Liberation Theology for beginners

As usual, the christian conversation always devolves into whose god has a bigger wee wee.

This perfectly illuminates the genius of our founding fathers when they wrote the first amendment.

Somehow you christians think you can all get together on a state with Beck and Hagee and Dobson and other christian types you woudn't crap on ... as long as they're christian enough you can "take back America" for your jesuses.

But sooner or later, you start fighting with each other over whose jesus the country will legally be allowed to worship, and whose it will not.

it ALWAYS happens this way, it always will.

Think twice before you sign on to any one kind of christian telling you how "your christianity" should be running our common government. How soon he will abandon you for his own once he has the power.

It's just fascinating to watch the deranged mind of this formerdemocrat in action.

One week he's screaming at the top of his lungs about marxism, how it's atheistic, and this week he's screaming about marxist theology.

I wonder, fellow readers, do you suppose this is formerdemocrat crashing and burning in front of us all, or is this the end result of his madness?

Look out MALBENNET . . . Civilization is going into deep poo thanks to overpopulation, and ain't nobody, not nohow coming to pull us out. It's Stupid Pipe dream!

This is a wonderful piece on liberation theology. An excellent summary. If you are interested in learning more, check out the JustFaith program:
http://www.justfaith.org/
What Is JustFaith Ministries?

JustFaith Ministries provides programs that transform people and expand their commitment to social ministry. Through these life-changing opportunities, members of a church or parish can study, explore and experience Christ’s call to care for the poor and vulnerable in a lively, challenging, multifaceted process in the context of a small faith community.

Jack Jezreel, M.Div., the founder and Executive Director of JustFaith Ministries, introduced the original JustFaith program in 1989 while working in a parish in Louisville, Kentucky. It was immediately and dramatically successful. Since then, churches around the country have had similar results.

Over 18,000 people have participated in various JustFaith programs in over 1,000 churches across the country. JustFaith Ministries, in conjunction with its partners, makes available introductory workshops, curriculum, resources, a website, and support services.

Early in 2005 Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) formed a partnership with JustFaith Ministries to promote and support Catholic parish and diocesan involvement in the JustFaith program. The partnership recognizes the importance of expanding parish and church commitment to social ministry and the critical role that formation in the justice tradition plays in this process.

All three of these national Catholic organizations support JustFaith Ministries through a financial commitment and directional support. The partnership, in turn, helps CCHD, Catholic Charities USA, and CRS carry out their mission of engaging U.S. Catholics in work with and on behalf of the poor and vulnerable, to alleviate poverty, and empower communities both at home and abroad.

Starting in 2007, prompted by the success of the JustFaith program in Catholic parishes, Bread for the World, the largest Christian anti-hunger advocacy organization in the United States, now partners with JustFaith Ministries on a version of JustFaith intended for the larger Christian community across the United States.

Beck and Palin are the newest re-emergence of "Americhristians". Its their way or the stairway....to Hell! LOL!

No, there is something to what's being said no matter if you're a person of faith or not. I agree with heaps of what the author says.

We all make our own prisons. They constrain our thinking in ways that are not always good for us or others. If you work with a framework of values and morals based on many premises, it is very important to work with perspective to not create negative outcomes.

The mistake is to not recognize these things as logical tools that all major religions use in some form. Not everyone knows about the methods or practice, but that doesn't mean the theology and practice is nonexistent.

I am frustrated that they author did not find examples in religious practice of these things for better comparison. The reason for that is the number of readers who obviously don't get it. Worse is that more people don't know about these things, but I have noticed 3 mistakes that seem to be common:

1. Presuming exclusivity binary reduction is always true. There is no glass, and even if there was one, it would not be either half empty, or half full. Start with that there is something there at all, & figure out what it is before you start sniping over volumes of "right". Secular life does not preclude religious life, and the converse is also true. Without society there is no freedom of religion, and the fate of the species is not up to what you think some dead guy might think about it.

2. If people don't go look for structures in theology or religious practice, they will not know about them, and will not find them. Just because someone does, or does not, practice some brand of religion, or none at all, does not leave them with perfect knowledge about all of what goes on with religious practice.

3. If a person hates, and encourage violence against innocent people, and do so while claiming adherence to some religion, they act in manners that end up arguing against the truth of their chosen theology. No good ever results from terrorizing anyone, ever. Hate is an activity of evil if it's supposed to exist, everyone ends up agreeing on that who does.

NO WHERE IN THE GOSPELS DOES IT SAY THAT JESUS SLEPT WITH LEPERS BEFORE HE WAS TAKEN BY THE SOLDIERS. ANOTHER MISREPRESENTATION BY SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO USE SCRIPTURE TO PROVE AN ERROR. LIBERATION THEOLOGY IS BEST DEMONSTRATED BY REV. WRIGHT'S STATEMENT "GOD DAMM AMERICA." THAT IN A NUT SHELL IS WHAT THE WHOLE PHILOSOPHY IS ABOUT. IS THIS AN EXAMPLE OF LOVE THAT SOME OF THE WRITERS SPEAK OF? THE LIBERALS CANNOT UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE CHRISTIANS WHO DO LIVE THE LIFE AND WALK THE TALK. BUT IN THEIR LIVES THEY HAVE NO HOPE. THEY ARE ONLY CONCERNED FOR THE PRESENT AND UNFORTUNATELY THE PRESENT IS NOT WHAT THEY EXPECTED. CHRISTIANS LOOK TO THE COMING OF CHRIST. WHO IS BETTER OFF?

Additionally what you suggest as critical consciousness sounds more like a form of nihilism than a pursuit for Truth.

A theology that views life through strife instead of oneness and focuses on how temporary earthly benefits are distributed would seem divorced from Christian teachings.

True liberation theology would be finally and forever bagging the slave/master memes of religion. Every time I hear the word "Lord", I shudder. True liberation theology would not have us on our knees begging for forgiveness from a truculent overseer.

"The best way to understand critical consciousness in the U.S. today is to watch Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central."

Then Posted by: thebump | August 30, 2010 12:03 PM

"If any proof were needed of the authoress's supreme idiocy, there you have it."

==========================================
STEWART AND COLBERT are to Hannity/Beck/Limbaugh/Coulter/Palin/Rove and other Fox Noise types ----
As gourmet food is to pig swill.

An' thas' a fac' !!!!

Very impressive . . . thank you!

Since Beck understands nothing about anything important, it is not surprising that he is ignorant about liberation theology. Briefly, liberation theology believes that you can encounter the real Christ only by going into both the safe streets and the mean and desperate streets of a populace in need of help. You won't find him as you sit secure in the pew bunker of whatever church. LT requires that you become, as Christ was, a community organizer for those in need of His help and His message. LT believes in open commensality: everyone has a place at Christ's table, especially the have-nots and the suffering. Christ's table is being smashed wherever human needs are being destroyed, ridiculed, usurped or trivialized, e.g., Beck's rally for the vacant brained, delusional and ignorant. There is no way that a healthy spiritual presence was anywhere in attendance at Sunday’s table smashing at the memorial site. On the other hand there was a coded anti-life force there-- an anti-civilization, bloat, bombastic, brainless Beck was being adored. Ish.

"Your race, your gender, your nationality, your sexual orientation, your social class and your educational level all matter because all those factors influence how you see the world."

In other words, liberals will stereotype everything you say based on the observable characteristics of you race, your gender, your nationality, your sexual orientation, your social class and your educational level.

But that is considered "non-discrimination" and fulfills MLK's desire that we be judged by our character and not our skin colour.

My previous comment was a re-post from another article, please disregard, it is quite appropriate to discuss religion in this section.

Ct2k12830
Arlington TX

The Center for America Progress is a Progressive Socialist "think tank" dedicated to Socialist propaganda used to manipulate populations.

The author of this article is a senior fellow at the center.

Why is there such great discussion about religion in the political section - the constitution is lost among each of you.

Ct2k12830
Arlington TX

This article is an accurate description of Liberation Theology. It is a Roman Catholic theology that originated in Central and South America in response to despotic governments that worked in concert with the US CIA to keep the ignorant poor that way as long as they could. RC nuns and a bishop were murdered by death squads to make certain that the Church could not mobilize the poor. John Paul 2 condemned Liberation Theology as anti-Christian because, like Marxism, it tried to find a solution to poverty, disease and ignorance...only using Christian means. John Paul 2 believed that only a mystical connection to God was necessary for salvation...achieved through prayer and the sacraments. LT preached community organization to improve the lot of the poor even if it meant challenging the despots who ruled the community.

The column is written by people who understand theology. This is not a political column.

Liberation theology= redistribution of income.

Here's Rev Wright to explain it: http://www.ihatethemedia.com/jeremiah-wright-mentor-praises-no-nonsense-marxism.

And here's what Rev Wright thinks about mainstream christians, again in his own words: http://tsfiles.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/jeremiah-wright-attacks-a-new-group/.

Get real. This is not a religion. It's this: http://www.cpusa.org/join-us/

Get educated, folks. Today, there is no significant difference between the CPUSA's platform and the Democratic Party's.

Yes, we DO need a change, one we CAN believe in.

Liberation theology is phony and perverse and has nothing to do with Christ. It is the gathering of the miserable and finding excuses for their own misery by leaning on the memory of those who were persecuted in the past. Wright and blacks have not cornered the worlds misery. People are persecuted over the world daily. But to sit in a so called church and listen to this hatred spewed for years speaks volumes. My great grandparents were persecuted by the Russians My grandmother could not buy food during the war since she spoke only German. The kindness of neighbors helped her family survive. My husband is part Cherokee. That should speak for itself. My daughter in law is from Trinidad where her father was murdered trying to clean out drug cartels. She is now a doctor and citizen in the US. My son in law is from Zimbabwe where nasty machete carrying thugs walked in and gave them fifteen minutes to leave farms, animals, pets, possessions, church and all they had known for five generations. He served in our military making bombs for navy seals and then became a citizen. It must hurt him to know they wanted the platinum mine that his land sat on. They wanted the uranium that Iran wants now too. But sitting in a so called church communing over hatred is just sick. What do persecuted people do? They get themselves up, they get busy making a new life and they quit blaming everyone else for their pathetic lives and mistakes.
Liberation theology is phony.

Liberation Theology is a Marxist/Socialist perversion of Christianity.

eh

To understand the context of this discussion in contemporary America, we need to turn back the clock to Jefferson's "Virginia Act For Establishing Religious Freedom" and Madison's "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments". Anyone who claims that the United States was founded as a "Christian Nation", or who asserts that one "brand" of Christianity is "more right" than another as relates to political credibility, needs to take a little time to bone up on the facts. Then we can have a serious discussion...

"Your race, your gender, your nationality, your sexual orientation, your social class and your educational level all matter because all those factors influence how you see the world."

That is polylogism.
_________________

No, it is not. It would only be polylogism if the author suggested that these different view points demand different rules of logic or ways of thinking. She is simply pointing out the same principle that Thomas Aquinas used when he said that "whatever is received is received in the mode of the receiver."

To put it simply: I understand the world much differently (and hopefully better) than a 10 year old. The difference in the way we "see" the world has no effect on the world itself or the rules of logic.

The point of Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite's vanity article is to demonstrate her moral and intellectual superiority to the portly professor with the loaded plate. I for one am not persuaded. Her sanctimonious self-satisfaction only demonstrate to me the irrelevance of ALL theology to the modern world.

Liberation through communism as a theology.

That is what it is and always has been.
Collective salvation means communism.

The point to this discussion is that Beck is talking about a subject he has no knowledge of. Beck is an idiot.

The night before he was crucified, Christ slept with the lepers, not the Forbes 400.

"Some posters might take the time to read the Sermon on the Mount before commenting. Then they can argue with that, as well."

Well said, cshipley1. And assail the "supreme idiocy" of that sermon's author, too.

"Your race, your gender, your nationality, your sexual orientation, your social class and your educational level all matter because all those factors influence how you see the world."

That is polylogism.

All "real" Americans have well-paying jobs or trust funds that keep them in clover. No matter what the government or the vast array of businesses do, "real" Americans live secure lives in comfortable homes in safe neighborhoods. They have plenty of everything it takes to get along. "Real" Americans don't care one whit about Americans who are "unreal." Their attitude is "I've got mine. I intend to get more. I owe nothing to anybody outside my family, my business, and my church." Next thing you know our elected leaders will implement "The Final Solution to the Problem of the Poor." Send 'em all to Somalia even though they are not from there.

Liberation Theology, like most heresys, takes a truth and expands it to replace other truths. The concern for the oppressed is well founded, but unto itself it fails if it excludes other teachings of Jesus - it becomes just another form of works righteousness that excludes the grace of the gospel.

I certainly don't take issue with the social concern for the downtrodden that is shown by many proponents of Liberation Theology -- in fact I applaud their heart for the needy. Nor do I suggest that all is well in the world and all we need are a few more bootstraps. Clearly, Jesus spent significant time with the outcasts and needy, not by chance but clearly by preference -- for they uniquely understood their need. In both the OT and NT, there is a clear bias towards justice as a means of caring for the poor AND (I believe) more importantly showing God's character of justice to the world. All that being said, it doesn't change my concern with Liberation Theology's proponents placing of their personal experience filter *before* their examination of truth. In many ways, the same can be said of the Prosperity Gospel which is often the inverse of LT. Both are materialistic approaches to what should, at its core, be a search for truth that is unchanged by current circumstance or opinion and sets its sights on what is eternal -- and ultimately everlasting. As many have pointed out, LT biases its followers towards a concern for the plight of the poor. On its own, an excellent thing -- but I've found it to often be pursued to the practical exclusion of the core message of Christ: liberation for eternity, not simply from a missed meal. Again, Christ cared for the poor -- healing and feeding them. But that authority over material needs should always point to His sovereignty over our eternal condition. I believe an exegetical examination of truth gives us a proper perspective and priority so that we can go forth to help God's creation far beyond its needs in this current economic cycle.

Liberation Theology is the radical notion that when Jesus said we should help the poor and the sick, and that it was easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven... he meant it.

But every good Republican Beck watcher knows that Jesus was a radical socialist and therefore his teachings are decidedly NOT what real Christianity is all about. They can't be, because the God of Mammon is the Higher Call. Real Christianity is about making the rich richer, war easier and hating your gay and lesbian neighbors for the way they were born. Ruppert Murdoch (hallowed be his name) has brought this missive down from On High for us.

Amen and God Bless America! Don't forget to watch Fox and Friends now!

The words that best express the notion of Liberation Theology, as practiced by President Obama, are "Do Unto Others...." The hatred that Glenn Beck espouses is essentially, "Screw all the others... do for yourself."

His argument isn't racist, but rather "class-ist". Beck would take "the poor will be with you always" and twist it around to continue, "so let them help themselves."

Such class hatred, and so many of the people will buy into it. Shameful.

I'd really love the author of this entry to actually provide Liberation Theology 101. I gather that it's some form of Christianity that makes central the concerns of the oppressed. But beyond that, this entry tells me nothing about how it does that. I'd really like to know, since pretty much the only times I've ever heard of it is when its opponents decry it as "Marxist." What are its tenets, and does following it imply any sort of politics? A true primer, even a brief one, would truly be fantastic.

Instead of acknowledging historical inequities and trying to remedy them, they proudly and falsely state that history has no victims and that everything is OK.

Yes. That worldview is called the Just World Fallacy.

The blogger below is an evangelical Christian, and he regularly skewers Beck's theology as having little to do with Christianity.

http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2010/03/antijustice-wow.html

http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2010/03/glenn-beck-bingo.html

Most of these comments are missing the point that much wealth in the world was gotten thru unjust means in societies with inequalities. If I stole money from a bank and was caught, would you think it is right for me not to return the money but only do jail time. If the money was returned it would be redistributed. Sure it was unjust and a sin the way I acquired the money, but to take the money from me would by many of the posters here I would have to assume a sin in your eyes too. But I guess our society and all societies have always been just in social and economic means and we never discriminate and the only reason people are poor is because they chose that life. again, a bit of sarcasm here

What great thought ideas I have heard in here. Lets go ahead and before we examine how and why we think what we think. lets define what the truth is without understanding ourselves. Then that truth will surely will conform to the misconceptions we have built our fragile little egos upon and we won't have to change what we believe in because we found the truth and it ended up we were right and we can stand proud and not listen to anyone who thinks differently than ourselves because they clearly are delusional and their truth clearly is wrong because they probably tried to understand themselves and the world around them in order to find the truth when you should be making the world around you fit what your truth is. ps. this was sarcasm

While I have read both the Old and New Testaments, I have not seen anything that either says or implies that taking from one person to give to another has any special blessing. The scriptures tell people to spend their own resources in charity. Gifts freely given to the church or other organizations fall under the spending of one's own resources, wisely, by working with people who have expertise in charity work.

A lot of the liberation theology would also be wise to consider if they are doing their works in private, or wanting public acknowledgements of their works. Getting their rewards in public for public deeds.

This is an excellent article, contrary to the uninformed speculation of thebump and wmsigep.

The latter does raise an important point - liberation theology does originate in Latin America and its origins do have a Marxist slant. All liberation theologies do make use of conflict theory, an important analytical frame in sociology. However, Marxist analysis is not the same as Communism.

I think that Archbishop Helder Camara of Recife said it best: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist."

And of course, this is where Beck and his ilk truly fail to live up to the teachings of Christ. Instead of acknowledging historical inequities and trying to remedy them, they proudly and falsely state that history has no victims and that everything is OK.

WMSIGEP, I think that Gustavo's point is not that one SHOULD emphasize one's personal circumstances in theological interpretation, but rather that we inevitably have our conception of theology shaped by our circumstances. Only by being aware of that influence can we expect to shake off our complacency and seek truth more effectively. When one's belly is full, it seems only natural and in keeping with God's plan that some should be poor while others (oneself) should be not poor. When one is, oneself, poor, it prompts the question "Is this really God's plan?" You don't have to be poor yourself to have empathy with those who are, and to deduce that it may better serve God's plan to help raise those people up, rather than contribute to keeping them down.

Heck, man, I'm an agnostic, and even I can see that much.

The Sermon on the Mount was about taking PERSONAL responsibility for yourself, NOT having a coercive government entity do it for you. It is as "anti-Marxism" as they come since Marxism is about TAKING from others, by force if necessary. Black Libration Theology focuses on the taking, not the responsibility part of giving with an open heart. Of course it also focuses on saying Jesus was black and delivery from evil empires (with the USA stepping in for Egypt in the comparison with the Exodus). It's a nutty, Left-wing philosophy that is all about re-distributing income, which is why Obama was a member for 20 years, until someone noticed and called him on it.

Liberation Theology sought to find permanent solutions to systemic oppression, hunger, ignorance and disease which were at the heart of the Latin American social order in the 19th Century. Liberation Theology and Marxism had similar goals, but very different means to achieve them. Liberation Theologists were not Marxists.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta did not seek a permanent solution, only temporary relief to aid the suffering. She advised prayer to the diseased, hungry, ignorant and wretched of the earth as preparation for Heaven. Her orthodoxy fit well with RC teaching. Liberation Theology is inconsistent with RC orthodoxy and its proponents run the risk of excommunication rather than sainthood. Nevertheless, the liberation theology movement is an important piece of the Roman Catholic tradition.

Any person such as Thistlethwaite who doesn't give big, big props to the Black Liberation Theology that did so much to elevate Barack Obama is clearly a raaaaacist.

Dr. Thistlethwaite's essay provokes thought. My thoughts are that what we do for and to the least among us... But I'm sure the previous posters are aware of all that and practice it.

Some posters might take the time to read the Sermon on the Mount before commenting. Then they can argue with that, as well.

Wikipedia did a way better job describing this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_liberation_theology

Any description of liberation theology that doesn't include the word "Marxism" is a dishonest white wash.

Clearly, the Washington Post thinks the white wash got him elected, why not continue.

The Washington Post is the most dishonest news organization since Pravda.

Interesting: a hateful approach to one religion, whereas this writer pretends to defend a corrupted ideology, liberation theology, by building up a pair of strawmen to disavow, i.e., Glenn Beck and mainstream religion.

Shouldn't Ms. Thistlehwait herself be hungry, frightened, and disenfranchised before she elects herself to be the spokesman for those who are?

And doesn't understanding "from below" require being there and not just "looking down" from above?

"Theology", purely speaking, is the study of God/Metaphysical truth that is external to ourselves. As such, what is true is far more than important than what we, as the observers of truth, think about that truth. While it is obviously of value to appreciate and understand how our perspectives filter and affect our perception of this truth, I find it troublesome to place such a high importance on our condition. Our perspective and condition should be affected by what we believe to be true, not the other way around. I take issue with the eisegetical approach "liberation theology" uses to pursue and declare truth. Truth should be the object of our focus, not an egotistical paradigm that places us (and our needs) at the center of life's true meaning. Let's establish truth and then use that truth to tackle the world's problems (such as empty stomachs and inequality), not the other way around.

The best way to understand critical consciousness in the U.S. today is to watch Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central.

If any proof were needed of the authoress's supreme idiocy, there you have it.