Liberation Theology And Marx Flashcards
Marx on a capitalist society causes the
Proletariat to become dehumanised in order for the bourgeoisie to make profit
Marx on workers
Endure soulless conditions doing mindless jobs as part of a production line, alienated from creativity
Acceptance of the status quo because
Religion
How does religion lead to acceptance
False consciousness, they believe society is ordered by God, only God can bring change
Poverty is a test, rewarded in afterlife
Marx wanted revolution
The proletariat to overthrow the bourgeoisie, to take over production for themselves
Praxis
It’s necessary to understand a situation in order to bring about change
Gustavo Gutierrez on marxism
Instrument to bring about sorts of changes that Jesus talked about
Gutierrez we are all guilty of
Personal sin
Structural sin
Society is built on inequality and people are alienated
Liberation theology uses the
Hermeneutic of suspicion
Hermeneutics
Process of interpreting the Bible
In this case challenging traditional interpretations
Liberation theology are inspired by
Luke’s Gospel
Luke’s gospel
Main theme is social revolution
Kingdom of God is not some heavenly future but something that can exists in the here and now
Parable of the sheep and the goats
Whatever you do for the least of my brothers you do for me
Parable implies
A preferential option for the poor
Liberation theology argues for orthopraxis
It’s not enough to just believe that injustice is a sin (orthodoxy) but that belief should lead to change (praxis)
What order should things go
Feed the hungry
Teach beliefs or insist they follow the church
Gutierrez liberation in 2 stages
Fixing the problem of structural sun
Liberating from personal sin
Cannot embrace Marx’s teachings in the church
Embracing some leads to embracing all encouraging unorthodox beliefs in the church
If Marx is correct the church
The church should be open to criticism, Jesus criticised priests as ‘blind guides’ and hypocrites
The absolute truth is accessible to non believers if Marx is right
Reason over Bible or church tradition
Church should remain distinctive rather than trying to assimilate the ideas of non believers
Natural theology on reason
Reason is God given, moral compass part of human nature
Gutierrez on Marxism
Useful tool to bring about Christs teachings
Problems with accepting Marxism and example
German evangelical church embraced nazism
Split response in the church, better to be distinctive and base all Christian teachings on the word of God alone
Christianity, dealing with social issues at a local level
Parable of the sheep and the goats - food banks
Street pastors and the Salvation Army
The concern for individuals is missing from
Marx
Liberation theology advocating for violence
‘If Jesus were alive today he would be a guerillo’
Camilo Torres Restrepo
Christian May follow St Paul’s advice
‘Submit to governing authorities’
Revolutions tend to be bloody and decisive, outcome rarely what’s intended
Christianity on what secular ideologies miss out
Spirituality can provide courage, strength and higher Power, this may assist the poor and trying to help them
Marxism disputing critics of secular ideology
Comfort and spirituality, reinforce ‘false consciousness’
Administering a sticky plaster after the event rather than questioning how the poor were wounded in the firms place
MLK
Adopted meet hate with love and turn the other cheek
Effective social change
Engagement with Marxism is bad because
Unorthodox ideas may enter the church
Marxism focuses on the wrong thing
Central message of Christianity, Jesus death and salvation is being lost
Too much emphasis on change instead focus on God
Christianity is not effective enough
Gentle approach taken has barely touched surface level on the amount of poverty in the world etc.
Using Marx’s atheism to ignore his ideas
Due them being scared of violence
Material poverty> spiritual poverty
Parable of the sheep and the goats
Whatever you do for the least of my brothers you do for me
