A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation (15th Anniversary Edition with New Introduction by Author) Paperback – January 1, 1988

I read this for my Liberation Theology class in the 80’s and it’s just as germane today. I enjoy the authors writing style and his emphasis on the importance of the Church’s role in Social justice. A thing disappearing by the day in our society.

What a well documented thesis, this bill will lead a western reader to a wealth of resources and authors not typically cited by our visionaries. Cars the activities of the western church during the 60's and beyond in a totally new light. Must read for anyone interested in getting to root of institutionalized oppression.

Even if one is not an adherent of Liberation Theology, this work is vital to understanding how honest religion and social justice are inseparable. Truly, what could be more sinful than the hoarding of wealth in the face of human suffering? However, this book is rather academic in nature and, while appealing to those with a passion for sociology and philosophy, may be a bit overwhelming for people seeking a less technical introduction to liberation theology. Nevertheless, I found it a very rewarding read and have highlighted many quotations from the book. I do disagree that it is the task of religion to develop the social structure to accomplish justice in the world. Rather, I believe the task for religion, insomuch as it relates to social justice, is to magnify the morality of life in the human heart, thereby effectuating social justice in the world via the enhanced morality of humanity. The mission of Christ was not to establish government, but rather to establish the WORD in the hearts of men. Humanity cannot seem to grasp the fact that social justice will not be rendered into the world by the means of any specific system of government. Social justice will come into the world only when it is solidified in the hearts of men, to the extent that it becomes the popular culture, and to the extent that it becomes the thing that is most elevated in humanity.

It is a theological classic, but I had never read it before. I found it to be completely fascinating. Even if you don’t like the idea of liberation theology, reading this text can help you at least see where it is coming from.

A Theology of Liberation is a recognized classic in its field, which, one can even say, the author, Peruvian Dominican monk, Gustavo Gutierrez, literally invented the field since he coined the term "Liberation Theology" in a 1969 paper on the subject, shortly after the 1968 Medellin conference of Bishops, at which he was a consultant. The book may be one of the first full explorations of what is now called "contextual theologies", presentations of Christian theology "from the underside", from the point of view of the severely, chronically disadvantaged peoples of the world. The long and the short of this book is that the importance of Gutierrez message deserves its weighty title, but Gutierrez weakens his case by slighting contemporary and historical theology and ignoring some central "theological" issues. But the book has reached the status of "classic" and for that reason deserves to be read today. What may surprise some people is the fact that Gutierrez is not presenting a radical point of view. The book follows hard on a decade of dramatic moves by the Catholic Church, beginning with Pope John XXIII's 1963 encyclical, Pacem in Terris, the first addressed to the whole world, rather than to the Catholic faithful. The eventful half decade ended with the close of the Vatican Council II, under Pope Paul VI and his 1968 encyclical, Populorum Progressio, which stated that the economy of the world should serve everyone, not a privileged few. Thus, Gutierrez is firmly within the heart of Catholic teachings, when he speaks for the disadvantaged of the almost entirely Catholic continent of South America. The sense of "contextual theology" is that doctrines grow out of the circumstances and practice (praxis) of a particular part of the world. The first thing is to have an accurate assessment of those circumstances. In reading this book, I was surprised to find that the poverty of `third world countries' is locked into the nature of global economics. It is simply not possible for underdeveloped nations to `catch up' with developed nations because of the economics of exchange in raw (basic) ingredients for manufactured goods. This argument has the same structure that many `have not' situations. It is simply not enough to give a person the opportunity to excel. If they begin in a hole compared to middle class contemporaries, they will simply never catch up. Gutierrez shows that conventional charity will simply not do the job. If we `give stuff', it will not magically lift these economies up by their bootstraps. We must establish`solidarity' with them based on Christian love. It is an attitude of `we are all in this together'. The notion of `solidarity' brings up the remarkably close association Gutierrez' though has to Marxist analysis of economies. But he arrives at a Marxian point of view without following Marx' path (and his later writings downplay any Marxist leanings.) This brings up the danger that Gutierrez' thinking is changing the church into a political party. The author goes a fair distance in attempting to show that his theology is `general', arising out of, but not limited to, the experience of the wretched poor of South America, and his Catholic context supports him in that sentiment, even if some of his theological positions may seem strange when compared to the likes of Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, or even Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI). There is a very Old Testament air about the theology, citing the freeing of the Hebrews from Egypt as the first great liberation and salvific action. There is also much said about the role of prophesy. Even though St. Paul cites prophesy as a Christian function, little was made of the notion compared to the great prophets of the Old Testament. What is unfortunate is that both Gutierrez' use of the Old Testament and his thumbnail sketch of the history of Catholic theology seems slanted and self-serving. The book may have been much better if he had left these discussions out. The book would also have done a much better job of being a theology for all of us if he had mentioned a few minor details such as the crucifixion and the resurrection. `Christ' hardly shows up at all (although it is not surprising to find Luke as the most often quoted Gospel, as Luke has the greatest concern for the poor. The one great category of Christian theology which Gutierrez does address is eschatology, history, last things. But he does it in one of the most surprisingly odd ways, by invoking Sir Thomas More's notion of Utopia. On the face of it, this seems odd, because More wrote his book as a satire, and `Utopia' is based on the Greek words for `no where'. Gutierrez admits all this and plunges ahead, using the notion of a well ordered society, like the one in Utopia, is a proper ideal for our destination, at the end of time. I have yet to read Augustine's "City of God", but I have a strong suspicion that Gutierrez' Utopia is a far, far cry from the conception of the ancient church's greatest theologian.My seminary colleagues get oh so tired of hearing me say this, but I believe it is a legitimate question to ask whether what Gutierrez and the other "context theologians" are doing is really theology. I am quite happy calling it "contextual hermeneutics" or "preaching to the context". But I can sense that this is not enough. Since Gutierrez is addressing a problem with origins on a world-wide stage, a sermon on conditions in Peru hardly seems like enough. He needs to get our attention. On that basis, Gutierrez' agenda and `label' has some merit. The problem is that if one takes on the mantle of theology, you must expect to be judged by the standards of theology. And on that count, Gutierrez falls short, while going about preaching a very, very important message to the world.It is worth noting that Gutierrez' message, ironically, does seem to have been picked up by academic theology especially by the (Protestant) theologians of hope such as Wolfhart Pannenberg and Jürgen Moltmann.

Love this book, it provides with a good understanding of what the Theology of Liberation is. The theology that affirms that God is always with the poor and the ones in need. Scandalous theology that affirms that the church has to side with the poor as God does and that approves the use of all means to protect the poor from oppression.

"A Theology of Liberation" by Gustavo Gutierrez. Now I know what its about. I stayed away from Gustavo Gutierrez because of the picture of John Paul II shaking his finger at him. How many times have you ever seen that? Think about it. The pope gets off the airplane and the first thing he does is scold the man--the FIRST thing. I bet Gutierrez was shocked. He probably was expecting a pat on the back from a comrade who understood oppression.Anyway, time marches on. We have a new pope who sympathizes with the Theology of Liberation. That's what I read. I understand it now. Take out the Marxism and its Catholic social justice. What's the big whoop?

Un des plus important livre de notre temps !

Gutierrez believed that one act of love was worth a dozen books of theology. What this book does is to locate the teachings of the gospel in the context of the modern world and the struggle of the oppressed for liberation. It expounds an evangelisation of the deed.People have been horrified to see the Church ostensibly siding with the rich against the poor. Calling the police to evict anti-capitalist protesters from St Paul's in London is an act which will live in infamy because of the message that it sent to the bankers "we are on your side" and to the poor "we are not on yours."At the same time, thousands have taken the message of the gospel as Gutierrez intended. Some, like Oscar Romero, have paid with their lives for siding with the poor and for refusing to be silenced. These are not people who necessarily endorse every dot and comma of "A theology of liberation" but they have had the courage to make the acts of love which are so much more important.The reason they have had to take on this role lies in the failure of the political system. Politicians are too busy lining their own pockets in most cases to take a leading role in the liberation of the oppressed. Gutierrez had the courage to point out that trying to reform capitalism would only lead to disappointment further down the line. In fact the reformist parties have dropped the whole idea of reforming capitalism in favour of a program of war, privatisation and acting as the best servants of the corporations.This is not a book to just read and put back on the shelf. It is a call to action. Socialist ReviewsSocialist Reviews

The quality was better than good as advertised.

This was bought for a student, I'm sure it will help a lot

An excellent introduction to liberation theology which explains even esoteric points of Catholic doctrine clearly and without obfuscation. Excellent book!