Liberation Theology
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The principle aim of Litonjua’s book, Liberation Theology, is to provide an analysis of how Latin American liberation theology represents a liberation of theology from older paradigms to a newer, broader one that not only is more effective than extant paradigms but is a fundamental shift in the way we view theology. Following the concepts of Thomas Kuhn’s “scientific revolutions,” Litonjua explains how Latin American liberation theology represents a new paradigm that does away with the traditional pulpit of Western theology in order to replace it with one that is much broader sociologically and much more all-encompassing where justice, freedom and love are concerned. However, Kuhn’s ideology viewed the scientific community as being housed within a vacuum but Litonjua views liberation theology one that has been greatly impacted by forces outside of itself-namely religious, political and social ones. The end result of this new liberation theology has been to create a paradigm of theology that is more aligned with Christian values if not necessarily traditional Christian thought and action. In fact, by including the “non-persons” (the oppressed who most suffer from the abuses and injustices of the social system) of traditional society within the theory which also calls for social and political actions to correct such injustice, Litonjua reminds us we are closer to having a paradigm that encompasses in its worldview methods that are
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n worldview. In the same manner, the paradigm of liberation theology opens up realities hitherto hidden from theological view, retrieves theological truths obscured by the older theological paradigms, and sees vistas of theological reality unimagined by extant theological vision.”
Litonjua is not saying we need to throw out traditional religion from our lives, one of the main pillars of society. He is saying those in the field need to link it to human behavior and insure that whatever ideology they are espousing is practical in the modern worlds, applicable to the daily lives of all human beings, and geared towards the creation of justice and fairness for all members of society. Litonjua (40) is not asking for sympathy for the poor, but empowerment of them through a liberation theology that includes them instead of being an instrument of social and political advantage for the wealthy and powerful, “Because the bible was tamed and selectively preached to them, religion generally contributes to and reinforces their passivity and resignation in the face of abuses and injustices, their patience in faith and fatalism in their conditions of poverty and misery, their inferiority and subservience to dominant groups of wealth and power
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2071
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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