Liberation and Change

Front Cover
John Knox Press, 1977 - Christianity and politcs - 200 pages

From inside the book

 

Contents

Two Freedom and Critical Reason
27
Three Freedom and Liberation
60
PART TWO by Richard Shaull
95
Copyright

3 other sections not shown

Common terms and phrases

accept affirmation American attempt authority aware become beginning believe break called Casas century Christ Christian Church civil claim classes concern consciousness considered continue countries create critical cultural death defend demands develop discover distinction doctrine dominant economic experience exploited expressed face fact faith follow force freedom future give given groups happens hope human ideas important Indians individual institutions interests language Latin leads liberation liberty limited live Marxism matter means move movement nature offer oppression persons perspective political poor position possible present problem production question radical reality reason reflection relation relationships religion religious response salvation sense situation social society speak story structures struggle subjects task theology things thought tion tolerance tradition transformation true truth trying understanding values vision women

References to this book

About the author (1977)

A Peruvian Catholic priest, Gustavo Gutierrez was born to mestizo parents in a barrio of Lima, Peru. Often called the founder of liberation theology in Latin America, he studied philosophy at the University of Louvain in Belgium and took his doctorate in theology at the University of Lyon in France in 1959. Returning to Lima in 1960, Gutierrez taught theology at the Catholic University in Lima. His own background and identification with the poor soon prompted him to work among the dispossessed peasant families crowding Lima's barrios. His experiences led to a break with the Catholic hierarchy and traditional church teachings in the 1960s and 1970s. Gutierrez rejects the existing Catholic view of poverty. In his view, while God regarded all people as equals, he held a special concern for the impoverished and disinherited. Gutierrez believes that God not only supports the poor's struggle for justice but also wishes the teachings of his church to ensure their liberation. In theological terms, this entails liberation from unjust social classes, from a sense of fate, and from personal sin and guilt. Therefore, Gutierrez fiercely argues, the church has a duty to take the lead in redeeming society and helping end the social, political, and economic conditions that entrap Latin Americans in poverty. His forthright explication of these views in A Theology of Liberation (1971) brought him worldwide attention. Almost overnight, these beliefs helped shape both a religious and a political agenda known as "liberation theology," which has spread throughout Latin America.

Bibliographic information

TitleLiberation and Change
AuthorsGustavo Gutiérrez, Richard Shaull
PublisherJohn Knox Press, 1977
Original fromUniversity of Texas
DigitizedFeb 19, 2008
ISBN0804206619, 9780804206617
Length200 pages
  
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