{"id":6861,"date":"2006-11-24T00:09:57","date_gmt":"2006-11-24T05:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=6861"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:36:17","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:36:17","slug":"5287","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/11\/24\/5287\/","title":{"rendered":"Theologian: \u2018God Has Preferential Option for the Poor\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n<p>CHICAGO, IL (November 24, 2006) \u2013 Considered by many the father of liberation theology, Gustavo Gutierrez was honored at North Park University and North Park Theological Seminary last week, suggesting in separate talks that the role of theology must be kept in perspective.<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\n\u201cTheology is a tool,\u201d he observed. \u201cIt is a means, but it is not the goal of my life,\u201d Gutierrez told seminary students Friday afternoon. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in liberation theology; I believe in Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/06\/NP-TL.jpg\" rel=\"prettyPhoto[6861]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6863\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/06\/NP-TL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"286\" \/><\/a>Standing beneath the photo of Karl A. Olsson in the lounge named in honor of the late college and seminary president, the former Peruvian parish priest said, \u201cTheology is made to announce the gospel.\u201d It is not, he added, simply \u201can exercise in metaphysics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gutierrez\u2019s work, <em>A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, Salvation<\/em>, has been considered one of the most important theological works of the late 20th century. He penned the now widely used phrase that \u201cGod has a preferential option for the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Liberation theology has three elements, Gutierrez has written:<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Political and social liberation, which includes the elimination of the immediate causes of poverty and injustice.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The freeing of the poor and marginalized from all \u201cthose things that limit their capacity to develop themselves freely and in dignity.\u201d<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Liberation selfishness and sin, and a re-establishment of a relationship with God and with other people.<\/p>\n<p>While introducing the theologians, Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom (lower photo), assistant professor of theology and ethics at the seminary, told the 78-year-old Gutierrez that his works are always the most popular among her students.<\/p>\n<p>Gutierrez exhorted the students to \u201cdo theology seriously.\u201d Too many homilies and sermons suffer from little theological understanding and an overabundance of anecdotes, he quipped.<\/p>\n<p>Liberation theology, Gutierrez said, is an attempt to answer the question, \u201cHow to say to the poor peasants, \u2018God loves you.\u2019 \u201d It was developed at a time of great political unrest and the mass killings and disappearances of people opposed to authoritarian Latin American governments.<\/p>\n<p>Gutierrez often spoke of liberation theology in the past tense, much of its ideals having been enfolded into other ideas, including much evangelical thought. \u201cTheologies are born and die,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/06\/NP-LR.jpg\" rel=\"prettyPhoto[6861]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-6862\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2011\/06\/NP-LR.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"299\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>Many of the new theologians have accepted his idea that when doing theology, \u201cto read from the condition of the poor is very important.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe great challenge is to be committed to the poor,\u201d Gutierrez continued, using his own life experience to observe that he is not as insignificant in the world\u2019s eyes as he once was. He noted that he is able to see good doctors and eat well.<\/p>\n<p>People should not seek to imitate the poor or feel they have to become marginalized to support the impoverished, Gutierrez advised, but they must practice some form of austerity that keeps them sensitive.<\/p>\n<p>In a different setting, Gutierrez told an audience that packed Hamming Hall that he often is asked whether orthopraxis (right actions) or orthodoxy (right belief) is more important. The two must be esteemed equally, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we choose one, we lose both,\u201d he said, likening the question to, \u201cWhat is more important, eating or sleeping?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His words \u201cpreferential option for the poor\u201d means that no one \u2013 not even the marginalized of society \u2013 are outside the love of God. This was especially important to announce at a time when the wealthy were viewed as being favored by God.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheology must be a prophetic voice,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must do and create resources of hope,\u201d adding, \u201cThe poor give us opportunity to be disciples.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>University Spanish Prof. Linda Parkyn was part of a panel that responded to Gutierrez\u2019s remarks and the impact of his writings. \u201cI grew up with good orthodoxy,\u201d she said. \u201cThe praxis, however, was lacking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her encounters with people in Latin America led her to believe, along with Gutierrez, that the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) was as important as John 3:16 and more immediately relevant to the poor.<\/p>\n<p>Gutierrez\u2019s visit was sponsored by the Campus Theme Program and the Center for Justice Ministries.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire?moderation_action=report_form&#038;object_type=post&#038;object_id=6861&#038;width=250&#038;height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Stan Friedman CHICAGO, IL (November 24, 2006) \u2013 Considered by many the father of liberation theology, Gustavo Gutierrez was honored at North Park University and North Park Theological Seminary last week, suggesting in separate talks that the role of theology must be kept in perspective. Report This Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Theologian: \u2018God Has Preferential Option for the Poor\u2019 - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/11\/24\/5287\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Theologian: \u2018God Has Preferential Option for the Poor\u2019 - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Stan Friedman CHICAGO, IL (November 24, 2006) \u2013 Considered by many the father of liberation theology, Gustavo Gutierrez was honored at North Park University and North Park Theological Seminary last week, suggesting in separate talks that the role of theology must be kept in perspective. 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