Liberation theology

05/08/07 | Ryde

[Ryde]

I noticed that my college is now offering a FIELD-WORK course in liberation theology. That means, from what little I know on the subject (hey, I'm a number-cruncher) that this course is dedicated not to classroom study (I would have no trouble there--I do believe in academic freedom), but to actually going out and taking one side politically--and that side is the pursuit of Marxist solutions. Am I nuts?

Wasn't Liberation Theology condemned by Rome at some point in here?

I Googled the term and became more appalled, but I could not find (probably because I did not exactly what I was looking for) the rebuttals and conservative reaction to this. But this seems . . . well, like brainwashing.

So I thought I would flip it over to FR and see what light Freepers can shed on what appears to be a dark topic.

[Ryde]

Deep, deep cover. I am a contract professor, not a tenure-track professor. The leading Marxists are all tenured and can get rid of obstreprous conservative professors who are not tenured. I know McVey and I have talked about this many times—tenure protects conservatives, not liberals. If I were tenured I could come out from under my rock.

[Ryde]

My school is DRENCHED with the term social justice. I always wondered why the h*ll the literary and political types were ramblin’ on about this.

[darkangel82]

I’m no longer Catholic, but I even I know that liberation theology is garbage...

[Scarchin]

Godspeed my friend!

I'm a public school teacher in New England. Conservatives make up less than 5% of the profession.

In my personal experience - it's closer to 2%.

[Scarchin]

Godspeed my friend!

I'm a public school teacher in New England. Conservatives make up less than 5% of the profession.

[Ryde]

And Godspeed to you also.

[Popocatapetl]

I once pranked a Liberation Theology believer, by turning his dialectic around and redefining LT as “Liberation Theocracy”.

That the people would only be “free” if ruled over by bishops, cardinals and monsignors of the Catholic church.

I freely blended Marxist ideas with religious rule. He about freaked out as I described “freedom” as living in a state like Iran, but run by Catholics.

[dellbabe68]

Ques: Is Hans Kung a liberation theologist? I know he has been rebuked by the Vatican for some of his views, most notably, Papal infallibility, an often misunderstood term. I got a book called Christianity by him once, and he used a whole page to redefine the word “good” so he’s feel okay about using it in the book. I lost interest.

[Nextrush]

Its all brain memory right now. Pope John Paul II did deal with this topic very forthrightly and the search would have to be under his name and liberation theology.

[Nextrush]

The way this Catholic News Service article puts it, John Paul II went after liberation theology for its Marxist analysis, but did not denounce it outright.

I don’t see it as the whole truth, of course “social justice” is a broad term to describe what PJ II was for.

But here is link: http://www.catholicnews.com/jpii/stories/story09.htm

[therut]

Unfortunately Liberation Theology is the gospel at Black liberal churches. Sad.

[p. henry]

Although our family is not Catholic, my eldest daughter is a freshman at a Catholic university. On Parents' Day this last September, I attended a sample class taught by a Jesuit. He asked that the parents in the class submit written questions to serve as the basis for a discussion. My question was: "If the prinicipal purpose of the Church is the salvation of souls through belief in the divinity and resurrection of Jesus Christ, how does Liberation Theology serve that purpose?"

He chose to address questions about the the Da Vinci Code and the "Gnostic Gospels," rather than my question. I wonder why.

[MtnClimber]

I recall that Barak Obama’s church espouses black liberation theology.

It makes me think of “The People’s Liberation Army” in Communist China. That whole tendency to use the exact opposite word to describe something is a trademark of the left.

[CORedneck]

Interesting seeing the term. The H.S. I went to was a Catholic school and our religion department, some of former nuns were into the social justice stuff. One of the teachers I remembered was a former nun, she is now in Arcata, CA as a professor at Humboldt State. She was very liberal such as for homosexuality, anti-meat/leather, pro Jane Fonda. One of my friends at the time wore his leather jacket to class and he got chewed for that. In addition his father is a Viet Nam veteran. One day she was talking about Michelin Tires and how she supported them in their corporate PR programs. He got real p*ssed to the point where the teacher mentioned that he better show respect or he be going to the Deans office. He told her to where to go and volunteered to go to the Deans office. My friend’s family will not buy Michelin because they paid off the Viet Cong and let the V.C. used their rubber plantations to shoot at American soldiers.

[lastchance]

Because he is a Jesuit, that’s why.

[Abcdefg]

Jesuit priests and Maryknoll nuns. People began to catch on and they changed to the term “preferential option for the poor”.
This has been going on for a long time. Some priests had even taken up arms to fight alongside Communist revolutionaries in Central America.

[Zippo44]

Bttt