Latin American Liberation Theology as a Transforming Political Theology

10.1558/37328 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-192
Author(s):  
Stefan Silber
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The Poor ◽  
New Challenges

Latin American Liberation Theology is a transforming theology in two senses: It is able to transform reality, as it has shown in these past decades, and it is transforming itself. This article shows how both types of meaning interweave. The transformations of Liberation Theology enable it to continuously adapt itself to new challenges in history. At present, this global theological movement is diversifying, or even fragmenting, in order to propose creative and effective solutions to different problems. Specifically, the Option for the Poor, which is at Liberation Theology’s core, currently presents profound challenges to European and Western theologies.

scholarly journals IDENTIDAD DE LA TEOLOGÍA LATINOAMERICA Y LA TEOLOGÍA DE LA LIBERACIÓN

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Jorge Costadoat Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Age Of Maturity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Original Speech ◽  
America Latina ◽  
The Church

RESUMEN: El objetivo de esta investigación es suministrar argumentos para identificar la Teología latinoamericana con la Teología de la liberación, y viceversa. Entre estos argumentos se debe considerar la conciencia de alcanzar la “mayoría de edad” de la Iglesia en América Latina en el postconcilio; la convicción de los teólogos de la liberación de estar elaborando una “nueva manera” de hacer teo­logía; una toma de distancia del carácter ilustrado de la teología; y la posibilidad de reconocer en los acontecimientos regionales, particularmente en los pobres, un habla original de Dios. Este artículo pretende hacer una contribución al status quaestionis del método teológico.ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to provide arguments to identify Latin American Theology with Liberation Theology, and vice versa. Among these arguments, one should consider the awareness of the Church in Latin America reaching its “age of maturity” in the post-conciliar period. Other arguments are the conviction of liberation theologians to be elaborating a “new way” of doing theology; a distance from the illustrated characteristic of theology; and, the possibility of recognizing in regional events, particularly in the poor, God’s original speech. This article aims to contribute to the status quaestionis of the theological method.

Decolonial Openings in Theologies of Liberation

2018 ◽  
pp. 49-70
Author(s):  
Joseph Drexler-Dreis
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Theoretical Possibility ◽  
Western Modernity ◽  
Historical Structures ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Jon Sobrino

The third chapter considers how approaches to theological reflection within Latin American liberation theology might open up toward a decolonial project. It specifically focuses on how the work of the liberation theologians Ignacio Ellacuría and Jon Sobrino, unlike that of Clodovis Boff, points to the theoretical possibility of communities speaking theologically from epistemic loci located within the cracks of Western modernity. Ellacuría and Sobrino open up the methodological possibility to decolonize theological images and concepts, and in doing so, offer the possibility for theological reflection to decolonize social-historical structures. A decolonial option requires, but is also more than, a methodological shift that prioritizes the viewpoint of the poor as the starting point in theological reflection. Investigating how Ellacuría and Sobrino are able to open up the epistemic boundaries of theology is thus not an endpoint, but can provide a way forward for a decolonial theology.

scholarly journals Theodicy, Undeserved Suffering, and Compassionate Solidarity: An Interdisciplinary Reading of Hwang Sok-Yong’s The Guest

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 463
Author(s):  
Young Hoon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Minjung Theology ◽  
Johann Baptist Metz

The author explores theological questions regarding the Korean novelist Hwang Sok-yong’s The Guest from interdisciplinary perspectives. This paper analyzes the novel in relation to the emotional complex of han as understood in Korean minjung theology, the political theology of Johann Baptist Metz, and Ignacio Ellacuría’s liberation theology. Drawing upon the perspectives of Korean, German, and Latin American scholars, this approach invites us to construct a discourse of theodicy in a fresh light, to reach a deeper level of theodical engagement with the universal problem of suffering, and to nurture the courage of hope for human beings in today’s stressed world. Contemplating the concrete depiction of human suffering in The Guest, the paper invites readers to deepen their understanding of God in terms of minjung theology’s thrust of resolving the painful feelings of han of the oppressed, Metz’s insight of suffering unto God as a sacramental encounter with God, and Ellacuría’s idea of giving witness to God’s power of the resurrection in eschatological hope. The paper concludes that the immensity of today’s human suffering asks for that compassionate solidarity with the crucified today which can generate hope in the contemporary milieu.

scholarly journals NUEVOS DESAFÍOS DE LA TEOLOGÍA DE LA LIBERACIÓN

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Victor Codina
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Scientific Production ◽  
World Today ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
Current Context ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Church ◽  
Changing World

Resumen: La Teología de la Liberación (TdL) que siempre ha reflexionado desde la fe a partir de la realidad de los pobres, no puede quedar insensible ante el mundo cambiante de hoy. Damos aquí por supuesto todo lo elaborado en torno a la TdL, por ejemplo en Mysterium liberationis (ELLACURÍA; SOBRINO, 1990, v. I-II) y en Y el mar se abrió (SUSIN, 2001), y quisiéramos seguir avanzando en la comprensión de los actuales desafíos de la TdL. Por ello comenzaremos por mostrar los fundamentos de la TdL como base de su identidad que se ha mantenido constante a través de los años. A pesar de las diversas corrientes y de la evolución a través de los años, se respira en todos los teólogos y teólogas de la TdL un innegable aire de familia. Pero, al mismo tiempo queremos mostrar la evolución y variaciones de esta TdL a lo largo de estos años, como se pueden constatar, de modo paradigmático, a través de los diversos congresos o encuentros celebrados sobre TdL. Con todo, lo más importante es mirar al futuro y detectar cuáles son los mayores y nuevos desafíos de la TdL en el contexto actual de la sociedad y de la Iglesia. Esto lo sintetizaremos en un decálogo teológico.Abstract: Liberation Theology (TdL) which has always reflected faith from the reality of the poor, must not remain insensitive to the changing world today. Taking into account all the scientific production about TdL, for example Mysterium liberationis (ELLACURÍA; SOBRINO, 1990, v. I-II) and El mar se abrió (SUSIN, 2001), we will move forward to understand its current challenges. Initially, we will present the fundamentals of TdL in view of its identity preserved over the years. Despite its diferent trends and evolution over the years, there is an undeniable family feeling among all theologians of TdL. But at the same time we want to show the evolution and variations of TdL over the years, as you can observe, paradigmatically, through the various conferences and meetings dedicated this theology. However, it is of utmost importance to look ahead and identify what are the new challenges of TdL in the current context of society and the Church. This will be synthesized in a Theological Decalogue.

Theologies of Liberation

2015 ◽  
pp. 802-819
Author(s):  
Roberto Goizueta
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Catholic Action ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Early Influences ◽  
Do So

The term ‘theologies of liberation’ refers to a global theological movement that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s among Christians working for justice among the poor of the Third World. Most systematically articulated, initially, by Latin American theologians such as the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, liberation theology is rooted in the Gospel claim that Jesus Christ is identified in a special way with the poor and marginalized of our world. Early influences on the emergence of liberation theology in Latin America included: the Catholic Action movement, base ecclesial communities, Vatican II (especially Gaudium et spes), and the Medellín Conference of 1968. The central insight of liberation theologies is that, because God makes a ‘preferential option for the poor’, we are called to do so as well; if Christ is identified with the marginalized, the lives of the poor is the privileged locus for practising Christian theological reflection.

Liberation Theology: the Option for the Poor

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 407-421
Author(s):  
Peter Hebblethwaite
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Church Structures

One fairly obvious difference between this paper and those you have heard so far is that liberation theology, whatever it means, is still being discussed, attacked, caricatured, and defended with great vehemence and passion. The theme does not possess the completeness and neatness that historians prefer. It sprawls and proliferates. The bibliography is immense. We have already reached the stage of the overarching survey. D. W. Ferm has provided a 150-page summary with a helpful ‘reader’ for the use of college students. Ferm’s survey includes African and Asian theologians as well as Latin Americans. I can understand his desire to include Archbishop-elect Desmond Tutu in South Africa and to provide some hints as to why President Marcos could be deposed in the Philippines. And there is indeed a body called the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians—its unfortunate acronym is EATWOT—which gives some substance to this universalizing claim. But I am going to confine myself to Latin America because it was there that the ‘option for the poor’ was first spoken about. The date was 1968. CELAM, the regional association of Latin American Bishops, met at Medellin in Colombia in August. Pope Paul VI was present, and was the first Pope to kiss the soil of Latin America. There was a feeling abroad that at the Second Vatican Council, which had ended three years before, an essentially European agenda concerned typically with ecumenism and Church structures (collegiality) had prevailed; the Council had yet to be ‘applied’ to the Latin American situation. One phrase, however, provided a stimulus and a starting-point. Gaudium etSpes, the pastoral constitution on the Church in the World of Today, begins with the ringing assertion that ‘the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this time, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties, of the followers of Christ’.

scholarly journals Por uma transformação intercultural da teologia

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (311) ◽  
pp. 695
Author(s):  
Sinivaldo Silva Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
Strong Polarization ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Culture History ◽  
The World ◽  
Christian Message ◽  
Intercultural Dialog

O anúncio cristão tem se dado mediante um diálogo intercultural que, historicamente, caracterizou-se por uma cerrada polarização entre fé e cultura. Esta polarização foi desconstruída pelo Vaticano II, ao propor-nos a transparência da cultura em relação à fé. A Teologia da Libertação latinoamericana explicitou as contradições internas da cultura moderna, propondo-nos relacionar fé e culturas provenientes do “reverso” da história e do “mundo dos pobres”. Nos dias que correm, as teologias se sentem desafiadas a se submeterem a um processo de transformação intercultural, onde o intercultural seja assumido como perspectiva e método e não apenas como tema.Abstract: The Christian message has been proclaimed through an intercultural dialog that, historically, was characterized by a strong polarization between faith and culture. Vatican II deconstructed this polarization, by proposing to us the transparency of culture with regard to faith. The Latin American Liberation Theology made explicit the internal contradictions of modern culture, inviting us to relate faith and cultures from the “other side” of History and from the “world of the poor.” In our days, theologies feel challenged to undergo a process of intercultural transformation, where the intercultural is assumed as a perspective and method and not just as a topic.Keywords: Faith; Reason; Culture; History; Interculturality.

scholarly journals NUEVOS DESAFÍOS DE LA TEOLOGÍA DE LA LIBERACIÓN

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Victor Codina
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Scientific Production ◽  
World Today ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
Current Context ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Church ◽  
Changing World

Resumen: La Teología de la Liberación (TdL) que siempre ha reflexionado desde la fe a partir de la realidad de los pobres, no puede quedar insensible ante el mundo cambiante de hoy. Damos aquí por supuesto todo lo elaborado en torno a la TdL, por ejemplo en Mysterium liberationis (ELLACURÍA; SOBRINO, 1990, v. I-II) y en Y el mar se abrió (SUSIN, 2001), y quisiéramos seguir avanzando en la comprensión de los actuales desafíos de la TdL. Por ello comenzaremos por mostrar los fundamentos de la TdL como base de su identidad que se ha mantenido constante a través de los años. A pesar de las diversas corrientes y de la evolución a través de los años, se respira en todos los teólogos y teólogas de la TdL un innegable aire de familia. Pero, al mismo tiempo queremos mostrar la evolución y variaciones de esta TdL a lo largo de estos años, como se pueden constatar, de modo paradigmático, a través de los diversos congresos o encuentros celebrados sobre TdL. Con todo, lo más importante es mirar al futuro y detectar cuáles son los mayores y nuevos desafíos de la TdL en el contexto actual de la sociedad y de la Iglesia. Esto lo sintetizaremos en un decálogo teológico.Abstract: Liberation Theology (TdL) which has always reflected faith from the reality of the poor, must not remain insensitive to the changing world today. Taking into account all the scientific production about TdL, for example Mysterium liberationis (ELLACURÍA; SOBRINO, 1990, v. I-II) and El mar se abrió (SUSIN, 2001), we will move forward to understand its current challenges. Initially, we will present the fundamentals of TdL in view of its identity preserved over the years. Despite its diferent trends and evolution over the years, there is an undeniable family feeling among all theologians of TdL. But at the same time we want to show the evolution and variations of TdL over the years, as you can observe, paradigmatically, through the various conferences and meetings dedicated this theology. However, it is of utmost importance to look ahead and identify what are the new challenges of TdL in the current context of society and the Church. This will be synthesized in a Theological Decalogue.

Liberation Theology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario I. Aguilar
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Catholic Priest ◽  
Ernesto Cardenal ◽  
Peasant Communities ◽  
Experience Of God ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Impact

This chapter identifies theologies of sacraments in the context of liberation theology, rooted primarily in work among poor Christians in 1960s Latin America. In doing so it addresses the “first step” (“the experience of God through the poor and the marginalized”) and the “second step” (“the historical and theological developments that led to the beginnings of liberation theology as a reflection on Christian experience”). The seminal work in liberation theology developed by Gustavo Gutiérrez and Juan Luis Segundo is described, as is the impact of the 1968 Latin American Bishops Conference in Medellin. In addition, the work of Ernesto Cardenal, a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, and politician, in viewing the Eucharist in connection to the prophetic work of Jesus Christ among the poor is examined—specifically in the context of celebrating Eucharist in the Nicaraguan peasant communities of the archipelago of Solentiname.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document