‘Liberation Theology’

Liberation theology is the serious attempt to deal with the social, economic and political status of man in the world. Liberation theology can be said as the theology of the oppressed or the voice on behalf of the oppressed. Liberation theology had a major impact in the world. Here author is trying to deal with the background, definitions, origin, theologians, characteristic, themes, nature and theological issues of liberation theology.
Background of Liberation Theology
Latin America was the cradle of Liberation theology and was the first to formulate a system on behalf of the downtrodden. So to understand the background of the Liberation Theology it is necessary to know the history of the Latin America.
Liberation theology is the consequence of the Iberian and European colonization. Iberian Catholicism was brought to America with the military conquest in sixteenth century. And with them came the Roman Catholic Church. (Smith, 205) Iberians implant Christendom in which church is the only a part at the service of the economic and political interest, represented by the king of Spain and Pope. The church established in America was truly for the political and economical benefit of the Pope and Spanish crown. (Nunez, 18) For four centuries church had a dominant role in the history of the Latin America. Societies were divided into many classes and at the church was the leaders of the both the church and the state. (Smith, 205) in the social class offspring of the leaders and the church captured the second level of the governmental positions; the third stratum was from the Spanish masses that is soldiers, merchants, farmers etc. and then came the Amerindians (American Indians) and the at the very bottom comes mestizos and Black. (Nunez, 18) There was much oppression on the Amerindians from the church as well as government.
There were few missionaries who had pity on these Amerindians and tried to help them and also were successful to some extend. Missionary like Bartholome de Las Casas, freed his African slaves and sought peacefully evangelize the Indians. For the poor, he is the Moses who pleaded to the king of Spain urging that they may free these oppressed people from Spanish rule. Even when there was the decline of the Spanish power in seventeenth century, the power of Roman Catholic Church increased. And so church supported the higher classes of the society and others were rejected by the church and at the same time by the government because church was the governing body of the society either. Injustice and oppression continued after the independence of the Latin Amerindians that is natives. (Nunez, 20)
Definitions of the Liberation Theology
Smith defines Liberation Theology as the

“Theological endeavor which sees God’s continuing work in the world from the viewpoint of the oppressed and understands that work to involve the reconstruction of persons and societies according to the mold of the Master” (Smith, 204)

Grenz and Olson defines Liberation theology as,

“The Theology of Liberation is rooted in a revolutionary Militancy” (Olson, 211)
And they also give the definition given by the native evangelicals,
“Liberation Theology is an allegedly biblical and profoundly christological quest for the genuine Christian orthopraxy. Such orthopraxy results from the juxtaposition of a critical reflection on the church’s pastoral activity and its historical interpretation in the light of divine revelation” (Olson, 211)

Origin of the Liberation Theology
There are number of crucial reference points for the beginning of the movement. In 1965, some third world bishops present at Vatican II issued a pastoral letter concerning the shame of endemic poverty in their respective dioceses. In 1966, the World Council of Churches convened an international conference to consider concrete issues of social injustice. In this same year Camillo Torres the Catholic priest died while fighting as the member of guerrilla group in Colombia. (Hart, 318) In 1968 the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America, gathering in the city of Medellin, Colombia, initiated a theological revolution. This was the second meeting of CELAM, the Latin American Episcopal Conference, often referred to as CELAM II. CELAM II is considered as the true beginning of ‘Liberation Theology’. North American Theologians of Liberation commented that CELAM initiated a revolution in American Church life and which marked in history of Latin America. (Smith, 210)
In 1971 a volume appeared and that became the textbook of the new movement. The name of the book is ‘Theology of Liberation’ written by a Peruvian priest and theology professor name Gustavo Gutierrez. This book dominated the theological circle of the 1970s. (Olson, 210)
Liberation Theologians
The movement of the Liberation Theology is widespread in all over the world. From every corner of the world theologians represent Liberation theology. Even though theologians have different cultural and religious background, it is observed that they have the spirit of unity in their thoughts. The prominent theologians of the Liberation Theology are Gustavo Gutierrez, Leonardo Boff, and Hugo Assmann of Brazil, Jose Miranda of Mexico, Juan Luis Segundo of Uruguay and Spanish Born Jon Sobrino of El Salvador. There were also few protestant Liberation theologians like Methodist Jose Miguez Bonino of Argentina. Out of all these theologians the most prominent Catholic Liberation theologian was Gustavo Gutierrez and in protestant circle was Jose Miguez Bonino. (Olson, 213)
4.1. Gustavo Gutierrez
Gustavo Gutierrez was born Lima in 1928 in relatively poor family. In 1959 he received his Ph.D. in theology from the University of Lyon in France and was ordained to the priesthood. He, because of his lectures and the important book from which the movement derived its name was considered as ‘Father of liberation theology’. Gustavo spent most of his time ministering to the poor parish in Lima and teaching theology and social sciences at the Catholic University in Lima. In 1960s he served as chaplain to the National Union Catholic Students of Peru and during this period he came in contact with the revolutionaries such as Che Guevara and Camilo Torres. His inspired books for the theology of liberation are ‘The Theology of Liberation’ and ‘The power of Poor in History’. He taught and lectured at seminars and universities around the world about Liberation theology and he was the main speaker in the conference of liberation theology and third world theologians. (Smith, 208)
4.2. Jose Miguez Bonino
Jose Miguez Bonino was born in Santa FE, Argentina, in 1924. His parents were Methodist. Although he was raised in a middle class family, he had many contacts with the poor people of Argentina and gradually gained a social concern that led to identity with socialism. He pursued at a protestant seminary in Argentina and received his licentiate in 1948. Later he studied at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and Union Theological Seminary in New York City, receiving his PH.D in 1960. In his book ‘Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation’ he deals with the basis of Theology of Liberation, calling the church to overcome with the attitude of privatization and join with the revolutionary struggle on the behalf of the poor. He played a major role in the protestant circle of the Liberation Theology. (Olson, 213-214)
Characteristics of the Liberation theology
The origin of the liberation theology was in Latin America but its impact was all over the world. This movement gave birth to the theologies like Black theology in South Africa Afro-American community, Minjung theology in Korea, Theology of struggle in Philippians and Dalit theology in India and so it is not a monolithic movement. According to Liberation theologians, Liberation theology is the theology of the Church, Hermeneutical theology and Biblical theology.


5.1.Liberation Theology is a Theology of the church
This theology is done by the committed people in the purpose to purifying the church of inauthentic social and cultural baggage, which has compromised its prophetic ministry to speak out against the injustice towards the oppressed people in behalf of them. It promotes the vision of a church which has given up its open or tacit support for political forces that resist the equalization of the power in society, a church that identifies with the suffering solidarity of Jesus Christ with outsiders. (Hart, 319)
5.2.Liberation theology is the Biblical Theology
Bible is regarded as the liberating text. Bible is considered as the appeal to as the guardian of dangerous, subversive memory of a new order inaugurated by Jesus, the Messiah that ends oppressions of all kinds, rights injustices, challenges social exclusions, warns against the personal accumulation of wealth and political dominance, reconciles enemies, demands the selfless service of others and meets violence with suffering. (Hart, 319)
The Exodus is interpreted as a paradigm of the liberation of an oppressed people and of the exile as an example of the consequence of idolatry in religion and injustice in society. The message of the prophets is directed largely to the rich and powerful, is seen as the warning of judgment. The Life of Jesus Christ is interpreted as a struggle against the forces that humiliate and exclude from normal society the exploited poor, women, children and the people of other races and beliefs. His death is seen as a consequence of his challenge to religious and political authority and as a sacrifice for the sin which is result of idolatry and leads to death and resurrection is understood as a victory over the powers of death and as the foundation for the hope in a new way of life. (Hart, 319)
6. Themes of Liberation Theology
Liberation theology is oriented towards the poor and oppressed and so according to their understanding poor occupies a position of especial importance in the interpretation of the Christian faith. And so proper starting point of Christian theology and mission must be ‘the view of below’, that is ‘where the pain is’ that is in the context of he pain and downtrodden and outcast.
Liberation theology involves critical reflection of practice. Western classical theology regarded action as the result of reflection but liberation theology is the view that action comes first and, followed by reflection, that is theology to stop describing the world but transforming it. Liberation theology is committing to the transformation of society on behalf of and along with the oppressed. Then, as mentioned before reflection on what had happened or works to bring it into a right relationship with the revelation of God in Christ Jesus. (McGrath, 255)
7. Nature of the Liberation Theology
Liberation theology is the theology which is totally concentrated to the poor and oppressed people of the society and so theologians view Bible with the same perspectives. Scripture is considered as the liberating book and the God of scripture is the liberating God politically. Theology of liberation gives emphasis to the social, economic and political aspect of the life of the man especially to the context of the Latin America. Liberation theology is criticized as the combination of the Marxism and the Christianity. Liberation theology is has include Marxist thought to give fundamental substance to the Christian belief. (McGrath, 256)
8. Theological issues
These are the few theological issues which were faced by the liberation theology in Latin America.
8.1.New Spirituality
Traditionally and spiritual life and devotional practices have been associated with special times and places like on Sundays, feast days, churches and Monasteries. Liberation theology speaking from the state of the commitment to the poor argues that this concept of spirituality is limited and suggests that God is found by retreating from the world and its tensions and true spirituality is resting in the peace of His presence. It seems that liberation theology is in the view that the experience of God can be found primarily in the political practice of liberation that is the political liberation of the poor gives the presence of the God. (Dyrness, 104-105)
8.2.Biblical Hermeneutics
Bible is considered as the liberating book and the incidents of the bible are interpreted according to their context of Latin America. The salvation of God is always equated with liberation and stresses the social, political and economic aspects of salvation. Jesus is considered as the liberator, the political liberator. (McGrath, 256)

Evaluation
Liberation theology played a major role in the church and also to the world in positive and also negative aspects. Liberation theology became the reason for the birth of the theologies like black, feminist etc. Liberation theology reminded the church that the God who is the liberator of Israelites from Egypt is also the liberator today. God is still the God of Justice. Liberation theology has reminded that 1 John 3:17-18, as the apostle says that -if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him, let us not love from our words or tongue but with actions and in truth, which the church was missing in large in those days. Liberation theology has encouraged the church to see the interplay between the understanding and obedience in terms of dialectic in which the understanding of the church grows as church respond to God’s word in appropriate ways.
Liberation theology also missed the importance of the scripture in every sense. Liberation theology gave more emphasis to the political, economic and social aspects of man. They saw every thing from the view of the oppressed people. Liberation theology missed to see the other side of the man. Even they molded bible in their own convenience.
Conclusion
Liberation theology has some excellent ideas and stimulating themes but the lost in right way of interpreting the bible. The major drawback of liberation theology is that they looked the physical side of man. They neglected the spiritual life of the man. The major lesson from liberation theology is that even the oppressed are the part of the society and should be helped by the church and church can play a major role in upliftment of them.










Reference List
Nunez. C, Emilo Antonio, 1985, ‘Liberation Theology’, Chicago: Moody Press.
Smith, David L., 1992, ‘A Handbook of Contemporary Theology’, USA: A Bridge Point Book.
Olson, Roger E., Stanley J. Grenz, 1950, ‘20th Century Theology’, Illinois: Intervarsity Press
Hart, Trevor A., 2000, ‘The Dictionary of Historical Theology’, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Dyrness, William A., 1990, ‘Learning about Theology from Third World’, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing.
McGrath, Alister E., 1998, ‘Historical Theology’, UK: Blackwell Publishing.