Book - A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutierrez

Introduction

This is an evergreen high-impact book for Christians particularly Catholics. The author is Gustavo Gutierrez; a humble, indigenous and erudite Catholic priest who once lived in the slums of Lima, Peru. For the peoples of South America, Africa and Asia the book represents an innovation in theological reflection founded on interpreting the Christ in connection to contextual historical reality of daily ordinary lived experience. The book disrupted the dominance of Euro-centric academic, intellectual, universalist and institution-building view of theology. Sample features of the book are noted in the summary below.

Summary

The book’s subject or rather liberation theology is neither new nor an outlier in Christian salvation history, reflection, context, doctrine. From the biblical perspective, St Luke's Gospel precisely qualify as the gospel of Liberation. Jesus is the Liberator! Nothing is excluded from Jesus' Liberation prerogative. St Luke presents Jesus as an ordinary lay person who is filled with the Holy Spirit and compassionately embraced outcasts, the excluded, the marginalised and the oppressed. These are mostly the poor, women and children. Jesus' actions were revolutionary rather than reformist. 

Gutierrez focused on age-long grievances and antagonisms from unequal relationship between the powerful rich few and the poor majority from South American perspective. The grievances include economic exclusion, dehumanisation, poverty, oppression, injustice, discrimination, violence of all shades etc. His reflections add value to Church doctrines by reinforcing Vatican 2 promulgations and the 1968 Medellin, Colombia declarations of the Latin American bishops. The decisions undergirding the reflections are revolutionary because they gave voice to the voiceless, the oppressed majority peoples below.

The book testifies God's preferential option for the poor not because the poor are holier but that Divine justice demands their immediate (full) restoration to human dignity in a just society. The Church must stand with the poor, for the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed. Church leaders must protest, contest and resist regression, degeneration, oppression, violence and death everywhere armed with the Faith. Yes with the Holy Spirit!

The book is a Christian theological reflection and not an apology for marxism/communism. Oppression predated communism and outlived it with its formidable contemporary global penetration even in the so-called advanced economies. These are reflections on intergenerational injustice and oppression connected to the sign of the times in light of the Christ and the scripture. He argued for an innovative interpretation of scripture within context, creativity in Church services delivery, inclusive decision-making, grounding of Church mission in historical reality, critique of Church/state leadership, deleting regressive Church practices, amplified Church role in denouncing and dismantling social structures of sin.

Social structures of sin include colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, capitalism, communism, uneven/unequal economy, uneven/unequal power/economic relations, human right abuse,  institutional violence, injustice, corruption etc. They are social because of their dependence on systems of human interactions, connections and relationships. Gutierrez offered formidable critiques of national security states, capitalism, communism and abuse of private property rights. Sin is the source of self-alienation, disunity, injustice and oppression. Uneven and unequal power/economic relations fuelling oppression and dehumanisation is rejected by the vulnerable as much as they refuse to replicate the imposed (foreign) systems that thrive on their victimhood. He offered a non-violent, faith-based and Christological integration of reflection and action locked in authentic praxis anchored on imitation of the Christ. He offered socialism/social revolution as a pathway to building a just society.

Gutierrez repeated the Church’s position that this world i.e. created order is the place for realising human dignity, eschatological hope, renewal and restoration of humankind. Creation and salvation are inseparable as they are unfinished. Injustice, exclusion, oppression, violence and death are against God's will and should be protested, contested and resisted non-violently rather than be erroneously accepted with resignation. He critiqued elitism of the clergy, proximity of Church leaders with the powerful rich minority, and challenged Church practices that reinforce alienation, marginalisation, discrimination and oppression within and beyond the Church.

An important insight in the book is the place of theological reflection as the second level after ordinary lived experience in historical reality. Theology is not about abstraction. Authentic spirituality of lived experience provide the raw materials for reflection by a Christian theologian partaking and participating in the same reality. Therefore this is a theology of hope of the suffering and the oppressed articulated and systematised by a fellow traveller who is also a theologian. Liberation theology deepens and reinforces prayer, devotions, sacrifice and liturgy. Gutierrez argued that the fullness of transformation of believers and the society are precisely in the sacraments, in the Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Moreso he stressed the need for genuine solidarity of hope by the oppressed, increased participation of lay faithful in Church decisions, services and leadership. He crystallised the notion that while the priest is indispensable in the life of the Church, the lay faithful is inevitable in its mission. There's no place for isolated, internalised and privatised Christianity. Public Christian response through non-violent protest, contest and resistance is integral to true Politics since human beings are inherently political.

For Gutierrez, to suggest that authentic Christian spiritual life in the Church is separate from Politics is erroneous and abhorrent. Every human act in the community is political rather than the narrow struggles for power. He argued for qualitative evangelisation through praxis in full awareness of the risks, stood against passivity of believers and condemned the exclusion of lay faithful by priests in the Church. Furthermore there's no place for Christianity to bless the state or Empire.

Conclusion

The book and its reflections anticipate positive outcomes of liberation theology towards the realisation of dignified human life and just society in this world while also building the kingdom of God. It is a primer for genuine and holistic renewal of Christian action against injustice and oppression. The endurance, dynamism and intensification of injustice and oppression on the global stage since 1991 revalidate the relevance of this book. It is highly recommended.

Life is beautiful!