Much is being said today about a theology of liberation. As I understand this theology it affirms the necessity and imperative for man to be free in affirming his own dignity and humanity. It is also aimed at “freeing up” the oppressed minority groups in this country and subject people all across the world.
This second aspect of liberation theology seems to have primary emphasis in the church today. As it applies to oppressed or minority groups, this freeing up or liberating process seeks change basically in the political, social, and economic spheres of life. The object is to empower groups in all of these areas so they can exercise control and direction over their own lives. To put it in everyday language, minorities are demanding a larger piece of the pie and their share of the action.
As I see it, this is going to happen and must happen if we are to progress as a people and avoid a violent revolution in this country. The theory of self-determination, for the people of the emerging nations and for minorities within our own country, is not only a desired end but something toward which we all should work. It has been put off too long and is not arriving as fast as it should in any part of the world.
I am committed to this liberating process, but I am also convinced that it is destined to failure without an added ingredient that is essential to true liberation and ultimate reconciliation between all men. This added ingredient is the spiritual dimension or inner nature of man which must find reconciliation before freedom and human dignity can be realized.
It seems we are saying to minority groups and economically deprived segments of our society, “When you have more money, more education, more social freedom, and more political power, you will have arrived.” This is portrayed as the goal of life, and this is liberation. In other words, when you get what the middle- and upper-class white society has achieved, you will have entered “the kingdom.”
However, there appears to be a basic flaw of logic here. If all of these things would have brought in the kingdom, we would not have political oppression, social ostracism, and economic exploitation. But we do have these things. There must be another ingredient if man is to be fully human and live a life of love toward other men.
Yes, I am committed to liberation, but to a liberation that begins at the seat of the trouble and then fans out to touch all aspects of society. I am committed to a liberation needed by all men—white, black, brown, red, rich and poor alike. This liberation must be centered in the heart or soul of man. Paul said it this way:
For Christ himself is our way of peace. He has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one family, breaking down the wall of contempt that used to separate us. He took the two groups that had been opposed to each other and made them part of himself; then he fused us together to become one new person, and at last there was peace [Eph. 2:14, 15, Living New Testament].
In another place Paul says,
When anyone is united to Christ, there is a new world; the old order has gone, and a new order has already begun. From first to last, this has been the work of God. He has reconciled us men to himself through Christ, and he has enlisted us in this service of reconciliation [2 Cor. 5:17, 18, NEB].
For true liberation to occur it must be of God, and any humanizing process or goal, however noble, is destined to fail apart from the redemption centered in Jesus Christ and brought by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ sets men free, and Jesus Christ empowers men to lives of love and service toward their fellow men.
I am perfectly aware that many people in the church today would say that the language I have used is outmoded and does not make sense to modern man. But I would hasten to emphasize that when Jesus said, “You must be born again,” it didn’t take 2,000 years for that statement to be questioned. Within seconds, Nicodemus in essence said, “That does not make sense.”
Man-centered man, in any age, has great difficulty accepting the central spiritual truth of the New Testament. This truth is, and always will be, that we are man estranged and lost in desperate alienation from God and our fellow man. From this come all the evils of society—war, racism, and poverty.
The second or redemptive part of this spiritual truth is that our redemption—reconciliation, liberation—is achieved alone in Jesus Christ. We will have redemptive revolution in him, or we will continue to experience violent revolution in all of life as we seek liberation through our own efforts apart from new life in Christ.
I have hope for our time, for I see many people, from all walks of life, turning to Jesus Christ. These include youth from the counter culture, football players on high school and college teams, establishment-type executives, scientists, men and women, young and old. This turning seems to have greater depth and carry over into all aspects of life. The only trouble is that it is just not occurring fast enough. Come, Lord Jesus!—that we might have liberation and redemptive revolution in our time.—IRA GALLAWAY, in engage (March, 1972; © 1972 by the Board of Christian Social Concerns, The United Methodist Church). Reprinted by permission.
