Liberation Theology Resources
An English-language library and catalog of essays, articles, book links, organizations
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C O N T E N T S |
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Essays, Articles, Speeches and Reports Web Site Links to Organizations and Advocates Books, Films and Videos Criticisms of Liberation Theology A Pilgrimage of Gratitude and Remembrance Remembering the martyrs of courageous compassion
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Special features: Free PDF book brings
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W E L C O M E A N D O V E R V I E W
This web site presents Liberation Theology as the effort to think clearly about the meaning of religious faith in the context of oppression, war, poverty, inequality and environmental destruction, and the effort to live a compassionate, courageous and life-sustaining response to those conditions, a response that both addresses the needs of those who are injured and oppressed, and also works to change the structures and ongoing processes of injury and oppression. Liberation theology varies greatly according to the culture in which it arises, but its underlying themes are immediately recognizable across the world: the transformation of everyday life through a new awakening of compassion, courage, truthfulness and justice. It is a work in progress, born out of enormous pain and extraordinary hope, which is sure to inspire many and offend many. We hope you will be inspired by what you find here, and also that you will explore this world of thought and feeling with empathy and patience for the concerns of those with whom you may disagree. [DR]
L I B E R A T I O N __T H E O L O G Y __R E S O U R C E S
Essays, Articles, Speeches, Reports, & Bibliographies:
May
2008 A
Fiery Theology Under Fire
Michael
Powell article in The New York Times
April
2008 What
is Liberation Theology?
Tony Campolo article in Washington Post, responding
to Rev. Wright issue.
James Cone Explains Black Liberation Theology (streaming audio 13 min)
A Concise History of Liberation Theology By Leonardo and Clodovis Boff. From the book Introducing Liberation Theology published by Orbis Books.
Perspectives on Liberation Theology -- A Document Collection
compiled by C. John Yu. Includes Chronology.
www.ServiciosKoinonia.org [Spanish language site] Recursos de teología de la liberación, espiritualidad de la liberación, servicio bíblico latinoamericano, calendario bíblico litúrgico, Martirologio Latinoamericano, Monseñor Romero, Pedro Casaldáliga, Leonardo Boff, Maximino Cerezo, biblioteca, Revista Electrónica Latinoamericana de Teología, Libros digitales gratuitos, Agenda Latinoamericana, Cursos de Teología Popular.
Liberation Theology and Gustavo Gutierrez
a bibliography compiled by William Harmless, S.J.
Jon Sobrino and the Vatican judgment [against him]
by Andrew Hamilton
Reflections on the Sobrino Notification
by Michael O'Sullivan, SJ
Whatever happened to liberation theology? New directions for theological reflection in Latin America By John L Kater, Jr., from The Anglican Theological Review, Fall 2001.
Christian Revolution in Latin America: The Changing Face of Liberation Theology By Ron Rhoads, from the Christian Research Journal, Winter 1991. [Ed. note: This author is critical of some aspects of liberation theology, but I am impressed by the care and fairness with which he argues his case.]
Archbishop Oscar Romero's Last Sermon expresses a prophetic call to the soldiers of the Salvadoran army to follow a higher law than the power of the State, which was commanding them to kill their brothers and sisters.
Seven Sermons of Oscar Romero for Lent
The Rev. Martin Luther King's 1967 speech at the Riverside Church at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned, in which he explained the necessity of speaking out forcefully against the Vietnam war. (Link includes both text and streaming audio of Dr. King speaking.)
The Future of Liberation Theology By Daniel H. Levine, from the Journal of the International Institute at the University of Michigan.
Cristianisme i Justícia [library of articles in English] "is a Center of Studies promoted by the Society of Jesus in Catalonia which brings together a team of laymen and Jesuits. All the members are specialists in several human and social sciences, as well as in theology and are concerned about the practice of justice, not only at a local level but at the international one too."
Theologies: Liberation vs Submission By Jean-Pierre Cloutier, from The Haiti Times, Spring 1987.
Special Reports from the Ignacio Martín-Baró Fund documenting the creative work in the fields of human rights and mental health of an extended web of individuals and organizations.
Liberation Theology and Social Justice By Matthew L. Lamb, from Process Studies, pp. 102-122, Vol. 14, Number 2, Summer, 1985. In this lecture the author outlines the major social justice issues to which various forms of liberation theology are responding. Then he analyzes, in historical and philoshopical contexts, how liberation theology seeks open new possiblities that go beyond the dead-ends of classical sacralism (the theological justification of oppression by religious elites), and of modern secularism (the dehumanization of people and the extermination of the environment by technocratic elites).
Liberation Theology: Religious Response to Social Problems -- A Survey
By Marian Hillar, from the Center for Socinian Studies web site.
Notes on the Development of Catholic Social Teaching
By Fr. William Ryan sj. A lecture given at the Coady International Institute of St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Reflects on more than a century of efforts by the Church to address social problems such as mass unemployment, starvation wages or political oppression, that are not the result of an individual's personal transgressions. Many strands of Liberation theology can be understood as direct continuations of these efforts.
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contemporary voices A sermon by Rev. Ama Zenya |
Wikipedia Overview of Liberation Theology
The Open Directory index page for liberation theology.
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Web Site Links to Organizations and Advocates:
The Ignacio Martín-Baró Fund for Mental Health and Human Rights
"was created to foster psychological well-being, social consciousness and active resistance in communities affected by institutional violence, repression and social injustice. We believe that the scars of such experiences are deeply seated in both the individual and society, and therefore seek to support projects that explore the power of community to collectively heal these wounds and to move forward."
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"Whether or not it manifests in individual disorders, the deterioration of social interaction [by war] is in and of itself a serious social disturbance, an erosion of our collective capacity to work and love, to assert our unique identity, to tell our personal and communal story in the history of peoples… For this reason, the challenge is not limited to addressing the destruction and disorders caused by the war. The challenge is to construct a new person in a new society." |
Ignacio |
The SHARE Foundation "is an international non-profit organization that accompanies poor communities in El Salvador as they work for economic justice, democracy and sustainable development alternatives at the local and national levels."
www.CatholicAnarchy.org is the blog of Michael J. Iafrate, a doctoral student in theology originally from the West Virginia, now living in Toronto. The site includes writings and thoughts on religion, politics, and culture from the perspective of a radical Catholicism.
Jay's Liberation Theology and Liberal Religion Links
Sojourners, www.sojo.net, is a Christian ministry and magazine whose mission is to proclaim and practice the biblical call to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice.
Joanna Macy, PhD, is an eco-philosopher and scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. A respected voice in movements for peace, justice, and ecology, she interweaves her scholarship with four decades of activism and mentoring. One central focus of her work, from the nuclear weapons crises of the 60s through the 80s, to the species extinction crises of today, is the empowerment to be found by embracing one's anguish and despair. (For a brief video interview on that theme, click here.)
Tikkun Magazine and Community "We are an international community of people of many faiths calling for social justice and political freedom in the context of new structures of work, caring communities, and democratic social and economic arrangements. We seek to influence public discourse in order to inspire compassion, generosity, non-violence and recognition of the spiritual dimensions of life."
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem Sabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians. Inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, this liberation theology seeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians, to promote unity among them toward social action. Sabeel strives to develop a spirituality based on love, justice, peace, nonviolence, liberation and reconciliation for the different national and faith communities. The word "Sabeel" is Arabic for ‘the way‘ and also a ‘channel‘ or ‘spring‘ of life-giving water. Sabeel also works to promote a more accurate international awareness regarding the identity, presence and witness of Palestinian Christians as well as their contemporary concerns. It encourages individuals and groups from around the world to work for a just, comprehensive and enduring peace informed by truth and empowered by prayer and action.
Nonviolent Peaceforce "is a federation of over 90 Member Organizations from around the world. In partnership with local groups, unarmed Nonviolent Peaceforce Field Team members apply proven strategies to protect human rights, deter violence, and help create space for local peacemakers to carry out their work. The mission of the Nonviolent Peaceforce is to build a trained, international civilian peaceforce committed to third-party nonviolent intervention."
The Catholic Worker Movement "founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933, is grounded in a firm belief in the God-given dignity of every human person. Today over 185 Catholic Worker communities remain committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and foresaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms." Television interview presents overview of the history and purpose of Catholic Worker Movement.
Rev. John Dear, S.J. is a Jesuit priest, pastor, peace activist, organizer, lecturer, retreat leader, and the author/editor of 20 books on peace and justice, including Living Peace, published by Doubleday in 2001, Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings, published by Orbis Books in 2002, Mary of Nazareth, Prophet of Peace published by Ave Maria Press in 2003 and most recently, The Questions of Jesus published by Doubleday in 2004.
Krysallis -- Internet Resource for liberation psychology, theology, and spirituality. Recurso para la liberación en psicología, teología, y espiritualidad. Sponsored by James A. Erickson, D.Min., MFT.
Mary Watkins, PhD: Papers on liberation psychology Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Helene Shulman Lorenz, PhD: Papers and bibliography on liberation psychology Pacifica Graduate Institute
Circle of Life founded by Julia Butterfly Hill after she lived in the branches of a theatened giant redwood tree for two years, is a contemporary activist movement blending ecology and social justice concerns.
Pax Christi USA Pax Christi International
"Pax Christi strives to create a world that reflects the Peace of Christ by exploring, articulating, and witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence. This work begins in personal life and extends to communities of reflection and action to transform structures of society. Pax Christi USA rejects war, preparations for war, and every form of violence and domination. It advocates primacy of conscience, economic and social justice, and respect for creation."
Every Church a Peace Church is an ecumenical peace movement inviting church communities to renew and deepen their commitment to the life of reconciliation, as expressed in the following affirmation: "Following Jesus in nonviolent struggle for justice and peace, we love our neighbors and enemies as God loves us all, becoming a peace church to share in God’s work to save the world." (Web site includes an extensive library of articles.)
Office of the Americas, directed by Blase and Theresa Bonpane, works through its public education campaign to reach key constituencies: student, church and temple members, civil and human rights workers and all others concerned with international peace and justice issues with the goal of ending the culture of militarism throughout the world. Site includes free archive of audio files of on-the-air interviews.
Turn Toward Life "is a small interfaith affinity group that began in 1978 as part of the nonviolent protests at the construction site of the (appropriately named) Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Turn Toward Life brings together deep concerns about ecology, social justice and militarism. Our free PDF book of essays, Turning Toward Life, explores reverence for life as a contemporary spiritual path, and is available free of charge as a PDF file."
Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition International
(TASSC). Sister Diana Ortiz describes her fifteen year campaign against torture, and her personal experience of it, in a The Blindfold’s Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth. From the TASSC web site: "Govern- ments in more than 150 nations practice torture. It is estimated that more than 500,000 torture survivors reside in the US, alone. Treatment centers in the U.S. and abroad are being established in an attempt to respond to the psychological and medical needs of torture survivors. Through the creation of Communities of Healing, TASSC seeks to provide a safe forum for survivors not only to speak out about torture but to begin to rebuild trust in one another, in community, and in the human family as well. These Communities are sites where torture survivors come together to create a healing bond which transcends nationality, ethnicity, gender, class, ideology, sexual orientation, and religion."
The Citizens' Coalition to Reaffirm & Extend the Geneva Conventions
offers one positive way of beginning to address the global problems of violence and torture. In a world overwhelmed by violence, the Geneva Conventions represent one of the few examples of long term cooperation to limit the violence of war. With the recent introduction of new weapons technologies such as Depleted Uranium bullets and anti-tank projectiles, and cluster bombs that scatter the countryside with unexploded hand-grenade sized bomblets, the violence of war, conducted by allegedly civilized nations, now includes an unending war on civilians. You are invited to join the noble Geneva Conventions effort, which began in the 1860s by reaching out to the kings and princes of European countries, and today needs to include all citizens of all countries.
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Books, Films and Videos -- Online book list / book store
Free books in PDF format:
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The Spiral of Violence (free PDF copy - 6MB) is a classic statement (1971) of many of the concerns of liberation theology by Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife in the underdeveloped northeast of Brazil. Dom Helder Camara is often remembered for having said,
"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist." This PDF copy was produced by Alastair McIntosh. |
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The Violence of Love |
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The following selected chapters are available free of charge in web page format as part of the King Papers project at Stanford University.: A Knock at Midnight:
free web page edition of this sermon collection order hardback edition online (paperback is out of print right now)
News From True
Cultivators by Heng Sure & Heng Ch'au. The letters of Heng Sure and Heng Ch'au... Three steps and a bow. That's how they walked it. Two monks on a pilgrimage of peace that took them through a series of wide-ranging encounters and extraordinary experiences -- within and without. These letters and photos are a record of their amazing journey. Two American Buddhist monks on a journey of a lifetime, from downtown Los Angeles to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talamage, California. A journey of more than 800 miles that took two years and nine months to complete. They bowed in peace, and for peace. Touching their foreheads to the ground, opening their hearts with one wish for the world. Peace. For everyone, everyday, everywhere. From
the large and wonderfully generous
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The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
A KNOCK AT MIDNIGHT is the definitive collection of eleven of Dr. King's most powerful and spiritual sermons, moving and meaningful words to live by for everyone. Compiled by Stanford historian Dr. Clayborne Carson, director of the King Papers Project, and by contributing editor Peter Holloran, this volume covers the full range of Dr. King's preaching career, from the earliest known audio recording of King preaching to his last sermon, delivered just days before his assassination. Especially featured are the title sermon, among Dr. King's favorite and most challenging, and seven sermons never before seen in print.
Book list with links to booksellers in several countries:
Introducing Liberation Theology Leonardo Boff and Clodovis Boff
Books by Gustavo Gutierrez:
We Drink from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People
A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation
This is the credo and seminal text of the movement which was later characterized as liberation theology. The book burst upon the scene in the early seventies, and was swiftly acknowledged as a pioneering and prophetic approach to theology which famously made an option for the poor, placing the exploited, the alienated, and the economically wretched at the centre of a programme where "the oppressed and maimed and blind and lame" were prioritized at the expense of those who either maintained the status quo or who abused the structures of power for their own ends. This powerful, compassionate and radical book attracted criticism for daring to mix politics and religion in so explicit a manner, but was also welcomed by those who had the capacity to see that its agenda was nothing more nor less than to give "good news to the poor", and redeem God's people from bondage. .
Bibliography on Gustavo Gutierrez and Libertion Theology
compiled by William Harmless, S.J., Creighton University
Books by and about Archbishop Oscar Romero:
The Violence of Love
Free PDF editions in English and Spanish
Paperback edition
Voice of the Voiceless: The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements:
The Four Pastoral Letters discuss themes of the Resurrecting Church, the Church as the Body of Christ at work in history, The Church at work with the people, and the Church's mission within the National Crisis, and the National Security State which sacrifices people, their rights and their lives for the interests of a powerful few. Clearly and independently from the mystery of the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero, these four documents have much to tell us today therefore about our own present situation, about ecclesiology and the prophetic obligation and mission of the Church in the modern world, and they more than merit our close reading now as we struggle still as an oppressed and a pilgrim Catholic Church in America.
Archbishop Romero: Memories and Reflections (by Jon Sobrino)
Books by (and articles about) Jon Sobrino:
The Principle of Mercy: Taking the Crucified People from the Cross
Jesus the Liberator:
A Historical-Theological Reading of Jesus of Nazareth
Christ the Liberator: A View from the Victims
Systematic Theology: Perspectives from Liberation Theology (Readings from Mysterium Liberationis) Jon Sobrino and Ignacio Ellacuría
Mysterium Liberationis: Fundamental Concepts of Liberation Theology
Ignacio Ellacuría and Jon Sobrino 9781570755408
Article: Jon Sobrino and the Vatican judgment [against him]
by Andrew Hamilton
Article: Reflections on the Sobrino Notification
by Michael O'Sullivan, SJ
Liberation Theology in the African-American community
James Cone Explains Black Liberation Theology (streaming audio 13 min)
God of the Oppressed by James H. Cone
Black Theology: A Documentary History, Volume 1, 1966-1979
Black Theology: A Documentary History, Volume 2, 1980-1992
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (selected chapters online)
Additional Perspectives (this section is under construction)
The Struggle Is One: Voices and Visions of Liberation by Mev Puleo
Pan-African Theology: Providence and the Legacies of the Ancestors
Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside
Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation by Marc Ellis
Longing for Running Water: Ecofeminism and Liberation
(Biblical Reflections on Ministry)
Liberation Theologies, Postmodernity, and the Americas
Erotic Justice: A Liberating Ethic of Sexuality
Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor (Ecology & Justice Series)
Liberation Theology After the End of History: The Refusal to Cease Suffering (Radical Orthodoxy)
The Future of Liberation Theology: An Argument and Manifesto
In Solitary Witness: The life and death of Franz Jägerstätter
Militarist Christendom And The Gospel Of The Prince Of Peace
The Burning Season - The Chico Mendes Story (film)
Education for Critical Consciousness
The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology (book review)
Writings for a Liberation Psychology, by Ignacio Martín-Baró, edited by Adrianne Aron and Shawn Corne, Belknap/Harvard University Press, 1994.
Orbis Books Catalog (Orbis Books is a major publisher of books on liberation theology.)
Bibliography on Liberation Theology
from the Providence College Latin American Studies Program
L I B E R A T I O N T H E O L O G Y R E S O U R C E S
Criticisms of Liberation Theology
"Instruction on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation," signed by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) in 1984. [Editor's note: In this document Cardinal Ratzinger carefully disavows Marxist thought and revolutionary violence, while at the same time reaffriming the central themes of concern for others in Catholic social thought as it has taken shape over the last several centuries.]
Liberation theology: a challenge to the church at religionlink.org
The Retreat of Liberation Theology by Edward A. Lynch
Praxis and the Content of Theology in Gustavo Gutiérrez’s Theological Methodology: A Comparative Critique. By Richard Gillingham, in Quodlibet Journal: Volume 7 Number 2, April - June 2005.
Liberation theology and the great revolutionary fantasy A review by Paul Gray of Liberation Theology: The Essential Facts About the Revolutionary Movement in Latin America and Beyond, by Phillip Berryman. Review explores unresolved issues around the topics of revolutionary violence and coercive redistribution. (Also see Berryman's more recent reflections on the changed situation of liberation theology.)
Temptations of Liberation Theology by Fr. Richard McBrien
Liberation Theology Under Review by Fr. Richard McBrien
L I B E R A T I O N___T H E O L O G Y___R E S O U R C E S
A Pilgrimage of Gratitude and Remembrance
In contemplating the lives of those who have lived and died for the love of others, we are invited to reflect on the way each of these persons sought to embody courage, compassion and deep truthfulness. Giving thanks for the lives of these great souls brings us close to one of life's great mysteries:
While the help we give with our hands may only reach those we touch with our hands, the love with which we give that help can travel far beyond the lives of those who first receive it. The inspiration of courageous and creative compassion travels from heart to heart like a candle flame lighting many other candles. There is no limit to how many candles will be lighted, or will light others. My experience has been that profound integrity travels beyond the life of the person who embodies it, and joins our souls with the soul of that person in some sort of life-changing process of resonance. This is my experience of grace. As we give thanks for the lives of these great souls, and mourn their deaths at the hands of violent men, we open ourselves to receive the light that came through them, and we open ourselves to bring forth that light of endless compassion into the world around us. At one level, their lives were taken from them. At another level, they gave their integrity and love into our keeping. Both levels are true. These different truths are points along the way... of a pilgrimage of gratitude and remembrance.
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"I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the hearts of the Salvadoran people." Archbishop Oscar Romero |
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Four Churchwomen -- American martyrs in El Salvador
Sr. Maura Clark, M.M.
Jean Donovan
Sr. Ita Ford, M.M.
Sr. Dorthy Kazel, O.S.U.
Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa -- Nigerian ecology and human rights activist --
murdered by the Nigerian government for resisting the exploitation and
ruin of the Ogoni homeland.
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Francisco Alves (Chico) Mendes Filho -- President of the Xapuri Rural Worker's Union in Brazil. Chico Mendes was a brave and persistent rubber tapper who challenged the people and institutions responsible for the devastation of the rainforest. Mendes galvanized local and inter- national support for his vision of a self-sustaining economy of the Amazon, but he enraged powerful enemies. (click here for wikipedia article) (film) |
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Franz Jaegerstaetter - a devoutly Catholic Austrian farmer who refused, on the basis of the teachings of Jesus, to serve in Hitler's army. He was executed by the Nazis on August 9, 1943. The story of his heroic integrity, not popular in a region where most men obediently went to war and most priests argued in favor of doing so, was rescued from oblivion in the 1960s by sociologist and writer Gordon Zahn in In Solitary Witness: The life and death of Franz Jägerstätter. Also see remembrance by Jesuit peace activist John Dear. |
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Civil Rights Martyrs in the United States in the 1960s:
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MUSIC: A young musician in 2006 sings a forty-year-old song of gratitude for the civil rights protestors of the 1960s. "Thirsty Boots," by Eric Anderson, performed by Kirobaito on YouTube.
Lyrics:
You've long been on the open road,
you've been sleepin' in the rain.
From dirty words, and muddy cells
your clothes are soiled and stained.
But the dirty words, and the mud of cells,
will soon be judged insane,
So only stop and rest yourself,
and you'll be off again.
Oh, take off your thirsty boots and stay for a while
Your feet are hot and weary from a dusty mile
And maybe I can make you laugh, and maybe I can try
Just lookin' for the evenin' and the mornin' in your eyes
Then tell me of the ones you saw as far as you can see,
across the plains from field to town marchin' to be free
And of the rusted prison gates that tumble by degree
Like laughing children one by one they look like you and me
Oh take off your thirsty boots and stay for a while
Your feet are hot and weary from a dusty mile
And maybe I can make you laugh
and maybe I can try
Just lookin' for the evenin' and the mornin' in your eyes
I know you are no stranger down the crooked rainbow trail
from dancing cliff edge shattered sills to slander shackled jails
where the voices drift up from below as walls are being scaled
yes all of this and more my friend
your song shall not be failed
Oh take off your thirsty boots and stay for a while
Your feet are hot and weary from a dusty mile
And maybe I can make you laugh
And maybe I can try
Just lookin' for the evenin'
And the mornin' in your eyes.
L I B E R A T I O N___T H E O L O G Y___R E S O U R C E S
From the Editor:
My intention is for Liberation Theology Resources
to be a place of new beginnings
as well as a record of what has gone before.
So, as this site develops I hope to include
many contemporary movements and individuals around the world
who are embodying a spirituality of creative and courageous compassion.
Liberation theology in Latin America has inspired
forms of liberation theology around the world,
as well as liberation psychology and liberation ecology.
To be true to its incarnational themes,
"Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in heaven,"
and "love one another as I have loved you,"
liberation theologies must vary from place to place,
since the goal of liberation theology is to help people
become spiritually present to, and fully engaged with,
the moral and transformational challenges of their specific places and times.
It is the perpetual temptation of religious thought
to congeal in a way that leaves a suffering world unchanged,
not realizing that as lived human life becomes meaningless,
all concepts of God gradually become meaningless as well.
The churches' defense of slavery in the 1800s, for example,
discredited religion in the eyes (and hearts) of many in that century,
just as religious justifications of oppression, war and nuclear weapons
have created many crises of faith and conscience in our own time.
Liberation theology resists the tendency
to justify, bless or ignore existing social problems,
and strongly invites us to return to our prophetic vocation:
healing the world around us,
empowered beyond measure by the the God who is Love,
to tell the truth and make life new.
As a result, I doubt that liberation theology
will ever have a fixed form,
nor should it have one.
Its task is not to provide us with a fixed resting place,
but rather to help us continue our journeys and our creative work.
The variety of entries on this web site
reflect that searching and exploratory quality.
In the context of the United States, where I live,
I believe that liberation theology must necessarily include
a thoughtful and faithful resistance to the militarization,
of life, thought, foreign policy and national spending,
which has been a growing problem in the USA since the end of World War II.
People as different as Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower
and The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
have strongly called our attention to the fact
that the resources lavished on the military
are the resources denied to the poor.
Thus, the reliance of
the USA on violence and threats of violence
and the enormity of US military spending in recent years
(approximately ONE TRILLION dollars every two years,
and growing)
are serious issues for people of faith everywhere,
both because of the violence done with guns and bombs
to countless people around the world,
and because of the food, shelter, medicine and schools
denied to millions of others.
I welcome suggestions for new items
to be included in this site
as well as correspondence concerning the various themes explored here.
Dennis Rivers, 2008
L I B E R A T I O N___T H E O L O G Y___R E S O U R C E S
About the editor, Dennis Rivers:
I am a writer, teacher, publisher and peace activist now living in Eugene, Oregon. I received my MA in interpersonal communication and human development from the Vermont College Graduate Program in 1997, after studying sociology and religious studies at UC Santa Barbara, and theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.
In addition to LiberationTheology.org, I edit several large peace, ecology and communication skills web sites, including www.newconversations.net, www.nonukes.org, www.turntowardlife.org, WWW.TurnTowardLife.TV, and www.EarthLight.org. My publishing sites include Human Development Books and Karuna Books. Over the past twenty years I have taught communication skills in a variety of settings, including the Santa Barbara Community Counseling Center.
My books and essays include The Geometry of Dialogue, The Seven Challenges Workbook, Prayer Evolving, An Ecology of Devotion and, most recently, Turning Toward Life, an exploration of reverence for life as a spiritual path, an effort toward a liberation theology that includes nature. My most recent web site, addressing the human and ecological crises attendant to the war in Iraq, is www.SupportGenevaConventions.info, which explores the pressing need to reaffirm, extend and enforce the Geneva Conventions, a series of treaties governing the conduct of war, the treatment of prisoners of war, and the protection of civilians and wounded soldiers. The fact that ninety percent of the casualties in modern warfare are civilians calls into question all previous ideas about "just" war, as does the problem of Depleted Uranium munitions, the residues of which will poison the land of Iraq for millenia.
Among the many things that upset me in this life, I am deeply disturbed by the upward-spiralling price of books, which is moving many worthy books beyond the reach of most people on Earth, one more example of the growing gap between the rich and the poor. As my own personal protest against this trend, I have made all of my books and articles available free of charge in PDF format at www.karunabooks.net/dennis_rivers.htm. (I understand that this is only a limited step, because it only reaches those with access to computers and the Internet.) If you write books and/or articles about peace, ecology, liberation theology and/or human development, I invite you to join me in this effort to build a global public library.