Liberating our Theology

Sadly most of my readers may not know what this entry’s title refers to. Sad also that I felt the need to inflate my readership by making it plural.

I just finished watching a movie called “Romero” about the Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador Oscar Romero. He espoused a version of Liberation Theology and was gunned down by right wing death squads in the beginning of the El Salvador civil war. How do I know all of this? Wikipedia. I love watching historical movies while researching them online.

As a born and bred Republican I was always told about the conservative teachings in the bible, while many liberal views were often ignored or minimized. I’m sure this same approach has been taken in born and bred Democratic families as well.

The irony is that both sides are right and both sides are wrong.

I don’t feel the compulsion to go into detail here, but economically the bible does seem to support a capitalistic approach to land, ownership, work, etc… Also experience, economic theory and history supports that capitalism is more viable and sustainable. Most of the remaining “communist” countries have even adopted a capitalist approach to economics while keeping the hammer and sickle for the prison yard, labor camp and underground church.

However; the bible says even more about social justice, equality, and the corrupting power of greed, pride and violence especially towards the poor and defenseless.

So where’s the balance? Where does the truth reside?

Personally I have a crush on the truth. A lifelong infatuation with the truth, so I attempt to hold loosely my interpretations, understandings and political views lest by holding them too tightly I find myself resisting God. In my favorite film The Mission (also thought by some to be about Liberation Theology) the bad guys hold so tightly to their economic “rights” that they attack, enslave and kill the very people for whom Christ died.

Holding loosely to my understandings in a search for the truth is the approach I have had take recently with the Evolution and Creation debate. I’m producing a video series on Evolution and Creation called “On a Level Playing Field” and have tried to approach it even handed and balanced. To do that in the series I have to have the same approach personally. If I know one is right and the other complete bunk then it isn’t going to be a very honest series. So I’ve had to hold loosely to certain interpretations of scripture and allow myself to float between beliefs, interpretations and understandings.

This floating is uncomfortable and not everyone can do it. Most want a concrete understanding that they can hold to, fight for and die on if need be. The guerrillas have this concrete understanding. And so do the government forces they fight. In the end the only cure for such rigidness is the eventual easing of rigor mortis (i.e. everyone eventually dies).

I try not to be to immediately applicable with my entries (and have been wildly successful on this count) but do have one possible application; healthcare.

With a doctor for a dad, it was inevitable that I be pro-doctor and against socialized medicine. Marrying a nurse I assumed my understanding of medicine wouldn’t need to change. Then my wife got sick … a lot. In fact I’ve toured ERs in more states then there are states (true I exaggerate but so do the hospitals on our bills). My anecdotal exposure to medicine in America reveals that there are many things that can and should be fixed. Do I believe that the current proposal for government run healthcare is the answer? No. Do I believe the status quo is the answer? Absolutely not. There has got to be an answer somewhere in between these two extremes.

Oops. Now I’m floating again. Fortunately, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for most people. They know they’re right until buried otherwise.

Liberating our theology from our preconceived ideas, personal background, vested interest and personal conclusions is difficult. But in fact that is exactly what Christ called us to do and be: a disciple.

A disciple is always learning, growing and maturing. A disciple listens and seeks to understand. A disciple has a master (Christ) and follows him where he leads.

Not the other way around.

God leads us into all truth via the Holy Spirit, we don’t lead him to the truth that we already “know.”

Now that is liberating theology.