what is Black liberation theology?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-26-2003
what is Black liberation theology?
11
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 2:13pm

i need a tutorial. beyond my beloved wikipedia.

and why does it scare people?

Bea

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2007
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 2:31pm

Seems to be a seperatist and socialist agenda...I found this...it looks like a site in support of the theory. As to why it scares people.....I don't know.


http://www.geocities.com/youth4sa/blackliberation.html


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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2006
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 2:36pm

snip from http://www.wfu.edu/~matthetl/perspectives/twentyseven.html

The Goal of a Black Theology of Liberation

What is the goal of a black theology of liberation? Is it a society in which blacks are given special treatment and rights? No. All Black theologians are asking for is for freedom and justice. No more, and no less. In asking for this, the Black theologians, turn to scripture as the sanction for their demand. The Psalmist writes for instance, "If God is going to see righteousness established in the land, he himself must be particularly active as 'the helper of the fatherless' (Psalm 10:14) to 'deliver the needy when he crieth; and the poor that hath no helper' (Psalm 72:12).

Karl Barth--who was not black--recognized the legitimacy of this demand. "For this reason, Barth wrote, "in the relations and events in the life of his people, God always takes his stand unconditionally and passionately on this side alone: against the lofty and on behalf of the lowly; against those who already enjoy right and privilege and on behalf of those who are denied it and deprived of it."

Black liberation theologians do not intend to allow the church--whether it be white or black--to evade this responsibility. It "cannot say that the poor are in poverty because they will not work, or that they suffer because they are lazy. Having come before God as nothing and being received by him into his Kingdom through grace, the Christian should know that he has been made righteous (justified) so that he (or she) can join God in the fight for justice. Therefore, whoever fights for the poor, fights for God; whoever risks his life for the helpless and unwanted, risks his life for God."

Precisely what this entails is not always clear to whites. For them, loving one's neighbor "becomes emotional and sentimental. This sentimental, condescending love accounts for their desire to "help" by relieving the physical pains of the suffering blacks so they can satisfy their own religious piety and keep the poor powerless." But advocates of a black theology of liberation will not allow whites to get off so easy. "Authentic love is not 'help,'" Cone writes, "not giving Christmas baskets, but working for political, social, and economic justice, which always means a redistribution of power. It is the kind of power which enables blacks to fight their own battles and thus keep their dignity."

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-08-2008
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 2:38pm

Thanks.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 2:50pm

There are many interpretations... From the Asia Times - empahsis added


The peculiar theology of black liberation


Senator Barack Obama is not a Muslim, contrary to invidious rumors. But he belongs to a Christian church whose doctrine casts Jesus Christ as a "black messiah" and blacks as "the chosen people". At best,

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2006
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 6:00pm

 

Avatar for litlpixy
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2004
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 6:10pm

I have never heard of this before and in San Antonio, I AM the minority. Is there a Mexican liberation theology?


"It's time to put the election behind us and the country in front of us. Barack Obama wasn't my choice, but come January 20th, he will be MY President.... I will not seek to see all

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2008
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 7:43pm
liberation theology started in latin america, so it wouldnt surprise me if people are practicing it in mexico
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2008
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 7:50pm

My minister did liberation theology work in Mexico a bunch of years ago, with a lot of Catholic priests who get in big trouble with their leaders up the chain of command.


iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 7:58pm
merely a follow up to your post - that depending on how you look at it, how benign or racist "Black Liberation Theology" varies.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2006
Fri, 10-10-2008 - 8:15pm


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