Liberation Theology and Its Critics

Liberation Theology and Its Critics PDF Author: Arthur F. McGovern
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1606088939
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
From its beginnings, liberation theology has provoked a wide and diverse range of responses from a multitude of critics-theological, methodological, political, ecclesiastical. Liberation Theology and Its Critics is a comprehensive and systematic explication of these diverse criticisms, as well as a reasoned and rigorous defense of liberation theology. McGovern states his aim thus: to understand better the world of Latin America and the culture and conditions which prompt a liberation theology, while at the same time giving expression to some of the misgivings that many US Americans experience when reading about liberation theology. Liberation Theology and Its Critics begins by discussing the place of theology itself in liberation theology. The book offers an historical overview, shows us what liberation theologians see as most distinctive in their work, addresses the biblical interpretations and major areas of theology stressed by liberation theologians, and discusses other theologians' critiques. Next, McGovern explicates the use of social and political analysis in liberation theology, which has been one of the areas of particular controversy. He focuses on such issues as dependency theory, Marxism, class struggle, socialism, and the Nicaraguan revolution, addressing throughout the concerns raised by a range of critics, from the Vatican to Michael Novak. Finally, McGovern explores the role of the church and how liberation theology is lived out in practice. He examines base communities, ecclesiology, current political trends in Latin America, the varying status of liberation theology as well as its most recent developments. McGovern demonstrates that liberation theology encompasses a wide spectrum of theologians with different styles and emphases. It requires careful study, non-polemical debate, and an honest effort to present the views of both liberation theologians and their critics fairly. McGovern's book will be the benchmark against which subsequent work is measured.

Liberation Theology and Its Critics

Liberation Theology and Its Critics PDF Author: Arthur F. McGovern
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1606088939
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Get Book Here

Book Description
From its beginnings, liberation theology has provoked a wide and diverse range of responses from a multitude of critics-theological, methodological, political, ecclesiastical. Liberation Theology and Its Critics is a comprehensive and systematic explication of these diverse criticisms, as well as a reasoned and rigorous defense of liberation theology. McGovern states his aim thus: to understand better the world of Latin America and the culture and conditions which prompt a liberation theology, while at the same time giving expression to some of the misgivings that many US Americans experience when reading about liberation theology. Liberation Theology and Its Critics begins by discussing the place of theology itself in liberation theology. The book offers an historical overview, shows us what liberation theologians see as most distinctive in their work, addresses the biblical interpretations and major areas of theology stressed by liberation theologians, and discusses other theologians' critiques. Next, McGovern explicates the use of social and political analysis in liberation theology, which has been one of the areas of particular controversy. He focuses on such issues as dependency theory, Marxism, class struggle, socialism, and the Nicaraguan revolution, addressing throughout the concerns raised by a range of critics, from the Vatican to Michael Novak. Finally, McGovern explores the role of the church and how liberation theology is lived out in practice. He examines base communities, ecclesiology, current political trends in Latin America, the varying status of liberation theology as well as its most recent developments. McGovern demonstrates that liberation theology encompasses a wide spectrum of theologians with different styles and emphases. It requires careful study, non-polemical debate, and an honest effort to present the views of both liberation theologians and their critics fairly. McGovern's book will be the benchmark against which subsequent work is measured.

An Introduction to Liberation Theology

An Introduction to Liberation Theology PDF Author: J. David Turner
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 9780819191373
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
An introduction to how liberation theologists have fought for democratic socialism; demanded radical economic structural change; attempted to raise the consciousness of the poor; and challenged traditional roles within the Catholic Church with the goal of giving the laity a stronger voice.

The Future of Liberation Theology

The Future of Liberation Theology PDF Author: Ivan Petrella
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351889125
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The Future of Liberation Theology envisions a radical new direction for Latin American liberation theology. One of a new generation of Latin American theologians, Ivan Petrella shows that despite the current dominance of 'end of history' ideology, liberation theologians need not abandon their belief that the theological rereading of Christianity must be linked to the development of 'historical projects' - models of political and economic organization that would replace an unjust status quo. In the absence of historical projects, liberation theology currently finds itself unable to move beyond merely talking about liberation toward actually enacting it in society. Providing a bold new interpretation of the current state and potential future of liberation theology, Ivan Petrella brings together original research on the movement, with developments in political theory, critical legal theory and political economy to reconstruct liberation theology's understanding of theology, democracy and capitalism. The result is the recovery of historical projects, thus allowing liberation theologians to once again place the reality of liberation, and not just the promise, at the forefront of their task.

A Theology of Liberation

A Theology of Liberation PDF Author: Gustavo GutiŽerrez
Publisher: Orbis Books
ISBN: 0883445425
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 495

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Book Description
This is the credo and seminal text of the movement which was later characterized as liberation theology. The book burst upon the scene in the early seventies, and was swiftly acknowledged as a pioneering and prophetic approach to theology which famously made an option for the poor, placing the exploited, the alienated, and the economically wretched at the centre of a programme where "the oppressed and maimed and blind and lame" were prioritized at the expense of those who either maintained the status quo or who abused the structures of power for their own ends. This powerful, compassionate and radical book attracted criticism for daring to mix politics and religion in so explicit a manner, but was also welcomed by those who had the capacity to see that its agenda was nothing more nor less than to give "good news to the poor", and redeem God's people from bondage.

Liberation Theology

Liberation Theology PDF Author: Phillip Berryman
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 0307831604
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Liberation theology has become an essential component of almost every major debate over Latin America today. It has changed the face of political life in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti; contributed to the rise of “people power” in the Philippines; even played a role in the growing discontent of debt-plagued Brazil. Now, using the plainspoken approach that made his Inside Central America the indispensable book on current affairs in the region, Phillip Berryman traces the origins, spread, and impact of liberation theology. He shows how its proponents have radically reinterpreted basic Biblical themes (such as the Creation and the Exodus) from the perspective of the poor and isenfranchised. By not asking “What must I believe?” but rather “What is to be done?” they make a direct connection between religious beliefs and political life.

Gustavo Gutierrez

Gustavo Gutierrez PDF Author: Robert McAfee Brown
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1620329026
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Here is a definitive introduction to liberation theology through the life and work of its most significant proponent, Gustavo Gutierrez. Robert McAfee Brown draws extensively on Gutierrez's own writings (some never published in English) and on personal conversations with him. Brown clearly and compellingly presents the basics of liberation theology and the differences between North American and Latin American theologies. The form of Gustavo Gutierrez is that of a drama. Brown's initial "program notes" introduce and situate the "author," the "actors," the "critics." He sets the stage with a history of church and state in Latin America and introduces its definitive figures, themes, and milestones. A collective biography of Gutierrez's spiritual predecessors is followed by a biography of Gutierrez himself, which takes critical account of his works. Then we are ready, dramatically and theologically, to move to the first act: that of commitment to the poor. The second act, in two scenes, explores first liberation theology's method of critical reflection on praxis and also its content: nothing less than the Word of God. Brown delves next into the controversies and criticisms Gutierrez faces, especially the challenges from authorities in Rome. Finally, in act three, readers discover that in this particular drama, they too are "on stage" and must take part by reflecting on what this drama really means for them.

God of the Oppressed

God of the Oppressed PDF Author: James H. Cone
Publisher: Orbis Books
ISBN: 1608330389
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description


Liberation Theology after the End of History

Liberation Theology after the End of History PDF Author: Daniel Bell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134545827
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
Daniel Bell assesses the impact of Christian resistance to capitalism in Latin America, and the implications of theological debates that have emerged from this. He uses postmodern critical theory to investigate capitalism, its effect upon human desire and the Church's response to it, in a thorough account of the rise, failure and future prospects of Latin American liberation theology.

Representations of Homosexuality

Representations of Homosexuality PDF Author: R. Sneed
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230106560
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Roger A. Sneed offers an alternative approach to black homosexuality for black religious scholars who have traditionally viewed homosexuality as a problem. Instead, by drawing on a range of black gay writers, Representations of Homosexuality points black religious scholarship towards an ethics of openness.

Catholic Social Thought and Liberal Institutions

Catholic Social Thought and Liberal Institutions PDF Author: Michael Novak
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351529838
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
Increasingly, the religious leaders of the world are addressing problems of political economy, expressing concern about the poor. But will their efforts actually help the poor? Or harm them? Much depends, Michael Novak asserts, upon what kind of institutions are constructed, that is, upon realism and practicality. His thesis may be simply stated: Although the Catholic Church during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries set itself against liberalism as an ideology, it has slowly come to admire liberal institutions such as democracy and free markets. Between the Catholic vision of social justice and liberal institutions, Novak argues, there is a profound consonance (but not identity). Both celebrate realism, respect for institutions, and prudence or practical wisdom. The Catholic tradition adds to liberal individualism a strong communitarian sense. This book was first published in 1984 as Freedom with Justice. This new edition adds both a lengthy introduction carrying forward the original argument and a long concluding chapter on Pope John Paul IPs controversial new encyclical of early 1988, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis.