LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Liberation Theology
built 636 days ago
Answer: Simply put, Liberation Theology is an attempt to interpret Scripture through the plight of the poor. It is largely a humanistic doctrine. It started in South America in the turbulent 1950's when Marxism was making great gains among the poor because of its emphasis on the redistribution of wealth, allowing poor peasants to share in the wealth of the colonial elite and ... upgrade their economic status in life. As a theology, it has very strong Roman Catholic roots.
Source:
A major difficulty in definition is found in the fact that advocates of the Liberation Theology tend to identify every form of liberation as being Christ-oriented. As a result, one may ask, what necessity is there of being explicitly Christian at all, or even of being identified with the Church? As O'Connor points out: "May not the liberating work of a Che Guevara be as anticipatory (Christologically) as that of a Helder Camara? May not a Marxist or socialist ideology be as liberating . . . for man as a Nicene Creed?"2
Source:
The roots of Liberation Theology among Jews go back to the period of the French Revolution. In his book, To Eliminate the Opiate, Rabbi Marvin Antelman has traced a number of movements that became active in European Jewish communities toward the end of the 18th century.
Source:
In this context, liberation theology becomes a theology of life. Life becomes the basis for a new ethic, a new spirituality and a new theology--all of which are radically opposed to capitalism in the current world context.
Source:
The work of Gustavo Gutiérrez as the prototypical liberation theology poses a challenge to commonly accepted theological patterns of thought. This paper has attempted to demonstrate three conclusions. First, Gutiérrez’s theological method is not reducible to a simplistic inculturation of Marxist thought. Liberation theology does ... offer a challenge to the academic theology of some of its western counterparts, particularly in the emphasis of the incarnational/embodied nature of the theological task. Second, whilst Gutiérrez does pose a challenge to the accepted method of theology it is not, contrary to Gutiérrez’s claims, innovative. As shown in the comparative study with Bonhoeffer’s thought, while the context-dependent subject matter of theology may be different there are distinct similarities between Gutiérrez’s and Bonhoeffer’s theological method so that while Bonhoeffer does not use the language of praxis his use of the rubric of culture has the key role.
Source:
One would naturally think that, given the title "Liberation Theology," the meaning of the term "Liberation" would be unambiguous, or at least clearly defined. Actually, the definition is far from clear. James Thomas O'Connor notes at this point that:
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Liberation Theology