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Liberation theology has been described as "an interpretation of Christian faith out of the experience of the poor...an attempt to read the Bible and key Christian doctrines with the eyes of the poor", or "the message of the gospels", restored from "the first three centuries (Christianity in which ) it was ... a pacifist ... religion of the poor".〔(Chomsky on Religion )〕 Detractors have called it Christianized Marxism.〔"() Horowitz first describes liberation theology as 'a form of Marxised Christianity,' as validity despite the awkward phrasing, but then he calls it a form of 'Marxist–Leninist ideology,' which is simply not true for most liberation theology..." Robert Shaffer, "(Acceptable Bounds of Academic Discourse )," Organization of American Historians Newsletter 35, November 2007. URL retrieved July 12, 2010.〕 The best-known form of liberation theology is that which developed in Latin America in the 1950s, however various other forms of liberation theology have since developed, including Asian, Black, and Palestinian liberation theologies. Although liberation theology has grown into an international and inter-denominational movement, it began as a movement within the Catholic Church in Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s. Liberation theology arose principally as a moral reaction to the poverty and social injustice in the region. The term was coined in 1971 by the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, who wrote one of the movement's defining books, ''A Theology of Liberation''. Other noted exponents include Leonardo Boff of Brazil, Jon Sobrino of Spain, and Juan Luis Segundo of Uruguay.〔Richard P. McBrien, ''Catholicism'' (Harper Collins, 1994), chapter IV.〕〔Gustavo Gutierrez, ''A Theology of Liberation'', First (Spanish) edition published in Lima, Peru, 1971; first English edition published by Orbis Books (Maryknoll, New York), 1973.〕 Latin American liberation theology met opposition in the United States,〔 which accused it of using "Marxist concepts", and led to admonishment by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in 1984 and 1986. The Vatican rejected certain forms of Latin American liberation theology for focusing on institutionalized or systemic sin; and for identifying Catholic Church hierarchy in South America as members of the same privileged class that had long been oppressing indigenous populations from the arrival of Pizarro onward.〔Wojda, Paul J., "Liberation theology", in R.P. McBrien, ed., ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (Harper Collins, 1995).〕 ==Theology== Liberation theology could be interpreted as an attempt to return to the gospel of the early church where Christianity is politically and culturally decentralized.〔ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES, Populorum Progressio, Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Paul VI promulgated on March 26, 1967〕 Liberation theology proposes to fight poverty by addressing its alleged source: sin. In so doing, it explores the relationship between Christian theology (especially Roman Catholic) and political activism, especially in relation to social justice, poverty, and human rights. The principal methodological innovation is seeing theology from the perspective of the poor and the oppressed. For example, Jon Sobrino, S.J., argues that the poor are a privileged channel of God's grace. Some liberation theologians base their social action upon the Bible scriptures describing the mission of Jesus Christ, as bringing a sword (social unrest), e.g., , , — and ''not'' as bringing peace (social order). This Biblical interpretation is a call to ''action'' against poverty, and the sin engendering it, to effect Jesus Christ's mission of justice in this world. Gustavo Gutiérrez gave the movement its name with his book ''A Theology of Liberation'' (1971). In this book, Gutierrez combined populist ideas with the social teachings of the Catholic Church. He was influenced by an existing socialist current in the Church which included organizations such as the Catholic Worker Movement and the ''Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne'', a Belgian Christian youth worker organization. He was also influenced by Paul Gauthier's ''"The Poor, Jesus and the Church"'' (1965). Gutierrez's book is based on an understanding of history in which the human being is seen as assuming conscious responsibility for human destiny, and yet Christ the Savior liberates the human race from sin, which is the root of all disruption of friendship and of all injustice and oppression.〔Gustavo Gutierrez, ''A Theology of Liberation''(London: SCM Press,1974) 36f〕 Gutierrez also popularized the phrase "preferential option for the poor", which became a slogan of liberation theology and later appeared in addresses of the Pope. Drawing from the biblical motif on the poor, Gutierrez asserts that God is revealed as having a preference for those people who are “insignificant”, “marginalized”, “unimportant”, “needy”, "despised”, and “defenseless". Moreover, he makes clear that terminology of "the poor" in scripture has social and economic connotations that etymologically go back to the Greek word, ''ptōchos''.〔Gutierrez, Gustavo. The God of Life. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1991. (Original: El Dios de la vida. Lima: CEP, 1989.) p. 112〕 To be sure, as to not misinterpret Gutierrez’s definition of the term "preferential option", he stresses, “Preference implies the universality of God’s love, which excludes no one. It is only within the framework of this universality that we can understand the preference, that is, 'what comes first'".〔Nickoloff, James B. ed. Gustavo Gutierrez: Essential Writings. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1996, p. 145〕 Gutierrez emphasized practice (or, more technically, "praxis") over doctrine. Gutierrez clarified his position by advocating a circular relationship between orthodoxy and orthopraxis seeing the two as having a symbiotic relationship.〔Gutierrez, Gustavo. The Truth Shall Make You Free: Confrontations. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1990. (Original: La verdad los hara libres: confrontaciones. Lima: CEP, 1986)〕 Gutierrez' reading of prophets condemning oppression and injustice against the poor (i.e., Jeremiah 22:13–17) informs his assertion that to know God (orthodoxy) is to do justice (orthopraxis).〔Gutierrez, Gustavo. The Power of Poor in History. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1983. (Original: La fuerza historica de los obres: seleccion de trabajos. Lima: CEP, 1971.)〕 Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), however, criticized liberation theology for elevating orthopraxis to the level of orthodoxy. Richard McBrien summarizes this concept as follows: God is disclosed in the historical "praxis" of liberation. It is the situation, and our passionate and reflective involvement in it, which mediates the Word of God. Today that Word is mediated through the cries of the poor and the oppressed.〔McBrien, R.P. "Catholicism" (Harper Collins, 1995), pp. 249–250.〕 Another important hallmark for Gutierrez's brand of liberation theology is an interpretation of revelation as "history". For example, Gutierrez wrote: History is the scene of the revelation God makes of the mystery of his person. His word reaches us in the measure of our involvement in the evolution of history.〔Gutierrez, G. "Faith as Freedom", ‘’Horizons’’ 2/1, Spring 1975, p.32〕 Gutierrez also considered the Church to be the "sacrament of history", an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, thus pointing to the doctrine of universal salvation as the true means to eternal life, and assigning the Church itself to a somewhat temporal role, namely, liberation. The struggle of women for social justice has given rise to its own liberation theology, frequently known as feminist theology in Europe and North America. Black women and other women of color in the United States speak of womanist theology, while Mujerista theology denotes the liberation theology of Hispanic women. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Liberation theology」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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