A Theology of Liberation

This is in response to what Jeremiah posted below. The question I seek to pose is how does God liberate?

I intentionally leave the question open ended. I think foundational to any Christian god-talk is acknowledging that God does liberate but how does relate to our own experiences, authorities, hopes, behaviours and general way of living in the world as individuals, communities, the church and larger political societies? I think it does but I think we really need to examine this.

Jacques Ellul writes about these issues in The Ethics of Freedom, a brilliant book that I encourage everyone to read. In it he examines alienation and shows how alienation pervades all aspects of the human experience. Christ came to end alienation and only in Christ is alienation is ending. At the time I read it I found the book interesting because I felt it successfully contextualized the gospel in the terms of contemporary socialist and academic discourse while remaining true to what I consider the quintessential Christian message "Jesus saves".

Looking back on it I feel Ellul and I differ in one main area: Technological determinism. Although I find his analysis on "the technological society" in his book fascinating, insightful and useful. What I feel is though he is correct about the dangers and workings of a technological society I feel that the Christian faith can still flourish, if the technology is used right. I differ from Ellul primarily because of Michel de Certeau's "The practice of everyday life". His argument concerning the role of the user as being distinct and not determined by the producer has influenced the way I understand technology contra Ellul. Again I feel Ellul's insights are penetrating and important but incomplete.

Thus I see the danger not in technology but it's use: thus a Consumerist Liberation Theology.

But before I can even muse on such a topic I really have to ask: how does God liberate? I believe that he does. I see this in physical healings, in conversions, in the breaking of addictions, in the stories of the scripture and even Creation itself. I believe further this liberation comes especially through the person of Jesus of Nazareth who is both God-with-us and resurrected.

The problem with some liberation theologies as I see it is their engagement with the Exodus narrative as a paradigm of liberation. Although I agree it can be I see a lack of canonical thinking when Christ has nothing to say about the situation and the church is eroded into an arbitrary institution which by sheer luck bares the message of God in the scriptures. Thus I criticize the past liberation theologies for what seems to be inadequate christological and ecclesiological thinking (I criticize here the more colloqial and non-academic liberation theologies not the kind of Boff and Guietterez) despite what can often be good praxis.

Most evangelicals seem to criticize Liberation theologies reliance on the social situation to help interpret scripture. I think this an unfair accusation. I believe that it is very important to read scripture mindful of social situation. I think a lot of the major issues the Church is dealing with today is doing this kind of reading inadequately: from the GOP-Evangelical synthesis in the United States to the odd prosperity gospel churches of some regions in Africa. I will try to expand this thought in a future blog post.

Then the reason I propose such a Theology of consumer liberation is because I believe it is absolutely essential to the orthodoxy,orthopraxy and orthopathy of the church. That is to say that our gospel is the full gospel, our discipleship is authentic and that we have the ability to hope for God's coming reign and mourn the powers of darkness still at work in the world.