tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post1457874421775206264..comments2024-03-20T19:23:09.857+02:00Comments on Notes from underground: Whatever happened to Liberation Theology?Steve Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-55301773443689621992008-02-14T12:07:00.000+02:002008-02-14T12:07:00.000+02:00Skylding, "Others, confused since time has shown t...Skylding, <BR/><BR/>"<I>Others, confused since time has shown that even the ANC has its quota of charlatans and thugs, prefer to not think of the whole issue</I>"<BR/><BR/>Back in the day (on 28 June 1966, to be precise, I copied a passage from Conrad's <I>Under western eyes</I> into my diary, because I found it significant.<BR/><BR/>"In real revolution, not a simple dynastic change or reform of institutions -- in a real revolution the best character do not come to the front. A violent<BR/>revolution falls into the hands of narrow-minded fanatics and tyrannical hypocrites at first. Afterwards comes the turn of all<BR/>the pretentious intellectual failures of the time. Such are the<BR/>chiefs and the leaders. You will notice that I have left out the<BR/>mere rogues. The scrupulous and the just, the noble, humane and devoted natures; the unselfish and intelligent may begin a movement, but it passes away from them. They are not the leaders of the revolution. They are its victims. The victims of disgust, of disenchantment, often of remorse. Hopes grotesquely betrayed, ideals caricatured, that is the definition of revolutionary success. There have been in every revolution hearts broken by such successes."<BR/><BR/>And I wrote, after copying it:<BR/><BR/>And I think that will be the same in the South African revolution. The great men: Albert Luthuli, Bram Fischer, J.H. Hofmeyer, Alan Paton, Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, Peter Brown and many others, <BR/>the champions of freedom and justice, they, like Moses, will not<BR/>live to enter the promised land. And when the promised land is<BR/>entered at last, the promises will be betrayed, hopes destroyed, ideals caricatured,. This is almost inevitable, but we carry on just the same. The Lord will provide.Steve Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-91954905864819758072008-02-14T11:57:00.000+02:002008-02-14T11:57:00.000+02:00Malcolm, Romans 12:1-2 has long been one of my fav...Malcolm, <BR/><BR/>Romans 12:1-2 has long been one of my favourite passages from the Bible: be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. <BR/><BR/>And that transformation is part of the conscientisation. Interesting that it doesn't say "renew your mind" -- the renewed mind is a given, it is the new mind in Christ, which is ours if we belong to Christ. But it is sometimes difficult to "put off the old man" and to allow that new mind to transform us. <BR/><BR/>I was once discussing education with a group of church leaders, and the Roman Catholics stressed the difference between information and formation. They said their theological training was not just aimed at imparting information, but at formation. Yet we need to go beyond that to transformation.Steve Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-63998769157732509032008-02-14T10:25:00.000+02:002008-02-14T10:25:00.000+02:00a"But the conscientising and moral regeneration mu...a"But the conscientising and moral regeneration must begin at home. Before we can achieve anything we must convince our church members that greed is not a Christian value"<BR/><BR/>AMEN!Sallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01759963926280667938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-88241826334068377552008-02-13T21:29:00.000+02:002008-02-13T21:29:00.000+02:00A most enlightening read - as a former Marxist (th...A most enlightening read - as a former Marxist (these days quite simply Marxian) I was enthralled with Liberation Theology when it came to prominence in the 1970's, shortly after my return to the Christian fold.<BR/><BR/>When I returned to the Christian fold, after many wilderness years, having split (earlier) from an evangelical church which was to say the least asocial, I felt that the biggest dilemma I faced, with a foot in both Marxian and Christian camps, was as follows: <BR/><BR/>For Marx, with the changing of society man would finally be able to become fully human whereas, from a Christian perspectve the imperative is to change Man.<BR/><BR/>Cliched as it may sound, I now firmly believe that we must first change the man if we are ever to attain a better world. <I>Conscientising</I> is for me a key word, as Christian communities we should be looking for a non-conforming consciousness, e.g. rather than looking at how I can progress up the financial ladder, it may be necessary to take upon ourselves a sacrificial role. What am I prepared to give up in order that others may attain a better standard of living etc. What risks am I prepared to take? The church has never been called upon to be popular, with Christ (who was there where there was a real need) as our exemplar we must be prepared to challenge unjust structures, and all greed-laden self centred values, otherwise we call out His name in vain.Malcolmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06689748152958264110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19384577.post-4151058483059687882008-02-13T18:56:00.000+02:002008-02-13T18:56:00.000+02:00Which makes me think - back in the day, to some at...Which makes me think - back in the day, to some at least, being anti-apartheid, or to run with liberation theology, was a sexy cause. Now it is no longer sexy, and so they've lost interest. Others, confused since time has shown that even the ANC has its quota of charlatans and thugs, prefer to not think of the whole issue. It boils down to what has been called old fashioned "liberal" racism - you see, the other chap is not an object of oppression or hatred, but he is treated like a family pet. When one of the family pets growl - it becomes to difficult to handle, and is rather abandoned. I sometimes think that many of these people, deep down in their establishment consciences, do not equate the downtrodden (in this case, black SA'cans) as fellow human beings, with as many saints and sinners as any other group. So with time, when some are shown to be sinners, self-enriching and all that, it is easier to look away than confront the caricatures so well entrenched in their own minds.<BR/><BR/>For a non-SA illustration, it used to be said of the US, that in the south, the white fellow did not mind the black one being next to him, as long as he is not equal to him. In the north, they did not mind the black fellow being equal to them, as long as he is not next to them. <BR/><BR/>True compassion, true love for your neighbour, true self-sacrifice is a rare thing, and happens most often where it cannot be observed by the outside world. I know of people in SA that have walked many extra miles helping their neighbour of another culture/race/status, quitely and serenely. Rarely are those same people to be found in the halls of academia, governmentor in the limelight.Magotty Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039164409659890130noreply@blogger.com