The foundation for a theology with a focus on social justice can be found in Liberation Theology, a Catholic movement that arose in South America in the 1960's. The recent appointment of Pope Francis - the first South American Pope - is perhaps a sign that the Catholic church realises that it's future lies in developing countries, and a message centred on God's love for the poor. An integral parable in Liberation Theology is that of the shepherd and his lost sheep. In essence, God cares more for the sheep, lost on its own and separated from the flock, than the majority of sheep that are together and safe. This is used to demonstrate to those in rural, agricultural economies that God has a plan for the poor, and that while they may not be wealthy, and life can be difficult, He has not forgotten them (Hoy 1986: 3, Placher and Nelson 2013: 267-8). It is quite a political theological stance in many respects, and is concerned equally with religious behaviour through practical work with those in need as it is with scripture (Gutierrez in Siker 1996: 46-7).
Thus, there are avenues here that can be pursued and promoted by Western Christianity to re-engage with the secular West. As it stands, the church appears to hold a reputation amongst those that would not consider themselves religious as either a stuffy institution plagued by scandal, or 'mega-church' with a focus on the youth, wealth accumulation and 'daggy' rock music.
References Cited
Placher, William C., and Derek R. Nelson. 2013. A History of Christian Theology : An Introduction. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013.
Siker,
Jeffrey S. 1996. 'Uses of the Bible in the Theology of Gustavo
Gutierrez: Liberating Scriptures of the Poor.' Biblical
Interpretation, 4(1): 40-71.
No comments:
Post a Comment