A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Liberation Theology
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A movement that grew out of the Catholic church in Latin America in response to the crushing poverty experienced by peasants and farmers in that region. Liberation theology interprets the teachings of Jesus as advocating for the marginalized and oppressed peoples of the world and for their liberation from unjust economic and socio-political structures. It is characterized by an ethical commitment to the body of suffering poor, faith realized through action for the oppressed, the Bible read collectively, a focus on direct access to the word of God, and a commitment to self-actualization of the oppressed through their own liberation. It attempts to organize the church from the bottom-up with Biblical interpretation and liturgical elements being administered by the laity. Though the movement began out of the Catholic church in Latin America, it has since spread internationally, become an interfaith movement, and started to grow to address multiple intersecting oppressions from a faith perspective.
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A conversation with James Cone discussing the development of Black Liberation Theology.
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Cone, James, Hal. A Black Theology of Liberation. Orbis Books. January, 1992. Print.
With the publication of his two early works, Black Theology & Black Power (1969) and A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), James Cone emerged as one of the most theological voices in North America. These books, which offered a searing indictment of white theology and society, introduced a radical reappraisal of the Christian message for our time. Joining the spirit of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., Cone radically reappraised Christianity from the perspective of the oppressed black community in North America. Forty years later, Cone s work retains its original power, enhanced now by his reflections on the evolution of his own thinking and of black theology.
———.The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Orbis Books. 2011. Print.
The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life, God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era.
In a work that spans social history, theology, and cultural studies, Cone explores the message of the spirituals and the power of the blues; the passion and the engaged vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he invokes the spirits of Billie Holiday and Langston Hughes, Fannie Lou Hamer and Ida B. Wells, and the witness of black artists, writers, preachers, and fighters for justice. And he remembers the victims, especially the 5,000 who perished during the lynching period. Through their witness he contemplates the greatest challenge of any Christian theology to explain how life can be made meaningful in the face of death and injustice.
———.God of the Oppressed. Orbis Books. 1997. Print.
God of the Oppressed remains a landmark in the development of Black Theology—the first effort to present a systematic theology drawing fully on the resources of African-American religion and culture. Responding to the criticism that his previous books drew too heavily on Euro-American definitions of theology, James Cone went back to his experience of the black church in Bearden, Arkansas, the tradition of the Spirituals and black folklore, and the black history of struggle and survival, to construct a new approach to the gospel. In his reflections on God, Jesus, suffering, and liberation, Cone relates the gospel message to the experience of the black community. But a wider theme of the book is the role that social and historical context plays in framing the questions we address to God, as well as the mode of the answers provided. Revised, including a new introduction by Cone, God of the Oppressed remains invaluable for scholars, students, clergy, and everyone concerned with vital, contemporary God-Talk.
Gutierrez, Gustavo. A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation. Orbis Books. Revised Edition, 1988. Print.
This is the credo and seminal text of the movement which was later characterized as liberation theology. The book burst upon the scene in the early seventies, and was swiftly acknowledged as a pioneering and prophetic approach to theology which famously made an option for the poor, placing the exploited, the alienated, and the economically wretched at the centre of a programme where "the oppressed and maimed and blind and lame" were prioritized at the expense of those who either maintained the status quo or who abused the structures of power for their own ends. This powerful, compassionate and radical book attracted criticism for daring to mix politics and religion in so explicit a manner, but was also welcomed by those who had the capacity to see that its agenda was nothing more nor less than to give "good news to the poor", and redeem God's people from bondage.
Romero, Oscar. The Violence of Love. The Plough Publishing House, 1988. Print.
This is one of several collections of sermon excerpts and translated writings of Oscar Romero, the Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador during a time of conflict between an oppressive government and revolutionary uprisings that led to civil war. In 1980 Romero was assassinated in the middle of a Mass, by either the government or revolutionaries (it isn't known), because he made enemies speaking out against violence on both sides, advocating for the poor and opposing militarism and torture. His writing is inflammatory against oppressive powers, and influenced somewhat by liberation theology. His funeral was also attacked and 30+ people were killed at it.
Sobrino, Jon. No Salvation Outside the Poor: Prophetic-Utopian Essays. Orbis Books. 2007. Print.
The provocative title of these essays plays on a traditional Catholic saying, "No salvation outside the church." But as Fr. Sobrino notes, salvation has many dimensions, both personal and social, historical and transcendent. Insofar as salvation implies God's response to a world marred by suffering and injustice, then the poor represent an indispensable test, a key to the healing of a sick society. Central to Sobrino's understanding of the gospel is the idea of "crucified peoples": those who are routinely dehumanized by violent and oppressive systems throughout history. The gospel stories which culminate in the crucifixion and ultimately the resurrection of Jesus represent solidarity with and redemption of a crucified or dehumanized people.
Drawing on the radical hope of Christian faith—the promise of the Kingdom of God and the resurrection—Jon Sobrino presents a bold counter-cultural challenge to a "civilization of wealth" that lives off the blood of the poor. Inspired by the witness of Oscar Romero and Ignacio Ellacuría, and the church's preferential option for the poor, Sobrino offers these "prophetic-utopian" reflections on faith and the meaning of discipleship in our time.
With the publication of his two early works, Black Theology & Black Power (1969) and A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), James Cone emerged as one of the most theological voices in North America. These books, which offered a searing indictment of white theology and society, introduced a radical reappraisal of the Christian message for our time. Joining the spirit of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., Cone radically reappraised Christianity from the perspective of the oppressed black community in North America. Forty years later, Cone s work retains its original power, enhanced now by his reflections on the evolution of his own thinking and of black theology.
———.The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Orbis Books. 2011. Print.
The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life, God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era.
In a work that spans social history, theology, and cultural studies, Cone explores the message of the spirituals and the power of the blues; the passion and the engaged vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he invokes the spirits of Billie Holiday and Langston Hughes, Fannie Lou Hamer and Ida B. Wells, and the witness of black artists, writers, preachers, and fighters for justice. And he remembers the victims, especially the 5,000 who perished during the lynching period. Through their witness he contemplates the greatest challenge of any Christian theology to explain how life can be made meaningful in the face of death and injustice.
———.God of the Oppressed. Orbis Books. 1997. Print.
God of the Oppressed remains a landmark in the development of Black Theology—the first effort to present a systematic theology drawing fully on the resources of African-American religion and culture. Responding to the criticism that his previous books drew too heavily on Euro-American definitions of theology, James Cone went back to his experience of the black church in Bearden, Arkansas, the tradition of the Spirituals and black folklore, and the black history of struggle and survival, to construct a new approach to the gospel. In his reflections on God, Jesus, suffering, and liberation, Cone relates the gospel message to the experience of the black community. But a wider theme of the book is the role that social and historical context plays in framing the questions we address to God, as well as the mode of the answers provided. Revised, including a new introduction by Cone, God of the Oppressed remains invaluable for scholars, students, clergy, and everyone concerned with vital, contemporary God-Talk.
Gutierrez, Gustavo. A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation. Orbis Books. Revised Edition, 1988. Print.
This is the credo and seminal text of the movement which was later characterized as liberation theology. The book burst upon the scene in the early seventies, and was swiftly acknowledged as a pioneering and prophetic approach to theology which famously made an option for the poor, placing the exploited, the alienated, and the economically wretched at the centre of a programme where "the oppressed and maimed and blind and lame" were prioritized at the expense of those who either maintained the status quo or who abused the structures of power for their own ends. This powerful, compassionate and radical book attracted criticism for daring to mix politics and religion in so explicit a manner, but was also welcomed by those who had the capacity to see that its agenda was nothing more nor less than to give "good news to the poor", and redeem God's people from bondage.
Romero, Oscar. The Violence of Love. The Plough Publishing House, 1988. Print.
This is one of several collections of sermon excerpts and translated writings of Oscar Romero, the Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador during a time of conflict between an oppressive government and revolutionary uprisings that led to civil war. In 1980 Romero was assassinated in the middle of a Mass, by either the government or revolutionaries (it isn't known), because he made enemies speaking out against violence on both sides, advocating for the poor and opposing militarism and torture. His writing is inflammatory against oppressive powers, and influenced somewhat by liberation theology. His funeral was also attacked and 30+ people were killed at it.
Sobrino, Jon. No Salvation Outside the Poor: Prophetic-Utopian Essays. Orbis Books. 2007. Print.
The provocative title of these essays plays on a traditional Catholic saying, "No salvation outside the church." But as Fr. Sobrino notes, salvation has many dimensions, both personal and social, historical and transcendent. Insofar as salvation implies God's response to a world marred by suffering and injustice, then the poor represent an indispensable test, a key to the healing of a sick society. Central to Sobrino's understanding of the gospel is the idea of "crucified peoples": those who are routinely dehumanized by violent and oppressive systems throughout history. The gospel stories which culminate in the crucifixion and ultimately the resurrection of Jesus represent solidarity with and redemption of a crucified or dehumanized people.
Drawing on the radical hope of Christian faith—the promise of the Kingdom of God and the resurrection—Jon Sobrino presents a bold counter-cultural challenge to a "civilization of wealth" that lives off the blood of the poor. Inspired by the witness of Oscar Romero and Ignacio Ellacuría, and the church's preferential option for the poor, Sobrino offers these "prophetic-utopian" reflections on faith and the meaning of discipleship in our time.