Theological Tasks and Praxis

 

Theological Tasks and Praxis

          (Thoughts from Prof. Gnanak Gerhardson)

Introduction: This presentation is an attempt towards Gustavo Gutierrez method for the formation of A Theology of Liberation which is based Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1988): i-12 and having briefly examined the Theological Tasks and Praxis. Gutierrez general approach to theology of liberation is based on the gospel and the experiences of men and women committed to the process of liberation in the oppressed and to abolish the current unjust situation and to build a different society, freer and more human.

 

1. The Purpose for ‘A Theology of Liberation’: The Theology of Liberation emerged from the subcontinent of Latin America and from Roman Catholic thinkers. This theology seeks to reflect the problems of millions of people in Latin America, namely, dependency, poverty and injustice. Its advocates aim to eradicate injustice and establish a society which is fair and just: in other words to establish the Kingdom of God.

Gutierrez gives priority to liberation in the political, socio-economical spheres of oppressed people. His understanding has been molded by the plight of these classes and the need of profound transformation, a social revolution, which will radically and qualitatively change the conditions in which they now live. Liberation theologians are shifting the balance to a more socially involved Church, and they deliberately reduce to a non-priority level and reinterpret the answers that the gospel offers to the plight of human beings.

Gustavo Gutierrez’s theology of liberation is at pains to point out that he did not pertain to ancestor schools of thought. Nonetheless, theology of liberation has its intellectual debts, some of which are traceable to currents of thought of the 1960s and 1970s. Mention of the past history of liberation thought helps to picture the color and texture of the intellectual landscape in which the theology of liberation was created. The major currents and themes of those times as they affected Latin America included the theology of revolution, the theology of development, dialogue with Marxists, the theology of hope, and political theology. Most of these themes were more European or North American in terms of major participants, interlocutors, and methodologies.

Gustavo Gutierrez presented a major statement of Latin American thought at the Chimbote conference in July 1968, immediately preceding the Medellin conference. The nucleus of his presentation was that it was not development that Latin America needed but liberation. He saw development as an idea that was promoted by non-Latin Americans, was clearly broke in Latin America, and was not the response called for after meditating on the Latin American situation in the light of sacred scripture and tradition, especially the social justice tradition of the church.

 

2. Definition

Gustavo Gutierrez defines theology as “critical reflection on historical praxis.” Doing theology requires the theologian to be immersed in his or her own intellectual and sociopolitical history. Theology is a dynamic, ongoing exercise involving contemporary insights into knowledge (epistemology), man (anthropology), and history (social analysis). Praxis means more than the application of theological truth to a given situation. He also defines Theology of Liberation as a theological reflection based on the Gospel and the experiences of men and women committed to the process of liberation in this oppressed and exploited sub-continent of Latin America.

 

3. The Classical Tasks of Theology: Theology of Liberation is a classical theology because it theologizes from the perspective of the oppressed based on the life situations. Theology is basic to a life of faith seeking to be authentic and complete and is, therefore, essential to the common consideration of this faith in the ecclesial community based on epistemology and social analysis.

3.1. Epistemology: Throughout the history, theology have emerged different functions to express the Christian faith but there are two functions are considered classical:

3.1.1. Theology as Wisdom: The function theology was closely linked essentially a meditation on the bible, geared toward spiritual life. Theology as wisdom was a spiritual function of theology based on the metaphysics which stressed the existence of a higher world and the transcendence of an Absolute from which everything came and to which everything returned (Platonic and Neoplatonic Philosophies).

3.1.2. Theology as Rational Knowledge: This function is a permanent insofar as it is a meeting between faith and reason (a) to define, present and explain truths; (b) to examine doctrine, to denounce and condemn false doctrines and to defend true ones; (c) to teach revealed truths authoritatively but not exclusively on any Philosophies.

 

4. Theology as Critical Reflection on Praxis: Theology as a critical reflection on praxis is the light of the word does not replace the other functions of the theology in Christian view.

4.1 Historical Praxis: Historical Praxis of liberation reflects in the light of the future which believed in and hoped for transformation with a view to action in present. But it does not mean doing this from an armchair rather it means sinking roots where the pulse of history is beating at this moment and illuminating history with the word of the Lord of history, who irreversibly Lord self to the present moment of humankind to carry it to its fulfillment.

Gustavo Gutierrez in his discussion of the function of the Theology of Liberation enumerates several factors which distinctively shaped the historical praxis. He outlines in particular the rediscovery of charity (love) as the centre of the Christian life; the significant evolution of Christian spirituality marked specially by Ignatius, spirituality; the contributions of modern theology in the area of Revelation, in particular its anthropological aspects; the Church becoming a theological locus where Christians participate in social movements; the rediscovery in theology of the eschatological dimension helping to see the centrality of historical praxis. But he also mentions the philosophical origin which underlines the importance of human action as the starting point of all reflection. This is due, he adds, to the influence of the Marxist thinking centred on praxis, directed to the transformation of the world. Gutierrez argues that in the confrontation between Christianity and Marxism, there is fertile ground. He says; Theological thinking is orientated towards a reflection in the sense of the transformation of this world and of the action of man in history.

4.2. Critical Reflection: Theology as critical reflection on human kind, on basic principles is to liberate people and gather humankind into ecclesia which openly confesses Christ. This is a theology which does not stop with reflecting on the world, but rather tries to be part of the process through which the world transformed as a liberating function for humankind and the Christian community, preserving them from fetishism and idolatry, as well as from destructive and scorn selfishness.  It is indispensable in critical task linked to praxis, fulfills a prophetic function insofar as it interprets historical events with the intention of revealing and proclaiming their profound meaning on basic human principles. This approach will theologizes a serious discourse, aware of itself, in full possession of its conceptual elements. Instead uses revelation and tradition as starting points, as classical theology has generally done, it must start with facts and questions derived from the world and from history.

 

Evaluation

In conclusion, the fact that any understanding of the faith has its roots in the particularity of a given situation should not cause human to neglect the contrast of what we are doing with efforts being made at the level of the universal church and different situation of lives.

a) Theology is at the service of the proclamation of the reign of love and justice.

b) Theology of Liberation is to speak of salvation in Christ in terms of liberation based on the message that is at the heart of biblical revelation and the profound of the Latin American peoples which reflects the present day contemporary world too.   

c) Theology of Liberation is open in protest against trampled human dignity, in the struggle against the plunder of the vast majority of humankind in any situation. In which one can find solution in the classical theological tasks and praxis of Gutierrez.