the Boffs reduce it to simple, understandable tenets.

There are three levels of liberation theology, according to the authors: professional, pastoral, and popular. The professional level involves academic theorists and clergy administrator types; the pastoral level involves the teaching and compassionate action of clergy and lay ministers; however, it is the popular level that is most important here, where the action is most involved in the world. Liberation theology sometimes involves confrontation - when Oscar Romero stood up to the oppressors in Central America, he was engaging in all three levels of liberation theology.

In succeeding chapters, the authors look at the primary themes of liberation theology, a brief history of the development of liberation ideas from political, social, ecclesial and theological roots, and the spread of liberation ideas worldwide. Liberation theology is sometimes seen in purely political terms, particularly in Western seminaries and churches, because those of us in the West have lost the ability to think in theological terms as a matter of course; to be fair, however, liberation theology does intend to challenge the status quo of political and economic relationships, much to the discomfort of those in the West. Liberation theologians from inside the Roman Catholic church have had to endure periods of officially-sanctioned 'silence' and have often been branded 'Marxists' as a denigration of their theological standing.

Churches of all sorts have a love/hate relationship with liberation theology. Large and small, catholic and protestant, liberation theology has a tendency to challenge existing relationships between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, gender roles, and more. Liberation theology from the beginnings in Latin America have spread to encompass more communities - feminist theologians, African-American theologians, Hispanic theologians, and more have drawn inspiration from the idea that God has a preferential care for the powerless and oppressed, and that many stories in scripture, particularly in the gospel messages, show God's care in this direction. Jesus was always more concerned for the poor than the rich, for the common people than the kings and ruling class, and liberation theologians pick up on this fact.

The Boffs set out their hope for a truly free society, a dream of liberation for all people from the various forces that oppress. This book is a wonderful introduction to this very influential and occasionally controversial theology, from two of the leading lights in the field professionally, pastorally, and among the people they love.

The Boff brothers, Leonardo and Clodovis, have written a scholarly text suitable for the theology student. Their compendium outlines liberation theology by clearly defining the function, structure, themes, and history with adequate explanations of theological terms that would otherwise baffle the non-indoctrinated. This book is written for the reader who has an interest in knowing the socio-analytical, hermeneutical, and practical mediations. Get the message?

If the purpose of the book is to inform, then it is adequate. But it will not win any advocates for the liberation theology movement. With the exception of the opening pages which describe the desperation of the poor with two heart rending experiences, this book is dry tinder in search of burning embers of the human element. The Boffs have many experiences with the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized that could have brought to life the conceptual and the abstract.

This book dwells on the justification of Liberation Theology within the framework of the Catholic Church. The three levels of the theology are explained, and justified by drawing within the history of Catholic dogma. I also would have liked this book to contain some actual experiences, some historical references to the personalities involved, but this is not that kind of book. The author is exacting to demonstrate to the reader the steps involved in forming a new Theology. The topics and important points throughout the book are very well laid out usually in enumerated paragraphs. At times it is like reading an outline and a reader may have trouble staying focused. The book did an admirable job Introducing Liberation Theology per the title. As for maintaining reader interest, it is very dry. It was an eyeopener to see the steps involved in attempting to justify a new Theology The author's style is "to the point". I chose this book because the author is credited with being one of the founders of Liberation Theology.

Great book to introduce people to teachings of Liberation Theology. Conservatives don't like it, but since I was born in a Third World country, I understood well the bases of the ideology.

I first read this book about 20 years ago and just finished a second reading a day or two ago. This is as brief and clear an introduction as one could hope for on the topic of Liberation Theology. Contrary to one or two of the reviews suggesting a low rating, the book is not dull. I found it pretty well stated which is not always the case with books that have been translated from the original language. You may or may not agree with Liberation Theology but you will be informed enough by this book so as to be able to talk about it with understanding. This makes the book a worthy read. It is now a bit dated in that it does not inform about the current state of Liberation Theology. That's the only downside that I find in the book.

Great Service, A Book and Bible Theology Every Bible Christian Should Read

If you are looking for a primary source to tell you something about liberation theology this is a good place to look. If you are looking for a quality work in it's own right, skip this one. please.

I have pretty much one major criticism of this book:

The whole thing is written in that awful "we think we are smarter than everyone because we use 'radical' sounding gobledy gook we learned as students in the 60's/70's" tone that somehow still persists in academia today. Expect unneccessary references to the proletariat, marxism, workers, communism etc.

I think that if the Boff brothers had written some personal narratives about their lives and work with "the poor," and their experiences with oppression this could have been a good read, and pretty inspiring. Instead, it's crammed with pretentious jargon implicitly proclaiming how original and inspiring we are supposed to find this "new" sensitivity the plight of the poor.

It was obviously written not just to call attention to the plight of oppressed people, but also to do some academic strutting, and fluff those shiny intellectual tailfeathers in the face of the establishment in Rome.
Unfortunately, when you do that kind of strutting you get censored by Rome, and the polarizing arguements that follow bury any nuanced and rational understanding of your works' strengths and weaknesses. You get left with hardliners who think Libertion Theology was pretty much a communist conspiracy, and shrill aging hippies who think Liberation Theology was the only current in the Church that ever had any concern for "the poor."
Here's a thought: next time someone in the Church works with poor people, try not using words like marxism, protelariat, radical, laboring class, dialectical, anarchy, collectivism, etc. At least don't string them into mega-word phrases like the "anarchcollective-dialectical imperative of the laboring classes." Use your own, normal person, non-foofy academia words, and your work just might have a chance of not being condemned. Or at least it might get a fair hearing.

I can't decided if i hated reading this or "Pedagogy of the Opressed" more.