I just finished "Introducing Liberation Theology" and there was one part I found to be very curious. The author says "Fidel Castro is devoting considerable attention to the political and ethical significance of Latin American liberation theology, regarding its arguments as far more persuasive than those of Marxism itself".
The reason I was drawn to this book was because I heard about liberation theology before going Cuba and it was shed in a positive light. When I was in Cuba we were visiting the home of a friend who's husband is a professor and church leader. I pulled a book off the shelf that was a six hour dialogue between Castro and the author about religion in Cuba. I remember Castro talking about liberation theology.
Liberation Theology and Marxism have many overlaps. However, there is one very clear distinction: Liberation Theology does not promote using violence (it also does not suggest complete government control). At first when I read that Castro supported liberation theology, it was extremely disheartening. I thought he used it to justify. But now I see that his interest in liberation theology is more recent. This offers me an ounce of hope. I just have no idea if his interest in it is guiding any of his actions or his brothers actions, who is now president.
My biggest struggle with liberation theology is how much should the government be involved and at what point is it too much or too little. I think one problem in the U.S. is that I would say the majority of people don't even practice the principles of liberation theology on an individual level or collectively apart from the government. The book said that President Reagan devised a counterattack of liberation theology because it was too revolutionary.
Although I know there are major issues with the government in Cuba, I don't think capitalism is the answer. I see major problems with capitalism in the U.S. (For one, we thrive on exploitation of poor. And money drives us as a country more than God). I see problems with communism in Cuba. The book says liberation theology is an alternative to capitalism and socialism. So what would a healthy government look like? Perhaps only God knows. I'd say non-violent, preferential treatment of the poor is a good start.
**Liberation Theology in short says that God is for the poor and against the oppressors. It seeks liberation from oppression. It entails action, alongside the poor. It believes in non-violence and justice. It doesn't just believe in the future kingdom, but the kingdom to come in our midst. It believes that action alongside the poor to resist oppression is not optional, but required as a Christian. (I own the book if anyone wants to borrow it...it's only 95 pages).
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Root Causes of Poverty
I had to write this for one of my classes and figured it could be shared with more than just my class!
If the question were, what are the causes of poverty, there is quite a bit mentioned in the readings. Here are some I noted:
-lack of social responsibility
-class segregation
-discrimination
-individualism
-consumerism
-spiritual individualism leading to economic individualism
-composition of family life
-geographical location
-weakening unions
-low paying jobs
-economic injustice
However, the question is not what are the causes of poverty, but rather the ROOT causes of poverty. Although the causes of poverty are complex. The root cause, in my opinion, is simple: sin.
In my experience, Christians can agree that sin exists. However, the perpetuation of poverty comes through the variations of how sin is viewed. Some say the poor are poor because they sin (i.e. lack of discipline or poor decision making). There is some truth to this, however, I frequently see the sin of the wealthy overlooked. In scripture, when sin is addressed on an economic level, it is always the rich that are sinning. Other sin that is addressed is attributed to sin that all humans experience regardless of economic status. To extend that further, not only sin by the rich, but also sin by leaders is rebuked by God (Isaiah 10:2, 1:15-17, Amos 5:15, Micah 3:1-4 and 9-12). Scripture often speaks of sin as not only what we do, but what we do not do. There is a quote I once heard that I like "evil is not perpetuated by bad people doing bad things, but rather by good people doing nothing". So many are quick to point out the sin of the poor, but we appear to struggle or feel uncomfortable pointing out the sin of the wealthy and of leaders. This is an area of sin I am working on!
Another variation of how sin is viewed is regarding individual sin verses communal & systemic sin. In my experience of American Christianity, sin is often viewed as an individual experience. However, in scripture, we see sin committed by whole nations as is the case in Amos, for example. We also see sin in systems (Colossians 1:16). This variation goes well with the reading by Hilfiker that suggests a cause of poverty is spiritual individualism which led to economic individualism.
All throughout the readings, poverty is discussed with particular focus on the United States. The poverty that plagues so much of the world is quite frankly much greater than that of the U.S. People are eating rocks. Death due to starvation is staggering. Yes, America has a problem, but we must not forget the world. I believe America really needs to look at the sin it is committing not only within the nation, but as a nation against other nations.
If the question were, what are the causes of poverty, there is quite a bit mentioned in the readings. Here are some I noted:
-lack of social responsibility
-class segregation
-discrimination
-individualism
-consumerism
-spiritual individualism leading to economic individualism
-composition of family life
-geographical location
-weakening unions
-low paying jobs
-economic injustice
However, the question is not what are the causes of poverty, but rather the ROOT causes of poverty. Although the causes of poverty are complex. The root cause, in my opinion, is simple: sin.
In my experience, Christians can agree that sin exists. However, the perpetuation of poverty comes through the variations of how sin is viewed. Some say the poor are poor because they sin (i.e. lack of discipline or poor decision making). There is some truth to this, however, I frequently see the sin of the wealthy overlooked. In scripture, when sin is addressed on an economic level, it is always the rich that are sinning. Other sin that is addressed is attributed to sin that all humans experience regardless of economic status. To extend that further, not only sin by the rich, but also sin by leaders is rebuked by God (Isaiah 10:2, 1:15-17, Amos 5:15, Micah 3:1-4 and 9-12). Scripture often speaks of sin as not only what we do, but what we do not do. There is a quote I once heard that I like "evil is not perpetuated by bad people doing bad things, but rather by good people doing nothing". So many are quick to point out the sin of the poor, but we appear to struggle or feel uncomfortable pointing out the sin of the wealthy and of leaders. This is an area of sin I am working on!
Another variation of how sin is viewed is regarding individual sin verses communal & systemic sin. In my experience of American Christianity, sin is often viewed as an individual experience. However, in scripture, we see sin committed by whole nations as is the case in Amos, for example. We also see sin in systems (Colossians 1:16). This variation goes well with the reading by Hilfiker that suggests a cause of poverty is spiritual individualism which led to economic individualism.
All throughout the readings, poverty is discussed with particular focus on the United States. The poverty that plagues so much of the world is quite frankly much greater than that of the U.S. People are eating rocks. Death due to starvation is staggering. Yes, America has a problem, but we must not forget the world. I believe America really needs to look at the sin it is committing not only within the nation, but as a nation against other nations.
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