Althouse: "Liberation theology is a power set of tools and approaches within any religion."

August 29, 2011

"Liberation theology is a power set of tools and approaches within any religion."

Liberation theology is a set of power tools!

53 comments:

The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/29/11, 2:01 PM
raf said...: Liberation theology is a set of power tools

And if it provided power for real power tools, it might even be useful.

WV: huction. Where hucksters solicit bids. Seems appropriate.; 8/29/11, 2:04 PM
Anonymous said...: "Liberation theology is a set of power tools!"

I'm pretty sure Instapundit had an amazon.com promo link to them a few weeks ago.; 8/29/11, 2:05 PM
setnaffa said...: Marxist claptrap.; 8/29/11, 2:05 PM
Lucien said...: Warning: Do not use Liberation Theology when under the influence of drugs (including prescription drugs) or alcohol.; 8/29/11, 2:09 PM
Anonymous said...: ...."advancing progressive political agenda."

In other words, "we know best which direction in social change is progress and which is regress, and we don't need no stinking God to tell us otherwise."

"I've already glued my compass to what I believe is north, and no invisible magnetic field will change my mind."; 8/29/11, 2:11 PM
chuck said...: Oh great, now OSHA can get involved in religion.; 8/29/11, 2:14 PM
KCFleming said...: Liberation theology is a set of commie tools to immanentize the eschaton.; 8/29/11, 2:15 PM
Don Singleton said...: What does that have to do with Sexuality and Gender in Islam; 8/29/11, 2:19 PM
edutcher said...: Pogo's right. When I hear "liberation theology", the phrase "badly baptised Bolshevism" comes to mind, along with the image of useful idiots from the American Catholic Church trying to help Communist cutthroats like the Ortega brothers.

They need to find a new slogan - and a lot of luck.

Sixty Grit said...

Hmm, interesting. Do the Imams use power tools when punishing those who violate Sharia?

Last I read, it was boiling water and acid.; 8/29/11, 2:19 PM
Sal said...: Looking at that website was painful. Ouch, now I have a headache.; 8/29/11, 2:20 PM
TMink said...: Power tools, OK. But who is the builder using those tools? Could it be . . . . SATAN!!!!!!!

Trey; 8/29/11, 2:22 PM
Alex said...: Looking at articles like this, it's no wonder the GOP alienates black voters. Continue to insult liberation theology you twits.; 8/29/11, 2:35 PM
Peter said...: •Scott Kugle (author of Homosexuality in Islam) wrote, “In the USA, we are so used to demonizing Ayatollah Khomeini that we often fail to see the more creative and constructive aspects of his life and political rule. Not that I’m a supporter of his Islamic Revolution in Iran, mind you! But nobody is a demon. “

And, it’s very, very hard to take anyone seriously who insists that “nobody is a demon.” What’s he going to say next, that evil does not exist?

But then we find 0ut why Kugle has a soft spot for Khomeini: “Ayatollah Khomeini made a decision that sex-reassignment surgery was Islamically permissible …”

And, HItler was kind to dogs. But what we'd really like to know is, if he became convinced that Islam truly did not tolerate homosexual behavior, which would the author choose?

My guess is, if he had to choose between Islam and homosexuality, he'd give up the Islam first.; 8/29/11, 2:36 PM
sakredkow said...: And, it’s very, very hard to take anyone seriously who insists that “nobody is a demon.” What’s he going to say next, that evil does not exist?

He's saying nobody is literally a demon. But if someone wants to insist that people like Hitler or Khomeini are literally demons, be my guest.; 8/29/11, 2:40 PM
KCFleming said...: "He's saying nobody is literally a demon."

Gosh, he shore 'nuff is an intelleckhal.; 8/29/11, 2:47 PM
gerry said...: From the article: Liberation theology is a power set of tools and approaches within any religion. It refers to internal reform of a religious tradition in order to consciously align the religious beliefs and practices toward the goal of stopping oppression, protecting the vulnerable, and advancing a progressive political agenda.[Emphasis added]

Well, progressive politics rewrites history to advance its agenda, why not realign entire religions?; 8/29/11, 2:55 PM
gerry said...: P.S. Stalin, technically, was not a demon. He had bones and shit.

Just sayin'.; 8/29/11, 2:57 PM
edutcher said...: Peter said...

And, HItler was kind to dogs.

He also like big blondes and his secretaries said he was a swell boss.

WV "syzat" How one determines if something will fit; as, "What syzat?".; 8/29/11, 3:01 PM
Joe said...: (The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)
Peter said...

And, HItler was kind to dogs.

He also like big blondes and his secretaries said he was a swell boss

He was also a vegetarian, worried about the land, and banned smoking around him….; 8/29/11, 3:04 PM
Carol_Herman said...: HA!

Just another way that got invented to sell something to a gullible public.

Nothing though works better than "hands on."

And, exactly how do you judge your "liberation?"

Does the Sofitel rent out hotel rooms so men can "show their stuff on the wallpaper?"

Are there over and under lines anywhere to be seen?

Do midgets get to stand on boxes, first?

I still love Barnum. Separate from the circus ... he gave people afflicted with misfortunes ... a way to sit ... and get stared at by others.

This cost a dime, at one time, to get in.

Then? Well bless Barnum. He set up another place where you could spend a dime more to "SEE THE EGRESS."

People did, too.; 8/29/11, 3:11 PM
Methadras said...: LT is nothing more than a Marxist trope. It has duped massive amounts of black people. Interesting the players who are a part of it.; 8/29/11, 3:12 PM
Joe said...: (The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)

BTW, “Liberation Theology” Is Catholic in origin…it is different from BLACK Liberation Theology…both are Marxist/Marxian, but Liberation Theology focuses on more classically oriented social justice issues, and class…Black Liberation Theology focuses on Race, and injustice. We seem to be co-mingling the two concepts.; 8/29/11, 3:18 PM
Erik Robert Nelson said...: "Liberation theology is a set of commie tools to immanentize the eschaton."

This.; 8/29/11, 3:19 PM
Bob_R said...: You do know what a "power set" is, right? (Not that they are using it correctly.); 8/29/11, 3:28 PM
Palladian said...: "And, HItler was kind to dogs."

Until he gave them the cyanide capsules...; 8/29/11, 3:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Liberation theology has always appealed to Tools.; 8/29/11, 3:37 PM
SGT Ted said...: Liberation theology is non-atheistic Marxism.; 8/29/11, 3:41 PM
YoungHegelian said...: I've mixed emotions about this guy.

On the one hand, the phrase "liberation theology" within the Christian traditions has sparked no end of mischief as it set about replacing theology with politics, and it seems there's already way too much politics in Islam as it is.

On the other hand, there quotations like this one:

"But the enormity of the 9/11 crimes and the pressures that Muslim communities in the USA were placed under after this convinced me to put aside self-centered concerns and write for the greater good. We all felt that “extremists and reactionaries” had hijacked Islam, and that we needed to speak boldly (and write furiously) to do our part—however small it might be—to take Islam back. "

Do you know how hard it is to to find a religious studies scholar who would use the straight-out word "crimes" about 9-11 in print? I mean, where the nuance in that?!

We who are not in the Ummah have two choices: kill about 100 million muslims or hope that Islam somehow can develop a discourse of moderation internally. This guy may actually be a small step in the right direction.

Anyone who the jihadi call a mutalizite gets some bit of sympathy from me.; 8/29/11, 3:43 PM
mariner said...: Nah, it's atheistic Marxism dressed up as Christianity.; 8/29/11, 3:45 PM
traditionalguy said...: It's an atheist attempt to get God on their side in the debate with people who have never read the scriptures...like in Catholic countries.

The universal education mandate in the western world was of, by, and for Reformers teaching every man, woman and child how to read for themselves the newly translated and printable Bibles in common language.

The tool is how to fool illiterate people.; 8/29/11, 3:53 PM
sakredkow said...: These guys are trying to reform their conservative religions, but the more the religions are reformed the weaker they become.

You start pointing out that discriminating against people b/c of gender identity is not exactly PC or in accord with 21st c. thinking, people will start wondering what else do these antique belief systems adhere to that isn't part of contemporary thought?

We can all make a stout defense of concepts of the struggle between good and evil, or ideas of redemption and resurrection (although that too is becoming passé).

But if you're willing to dispense with traditional Biblical notions of gender assignment or homosexuality then it's not such a leap to "You know what, this miracle stuff doesn't make a lot of sense either" and other foundations of belief.

Next thing you know millions are identifying themselves as Muslims or Christians but they aren't really. They don't live or love the lifestyle, they're at best hedging their bets.; 8/29/11, 4:02 PM
Bender said...: Close Crypto Jew Joe, very close.

But Liberation Theology is NOT "Catholic in origin." Rather, it is thoroughly Marxist, as you and others have said, and even if it was advanced early on by certain people of the Third World who call themselves Catholic, it was always a complete distortion and perversion of Catholicism. And hence, not Catholic at all, much less Catholic in origin.; 8/29/11, 4:56 PM
gadfly said...: "[Liberation theology] refers to internal reform of a religious tradition in order to consciously align the religious beliefs and practices toward the goal of stopping oppression, protecting the vulnerable, and advancing a progressive political agenda."

Funny, but that last part doesn't show up that way in the Bible.

James 1:26-27

"26 If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."; 8/29/11, 5:30 PM
Jose_K said...: Half of the 52k jesuits were , or, are Liberation teologist followers.; 8/29/11, 6:01 PM
Jose_K said...: I can not talk about other countries but here i the north of Southamerica, the Catholich Hierarchy abandoned the streets. In the slums you will find or evangelist or liberation teology priest .The Church hierarchy only has followers among the rich. The middle class see religion as a social custome not as something of vlaue. They have their children in catholic schools because they are the better. But they are catholic in name ,indiferent or like me agnostic.
The liberation teology prepared thes oil for the marxist bolivarian revolution.
Im agnostic because in a catholic school we were preached class warfare. The teachers were a priest and a social worker , aunt of Gloria Steffan. That Gloria Steffan; 8/29/11, 6:07 PM
Jose_K said...: Until he gave them the cyanide capsules...
Yes , to protect then from torture by the Reds; 8/29/11, 6:08 PM
Crimso said...: Your previous post had the "bad science" tag. May I respectfully suggest (it's your blog) that you start a "bad religion" tag?; 8/29/11, 6:26 PM
DADvocate said...: Quayle caught on to this too: It refers to internal reform of a religious tradition in order to consciously align the religious beliefs and practices toward the goal of stopping oppression, protecting the vulnerable, and advancing a progressive political agenda.

How does this square up with the progressive meme that conservatives push their Christian fundamentalist theology in politics? (Without considering that not all conservatives are fundamentalist.) Progressives want to force their religious agenda on us!!; 8/29/11, 6:35 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @Jose_K

You have eloquently stated the reasons why every 20 seconds someone in Latin America converts from Roman Catholicism to Evangelical Protestantism.

As a RC, I wish I could say I'm surprised as opposed to merely saddened.

Establishment, either by law or by custom, seems to result in the spiritual death of churches.; 8/29/11, 7:26 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @DaDvocate

"How does this square up with the progressive meme that conservatives push their Christian fundamentalist theology in politics?"

Only folks who don't know what goes on the clergy & religious academia buy into the "oh it's those damn hillbillies with their Jesus pushing us around".

The US academic religious establishment & the clergy (except for the fundies) are generally lefty.

You know how I piss off lefties when they talk about keeping religion out of politics? I say, "Yeah, like that damn Martin Luther King!" Dirty looks all around.

The Civil Rights movement was the crowning glory of the social gospel movement.; 8/29/11, 7:32 PM
Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...: May God free us from it, and keep it far, far away.

wv: skeyslec; 8/29/11, 8:10 PM
traditionalguy said...: IMO social customs of the Mediterranean countries 2000 years ago are not basic parts of Christian beliefs that cannot ever be updated.

I speak of the notion that women cannot serve as leaders in churches.

Liberalization of church teachings to modern social custom of educated women does not preach a different Jesus and bring in a different spirit.

But there is a different Jesus Marxists preach which results in a different spirit and an organisation that does not have power to free oppressed people. It only uses them to steal from others.

The hot wedge issues today are Gay ordination and Gay marriage. In the PCUSA These are not deal breakers so long as Denominational Bureaucracies do not use a 51/49 vote to exercise authority over the fellowship congregations who are not going along.; 8/29/11, 10:14 PM
Paddy O said...: I'm a fan of much liberation theology. I think that the message that God is interested in the poor and promotes real liberation into a fullness of life is a very authentic Biblical message.

A lot of liberation theology does flirt with marxism, but it's not at all true that liberation theology is equivalent to marxism. The best explanation I've heard comes from Gustavo Gutierrez who said that liberation theology were drawn to marxism because that was the only place they found the language for the kinds of crises and issues they were seeing. Sadly Christianity lost so much of its own priority for the poor.

At the same time, while I'm a fan of much liberation theology (having studied it a whole lot the last few years), this is a terrible specific post for me to argue its merits.

Not only because I don't think it's applicable to this cause, I also think it's entirely wrong to say that it is a valid approach within any religion. Christianity is uniquely suited, I think, to a liberation theology, but a whole lot of other religions are not.; 8/29/11, 11:59 PM
Paddy O said...: Agreeing with some sentiments expressed here, I think that marxism is an authoritarian philosophy that enslaves, rather than liberates, the poor. A true liberation theology that has a preferential option for the poor would do well to avoid marxist approaches at all costs. They look good on paper, but are abhorent in practice, not least because Jesus insisted on a community with, among, and for the poor of voluntary followers, not government mandated policies which embeds sinners into positions of power, heightening corruption and objectifying the poor, committing them to their state.; 8/30/11, 12:03 AM
YoungHegelian said...: @Paddy0

"Christianity is uniquely suited, I think, to a liberation theology, but a whole lot of other religions are not."

I tend to agree, but I'd like to hear the reasons why you think so.

I also hope the reasons will be something more than a genealogy of ideas Marxism-comes-out-of-a -Christian-culture sort of stuff.; 8/30/11, 12:18 AM
Toad Trend said...: "—with the likely chance of encountering either homophobia or Islamophobia (or both), depending on the context."

And that ended the article in the first paragraph, right there.

The mis-use of the 'phobia' descriptor is all too common today. 'Misunderstandings', disagreements and the like are NOT phobias.

But, the modern progressive uses this as a blunt force object to cow 'unbelievers' in the public forum into their line of 'thinking'.

So this article really is just another literary sledge attempt to further a progressive meme.

Social engineering has a long way to go. So long, I'm afraid, that it will never truly matter as a subject due to the universal nature of humans to direct their own destiny.

Silly progressives.; 8/30/11, 6:13 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Sixty Grit said...

Hmm, interesting. Do the Imams use power tools when punishing those who violate Sharia?

edutcher said...

Last I read, it was boiling water and acid.

They've now moved on to glitter.; 8/30/11, 6:18 AM
gerry said...: to take Islam back

To take it back from Mohammed, who ordered followers to kill Jews on sight?

Who ordered women to have sex with their husbands while on a camel, if that is what their husband wanted?

Who ordained that non-Muslims cannot have full rights, and must pay a special tax to be permitted to practice their religion(s)?

Huh.; 8/30/11, 7:43 AM
Paddy O said...: YoungHegelian,

Why is Christianity uniquely suited? Honestly because at its very roots is an emphasis on empowerment of the outcast, inclusion of the outsider, equality of people as particular subjects within their own history, prioritizing of the rich, an ethos of giving rather than taking, helping rather than hurting, sacrificing oneself for the sake of others.

This isn't, however, what much of Christian history expressed the last many centuries, however (with some notable exceptions).

The truly liberation aspects at the heart of Christianity are too numerous to list. But to start off with is the prime directive to love God and love neighbor as being at the heart of human calling. Add to this the doctrine of the Holy Spirit which, in giving spiritual empowerment to all, insists on a unity based on diversity of all participants, rather than a unity based on control or power or domination.

The poor are lifted up out of their suffering, given a new sense of contribution and participation as real people, while the rich are called to let go that which they might otherwise think they are owed, and live in a way of new freedom that makes space for others, using resources to contribute to the thriving of all.

The trouble is that this is only fruitful in a non-authoritarian, voluntary way, in light of a common and shared understanding of a shared vision of God's work in the world.

Marxism arose and was used by liberation theologians because Christianity wasn't emphasizing much of its own calling to not just minister to the poor but to be a ministry among and from the poor and outcasts.

Romans 8 is a great chapter on what it means for all of us to be freed to live in new ways not for the sake of ourselves but for the sake of one another. Each person is important, each person a particular aspect of the very wide work of God, so valued as being much more than whatever their state in life might suggest.; 8/30/11, 8:19 AM
TMink said...: Alex, so called Liberation Theology does not originate among minorities. It was concocted by Communists who figured that they had to co-opt the church to get minorities to be communists.

So they developed a heresey that denies Scripture in order to promote communism. There is no theology in liberation theology, it is a socialist heresey.

But then I suspect you are not up on your Christian theology and appologetics.

Trey; 8/30/11, 8:30 AM
Peter said...: "Christianity is uniquely suited, I think, to a liberation theology, but a whole lot of other religions are not."

Perhaps the most important difference is that Christianity originated within and under the hegemonic power of the Roman Empire. Considering the power imbalance, Jesus wisely counseled believers to “render unto Caesar.” And as very much NOT the established (or establishment) religion, early Christianity had huge appeal to those who were oppressed within the Empire.

BUT, Islam was established by a warlord. Mohammad was not only the Prophet, but also the hegemonic power. Within this context, “render unto Caesar” would have a very different meaning. As would the concept of liberation theology. For, from who or what would one be liberated- from Mohammad and his successors? From the umma?

If Islam is all-encompassing (in contrast to Christianity, where believers are counseled to be “in the world but not of the world”), from what is a Muslim to be liberated? From Islam itself? From the umma?; 8/30/11, 9:13 AM
Paddy O said...: "But then I suspect you are not up on your Christian theology and appologetics."

Trey, I'd suggest you're not either. Or have gleaned your understanding of liberation theology from secondary or tertiary sources.

Gustavo Gutierrez's book A Theology of Liberation is wonderfully theological and scriptural and not at all communist.One of my favorite books on the Holy Spirit, theologically rich and Scripturally grounded, is Jose Comblin's The Holy Spirit and Liberation.

Some of the key conferences that related to liberation theology, such as Medellin 1968 and Puebla 1977, are very vocal in critiquing both capitalism and marxism. Both of these showed their worst aspects in Latin America, and deserved the critique.

The RCC hierarchy rightly, I think, pushed back against the increasingly uncritical marxist appropriation of some liberation theologians, but the key leaders, for the most part, were faithful to the church, accepted the critique and have continued to write on the core themes with a significantly less dependence on Marx.

There's some great stuff to be found in the liberation theologians, especially from Latin America. And I say this as someone who is rather theologically and politically conservative.

Certainly there are some who take the banner liberation theologian and add all sorts of heresies, but that's true about any theological movement. The core of liberation theology, as expressed by such key founders as Gutierrez, is brilliant, faithful, inspiring, ennobling, exceedingly Christian stuff.; 8/30/11, 10:46 AM