Liberation Theology Is Critical Reflection on Praxis

Liberation theology is critical reflection on praxis and uses the Exodus biblical experience as a springboard for dealing with questions raised by the poor and the oppressed Liberation theology has been described as the "decolonization of Christianity," (Bediako, 1995, p. 76). For one, the decolonization process involves the empowerment of previously oppressed people and the renewal of social and cultural pride. Second, liberation theology liberates Christianity from a European sphere of control and influence. Third, liberation theology is not just a political and social transformation of the application of Christianity.

Liberation theology is a theological transformation of Christianity. As such, liberation theology manifests differently in the regions where it is practiced the most: South America and Africa. Theology is, as Pears (2010) puts it, contextual in nature. Liberation theology recognizes the contextuality of theology and shifts approaches depending on the preexisting social, political, economic, and theological frameworks. It is more effective to refer to liberation theologies, plural, than to a singular liberation theology.

In fact, the notion that there is one liberation theology suggests a European and therefore colonial mindset that anything other than the dominant culture stance is homogenous. Southern hemisphere liberation theologies are complex and heterogeneous, stemming from the archetypal Exodus in which the tribes were scattered. The Exodus experience is an effective springboard for dealing with questions raised by the poor and oppressed, the social context in which liberation theologies spring forth.

In Latin America in particular, the social and political context of liberation theology grew out of a need to incorporate Marxist ideology into modern democracy. The discovery of connections between Marxism and Christianity has shaped liberation theology as it is expressed in South America (Pears, 2010). By the same token, the Exodus story has been "paradigmatic" by serving to "guide and inform human beings and societies as they oppose that which oppresses and divides them," (Pears, 2010, p. 73).

Reworking the Exodus narrative into liberation theologies has been challenging, especially given its clear references to, and explicit condoning of, slavery. Boff & Boff (1992) claim that the Exodus paradigm is essential to liberation theologies because "it recounts the epic of the politico-religious liberation of a mass of slaves who, through the power of the covenant with God, became the people of God," (35). According to Bedaiko, liberation theology fuses traditional African religions and their theologies with those of Christianity.

Rather than being counterintuitive, the endeavor to blend indigenous African with Christian faith has challenged missionaries to connect more with the people who would benefit most from the paradigm shift. Storytelling, rather than "systematic expositions of dogma," have fostered unique expressions of Christian faith throughout the southern hemisphere. Biblical narratives provide apt means of forging a liberation theology that is relevant to the context in which it develops.

It is not only the Exodus narrative that speaks to themes of oppression and liberation, but Exodus does provide the first layer of foundation that can help the oppressed reach a point of empowerment and hope. Liberation theology has also been dubbed "the liberating praxis of the poor," (Ford & Muers, 1997, p. 476). Symbols of Exodus, Promise, and Liberation permeate liberation theology ideology but it has been somewhat less effective at informing praxis.

Ford & Muers (1997) critique the use of Exodus as a narrative of explanation, rather than a narrative of action (p. 547). According to Ford & Muers (1997), the narrative "overlooked the fate of the indigenous population which was at the receiving end of the emancipatory action, and the implications of such an interpretation for those who faced disruption and dispersion in their own lands," (p. 547).

Contemporary political examples of homeland dispersion, from the Maori and Australian aboriginal people to the Palestinians and Native Americans, have raised many questions and revealed holes in liberation theological doctrine (Ford & Muers, 1997). Especially when it comes to praxis and hermeneutics, it has been difficult to explain why some groups of people have received the fruits of liberation, while others are deemed to perpetual oppression. A more nuanced liberation theology is needed.

A more nuanced liberation theology is one that transcends the Exodus narrative, even as it built its tenets upon it. For example, Parratt (2004) points out that African theologians are shifting from a "Post-Exodus to Post-Exile imagery with reconstruction as the resultant theological axiom," (p. 131). Because it is in the "nature of God" to liberate the oppressed, the Exodus narrative has already embedded in it the seeds of transformation and liberation.

Black theology in particular, notes Parratt (2004), frames liberation as something God bestows because "God is on the side of the oppressed and poor," (p. 147). Because social, economic, and political conditions change slowly, it can be difficult to substantiate the claims of liberation theology. The questions of the poor and oppressed related to liberation can be difficult to answer in places like Haiti, where cycles of suffering seem unbreakable.

Herein lies the greatest challenge to liberation theologies: how to continue to keep Christianity and its messages relevant to people in the real world. Boff & Boff (1992) suggest using different Biblical texts to formulate a more complex answer to the multifaceted questions related to the perpetuation of oppression and suffering. Ideals like patience and the paradigms of time can be helpful from a missionary perspective. Yet if liberation theology is to be a theology of action on not merely dogma, then there must be a corresponding pragmatism to accompany it.

Personal and collective empowerments are the intended results of liberation theologies, which engender a forward-thinking and proactive mindset among the people. Therefore, liberation theology is a political theology. Liberation theology is political because it signals the divorce between European models of using Christianity as a tool of oppression and social control, and revolutionary models of using Christianity as a means of empowerment and liberation.

Liberation theology is also political because it informs the people about specific methods and tools that can be used to extricate oneself and the community from systematic oppression. The story of the Exodus has offered an initial firm foundation upon which layers of liberation theologies have been.