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Theology of Liberation (Scm Classics)

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This is the first and probably the most crucial book on Liberation Theology to follow Vatican II and the Medellin conferences. It's not an easy book to read, but it will challenge you, as well as challenge what you think you know about liberation theology. For any student of modern theology this book is well worth the time and effort. Robert McAfee Brown's summary book is no substitute for the real thing.

...penned by the man who coined the term "Liberation Theology," which later inspired Ignacio Martin-Baro's "Liberation Psychology," for which he was martyred by a Salvadoran hit team.

My impression was that this was written mainly for clergy getting their activist feet wet. In that sense the book is an invaluable milestone. Because of this, it poses liberation (in the sense of liberation from oppressive social conditions like poverty and tyranny) as an intellectual issue, historically and theologically. Correction: it appeals to an intellectual understanding of what the author obviously has lived and felt very deeply.

Having just read LOVE IN A TIME OF HATE, I bought this book expecting to read flesh-and-blood examples of liberation theology as brought into the streets. You won't find much of that here. It's more of an account of how the movement has gone on in circles theological. As such, it poses vital questions to believers and clergy alike--questions of conscience, questions of the relevance of Scripture and the risks involved in living a Christian life of service and conscience in perilous situations.

Serious reading. An indepth look at a complex topic, well-written and documented. Seventy-five pages of notes on the text, most helpful. Pages of biblical references. You'll feel that you have a good understanding of the topic. The book was not light reading for me, but it is well worth the effort.

A Theology of Liberation is a recognized classic in its field, which, one can even say, the author, Peruvian Dominican monk, Gustavo Gutierrez, literally invented the field since he coined the term "Liberation Theology" in a 1969 paper on the subject, shortly after the 1968 Medellin conference of Bishops, at which he was a consultant.

The book may be one of the first full explorations of what is now called "contextual theologies", presentations of Christian theology "from the underside", from the point of view of the severely, chronically disadvantaged peoples of the world. The long and the short of this book is that the importance of Gutierrez message deserves its weighty title, but Gutierrez weakens his case by slighting contemporary and historical theology and ignoring some central "theological" issues. But the book has reached the status of "classic" and for that reason deserves to be read today.

What may surprise some people is the fact that Gutierrez is not presenting a radical point of view. The book follows hard on a decade of dramatic moves by the Catholic Church, beginning with Pope John XXIII's 1963 encyclical, Pacem in Terris, the first addressed to the whole world, rather than to the Catholic faithful. The eventful half decade ended with the close of the Vatican Council II, under Pope Paul VI and his 1968 encyclical, Populorum Progressio, which stated that the economy of the world should serve everyone, not a privileged few. Thus, Gutierrez is firmly within the heart of Catholic teachings, when he speaks for the disadvantaged of the almost entirely Catholic continent of South America.

The sense of "contextual theology" is that doctrines grow out of the circumstances and practice (praxis) of a particular part of the world. The first thing is to have an accurate assessment of those circumstances. In reading this book, I was surprised to find that the poverty of `third world countries' is locked into the nature of global economics. It is simply not possible for underdeveloped nations to `catch up' with developed nations because of the economics of exchange in raw (basic) ingredients for manufactured goods. This argument has the same structure that many `have not' situations. It is simply not enough to give a person the opportunity to excel. If they begin in a hole compared to middle class contemporaries, they will simply never catch up. Gutierrez shows that conventional charity will simply not do the job. If we `give stuff', it will not magically lift these economies up by their bootstraps. We must establish`solidarity' with them based on Christian love. It is an attitude of `we are all in this together'.

The notion of `solidarity' brings up the remarkably close association Gutierrez' though has to Marxist analysis of economies. But he arrives at a Marxian point of view without following Marx' path (and his later writings downplay any Marxist leanings.) This brings up the danger that Gutierrez' thinking is changing the church into a political party. The author goes a fair distance in attempting to show that his theology is `general', arising out of, but not limited to, the experience of the wretched poor of South America, and his Catholic context supports him in that sentiment, even if some of his theological positions may seem strange when compared to the likes of Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, or even Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI).

There is a very Old Testament air about the theology, citing the freeing of the Hebrews from Egypt as the first great liberation and salvific action. There is also much said about the role of prophesy. Even though St. Paul cites prophesy as a Christian function, little was made of the notion compared to the great prophets of the Old Testament. What is unfortunate is that both Gutierrez' use of the Old Testament and his thumbnail sketch of the history of Catholic theology seems slanted and self-serving. The book may have been much better if he had left these discussions out. The book would also have done a much better job of being a theology for all of us if he had mentioned a few minor details such as the crucifixion and the resurrection. `Christ' hardly shows up at all (although it is not surprising to find Luke as the most often quoted Gospel, as Luke has the greatest concern for the poor. The one great category of Christian theology which Gutierrez does address is eschatology, history, last things. But he does it in one of the most surprisingly odd ways, by invoking Sir Thomas More's notion of Utopia. On the face of it, this seems odd, because More wrote his book as a satire, and `Utopia' is based on the Greek words for `no where'. Gutierrez admits all this and plunges ahead, using the notion of a well ordered society, like the one in Utopia, is a proper ideal for our destination, at the end of time. I have yet to read Augustine's "City of God", but I have a strong suspicion that Gutierrez' Utopia is a far, far cry from the conception of the ancient church's greatest theologian.

My seminary colleagues get oh so tired of hearing me say this, but I believe it is a legitimate question to ask whether what Gutierrez and the other "context theologians" are doing is really theology. I am quite happy calling it "contextual hermeneutics" or "preaching to the context". But I can sense that this is not enough. Since Gutierrez is addressing a problem with origins on a world-wide stage, a sermon on conditions in Peru hardly seems like enough. He needs to get our attention. On that basis, Gutierrez' agenda and `label' has some merit. The problem is that if one takes on the mantle of theology, you must expect to be judged by the standards of theology. And on that count, Gutierrez falls short, while going about preaching a very, very important message to the world.

It is worth noting that Gutierrez' message, ironically, does seem to have been picked up by academic theology especially by the (Protestant) theologians of hope such as Wolfhart Pannenberg and Jürgen Moltmann.

Even if one is not an adherent of Liberation Theology, this work is vital to understanding how honest religion and social justice are inseparable. Truly, what could be more sinful than the hoarding of wealth in the face of human suffering? However, this book is rather academic in nature and, while appealing to those with a passion for sociology and philosophy, may be a bit overwhelming for people seeking a less technical introduction to liberation theology. Nevertheless, I found it a very rewarding read and have highlighted many quotations from the book. I do disagree that it is the task of religion to develop the social structure to accomplish justice in the world. Rather, I believe the task for religion, insomuch as it relates to social justice, is to magnify the morality of life in the human heart, thereby effectuating social justice in the world via the enhanced morality of humanity. The mission of Christ was not to establish government, but rather to establish the WORD in the hearts of men. Humanity cannot seem to grasp the fact that social justice will not be rendered into the world by the means of any specific system of government. Social justice will come into the world only when it is solidified in the hearts of men, to the extent that it becomes the popular culture, and to the extent that it becomes the thing that is most elevated in humanity.

Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino (born 1928) is a Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest who is regarded as the founder of Liberation Theology. He holds the John Cardinal O'Hara Professorship of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

He states in the Introduction to this 1971 book, "This book is an attempt at reflection, based on the Gospel and the experiences of men and women committed to the process of liberation in the oppressed and exploited land of Latin America... Our purpose is ... to reconsider the great themes of the Christian life within this radically changed perspective and with regard to the new questions posed by this commitment. This is the goal of the so-called theology of liberation."

He writes, "Since God has become man, humanity, every man, history, is the living temple of God. The 'pro-fane,' that which is located outside the temple, no longer exists." He adds, "The Christian ... has not perceived clearly enough yet that to know God IS to do justice." Later, he states, "One must be extremely careful not to replace a Christianity of the Beyond with a Christianity of the Future; if the former tended to forget the world, the latter runs the risk of neglecting a miserable and unjust present and the struggle for liberation."

He concludes on the note, "The theology of liberation attempts to reflect on the experience and meaning of the faith based on the commitment to abolish injustice and to build a new society; this theology must be verified by the practice of that commitment, by active, effective participation in the struggle which the exploited social classes have undertaken against their oppressors. Liberation from every form of exploitation, the possibility of a more human and more dignified life, the creation of a new man---all pass through this struggle."

Gustavo Gutierrez changed the world with his articulation of a theology of liberation. I am now a Catholic priest, but before I entered the priesthood, I spent three years serving as a Catholic lay missionary in the jungles of northern Ecuador. The principles of liberation theology guided me through this process. I entered the missionary field without a specific plan. I met with the people in small groups. I listened to them, helping to empower them through the way God was calling out to them in the midst of the stark reality of their lives. I believed in liberation theology, in the way it spoke to the poor, in the way it transcended the academic theology that was born in the classrooms and universities of Europe. But an amazing thing happened in the process. Liberation theology liberated me. I was transformed from an extremely shy introvert to an empowered Christian who has truly found his voice. People who know me cannot believe the transformation. Gustavo Gutierrez and the other liberation theologians (Jon Sobrino, Leonardo Boff, Paulo Freire, Ernesto Cardenal, James Cone, Diana Hayes, Robert McAffee Brown, etc) have inspired me along the journey. I now serve as a priest in the Mississippi Delta, in one of the poorest areas in the United States. I came here with the hope of serving the poor and the forgotten. I am very involved in prison ministry here. A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutierrez broke new ground when it came out, and it is still a revolutionary document today. One of the books that changed my life and help me find my voice.

This book allows you to see theology beyond the basics. It should be recomended for all theological students, as it addresses reall issues in christian ministry.

After having read a number of treatments introducing or summarizing LT I finally picked up this book which is acknowledged as the seminal work on the subject. To be honest, I recommend the former works if one is looking for a sense of what the movement was/is all about. That is not to diminish the present book which was originally published nearly 40 years ago and is still being read. The author's intent was not to discuss or present the then still-budding movement but to reflect on how building a just society is related to the Kingdom of God. The book was a challenging read for me. I think part of the reason for that was Gutierrez's use of theologians with whom I have no familiarity and whose approach seemed a bit obscure, but that may just be me. I think the critical contribution is Gutierrez's presentation of theology as critical reflection on praxis which is a significant development and difference from the classic approach to theologizing and now part and parcel of Liberation Theology. Gutierrez is always careful to write of what God (and man) are doing in history thus keeping the conversation and spirituality firmly rooted in the world and not "in the air."