John Coffey Posted: 18 December 2009
Keywords: Christianity & Religion,
Liberation is one of the great slogans of modern politics and one of the major themes of the Bible. The Exodus from Egyptian bondage was the foundational narrative of the Jewish nation, and Jesus inaugurated his ministry by announcing that he had come ‘to release the oppressed’. Scripture teaches that Christ brings redemption from slavery to sin, but it also depicts deliverance from material forms of oppression. This paper explains how that biblical theme has inspired early modern revolutionaries and nineteenth-century abolitionists as well as modern liberation theologians. While highlighting the failings of Christian liberationists (old and new), the paper concludes that we need a holistic theology of liberation which addresses the diverse forms of spiritual, relational and material enslavement that are rife in the twenty-first century.
Our faith is nothing if it is not about liberation - from fear of death, from temptation and sin, and, yes, from poverty, oppression and injustice. The paper highlights this clearly and the challenge for Christians is to create an active, liberation theology which drives decision making at every level. We need to strive to tangibly transform our world, into a world which is infused with true Christian values, where moral, Christian principles drive action. How do we REALLY make this happen?
Steve Grant 21 December 2009
This is a good paper, giving a helpful summary of Liberation Theology - its motivations and pitfalls. I would take the view that the theological starting point of Liberation Theology - the societal situation - is the wrong place to start, and therefore leads to wrong conclusions. In my view a holistic evangelical theology should provide strong motivation to seek justice for the vulnerable/exploited/weak/poor/marginalized - and not just as a 'way-in' for the 'gospel', but as an end in itself.
Andy McWilliam 22 December 2009
I found this paper helpful in clarifying my thinking on the subject. I have just one point to make. In addition to Christians Against Poverty, there is another national organisation working through churches of all denominations that provides free, face-to-face financial advice to all who require it, namely Community Money Advice
Ian Dancy 1 February 2010
Thank you for this - very thought-provoking. My first comment: in addition to the organisations and areas of activity listed towards the end of the paper, many Christians would also see our common stewardship of, and responsibility for, creation as another area in which God calls us to be part of his plan for liberation. Secondly, a comment on the following: "As Miroslav Volf has argued, theory has a logical priority to praxis, and a formative impact upon it. Christian revelation ‘is accessible to us only through the medium of a particular kind of theory – the written word of the Holy Scriptures’. We know Christ through the Scriptures, and he ‘has to remain the decisive criterion of the truth or falsity of any theory or practice claiming to be Christian’." But surely Jesus Christ - yes, He is the revelation - is not just accessible to us through the Scriptures? What about the Counsellor, the Spirit of truth? We need the Holy Spirit to interpret the Scriptures that point to Jesus, the Living Word. Related to this, I think the issue of theory and praxis (and which comes first) can be an unfruitful 'chicken-and-egg' discussion. The book of James, I think, makes it very clear that intellectual assent is not enough. For James (and you can hear Jesus' teaching from the Sermon on the Mount), real faith is something that will inevitably express itself - most fundamentally through love. So in James 2 v14-18: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." Perhaps we could substitute 'theory' for 'faith' and 'praxis' for 'deeds'?
Dal Warburton 15 March 2010