Introduction
It is important to note that the global spread of Christianity was a massive and intricate endeavor that was conducted through missionary efforts. A number of barriers emerged within the given process, which included cultural differences and communication challenges. Since the religion and faith were meant for the entire humanity and not only for the original Christian cultures, it was critical to delivering the Christian theology in a manner in which the receivers of the message would understand and implement into their own societies. Contextualization of the theology was a crucial piece of overcoming the stated barriers, which was the most prominent in Latin American liberation theology and delivery of the Christian faith. Thus, within a specific contextual issue of cultural poverty and oppression of the poor in Latin America, the entire process of theology took place through the rise of context as a locus, the use of traditional approaches, the creation of new meanings and methods, and spreading these notions within the framework of world Christianity.
Exploring the Rise of Context as Locus
For the majority of the spread of Christianity in Latin America, various methods of communication and theological education were used. The former versions included indigenization and accommodation, which sought the “integration of the gospel with local cultures, and they were employed distinctly and popularly by Protestants (indigenization) and Catholics (inculturation) from the 1960s” (Pachuau, 2018, p. 93). In other words, the rise of context as locus and concept was the key outcome of missionary efforts to communicate the gospel in a cross-cultural manner. Since the religion needs to be delivered to a specific culture or group of people, who might not share the commonly perceived values, it is critical to ensure that the present context is understood and included in the process. However, the indigenization was excessively leaning towards accommodation of the religion, where the experience of the past was being dismissed or not prioritized over the current ones. Therefore, the rise of the context as a locus was important for evangelization to ensure that Christianity retains its original and core record of divine revelation while being integrated into a new society.
Moreover, the rise of context was also a form of response to many challenges of global hermeneutics. Rene Padilla’s core question about context was rooted in the following: “how do I articulate my faith in the same context of poverty, repression, and injustice from which the Liberation Theology has emerged” (Greenman & Green, 2012, p. 51). Both Padilla and Gustavo Gutierrez were faced with the problem of delivering Christian faith to Latin America because the latter had a severe degree of disparity between the rich, who owned everything, and the poor, who had nothing. Thus, the major challenge was manifested in spreading the Word of God by factoring in the local adversities being faced by the population, such as extreme poverty and oppression.
Traditional Approaches to Contextual Theology
When it comes to the traditional approaches, accommodation, inculturation, and indigenization were the first ones before the emergence of the context. Latin America had a culture where the social structure was extremely divided into the poor or oppressed and the rich or oppressors. These measures emphasized adapting the religion into the local cultures and making Christianity a part of the cultural experience. However, it meant that theological reflection was speculative and malleable, where the major risk was the loss of the part Christian experience in its original form. In order to combat the latter, a contextual aspect was created where both the present and past contexts were factored in, which led to the requirement of deeper faith from the new groups and societies.
Within contextual theology, Latin American liberation theology was the core measure in Latin America, which was led by Gustavo Gutiérrez. The essence of the given approach was manifested in the preferential option for the poor because they were living in extreme poverty and oppression. Latin American liberation theology was a product of merging, combining, and synthesizing the fundamental Christian theology with an objective socioeconomic assessment of the Latin American people. Latin American liberation theology views poverty as a result of a major sin, which is greed (Bevans, 2009). It is evident that both economic and social oppression of the poor in Latin America was the result of systematic exploitation of the victims’ human rights with injustice due to an unending quest to satisfy one’s greed. Christian faith proposed an effective solution by recognizing and fighting against the sinful act of the rich through liberation, justice, and freedom through liberation.
Alongside the Latin American liberation theology, the other two traditional approaches used in Latin America included evangelical and integral mission movements. Daniel Salinas states that “there was an evangelical Christian group of Latin American theologians that was also producing theology from Latin America,” which is usually misrepresented or ignored (Greenman & Green, 2012, p. 93). In the case of evangelical thought, the Latin American Theological Fellowship or FTL should be mentioned. The unique aspect of FTL was the fact that it did not bind itself with theological or denominational constraints but rather focused on three foundational cores. These included a constant redefinition within a context and person, trifold reading of the Word, and situating itself as transformative and encompassing God’s action (Greenman & Green, 2012). In other words, the given approach utilized a higher degree of emphasis on evangelization by understanding the context and thus, stretching the ideological and theological constraints.
Meanings and Methods for Doing Theology in Context
It is important to note that meaning in doing theology in context is rooted in three key ingredients, which were critical in Latin America’s contextual issue of poverty and cultural manifestation of the latter. These include reflections on Tradition, Scripture, and present human experience. It is stated that “not only is experience understood as equal to Scripture and Tradition; in a certain sense, it has priority over them” (Bevans, 2009, p. 167). Therefore, the network of meaning is derived from two types of experiences, one from the past and the other from the present. The meeting or merging of the two results in mutually critical dialogue, where the experience of the past is reflected in Scripture and Tradition. However, the experience of the present can be individual, communal, cultural, dependent on social location, and manifested in social change (Bevans, 2009). Culture is critical because it is a “network of meanings, values, and behaviors which gives shape to a people’s world—in which an individual or a community lives” (Bevans, 2009, p. 168). Therefore, significant meaning is derived from the theological counterparts of the past and present experiences.
The underlying methods or models of doing theology in context have six categories, some of which were utilized in Latin America, with the most prominent being Gustavo Gutiérrez’s Latin American liberation theology using the praxis model. The first and the most radical framework of contextual theology is the anthropological model, where cultural identity is prioritized over Scripture or Tradition (Bevans, 2009). The second and most conservative method can be found in the countercultural model, which recognizes the influence of context, but “radically distrusts its sanctity and revelational power” (Bevans, 2009, p. 171). A less conservative but still Scripture and Tradition-centered method is the translation model, where the emphasis is put on fidelity to the past experiences. The synthetic model “will attempt the extremely difficult task of keeping all of the elements in perfect balance while profiting as well from a conversation with Christians from other cultures” (Bevans, 2009, p. 171). The transcendental model focuses on a person articulating the religion rather than the content of it.
However, when it comes to the Latin American liberation theology and Christianity in Latin America, the praxis model was the most impactful one. Since one of the most critical and specific contextual issues of Latin America was extreme poverty due to oppression and exploitation by the rich, social change was mandatory. It was not due to a mere accident or random series of events that the praxis method was selected. It should be noted that “the praxis model might be most effectively employed in situations of oppression” (Bevans, 2009, p. 172). Therefore, the Latin American liberation theology was the manifestation of the given model within the context of Latin America. It combines action, practice, and reflection by acknowledging that the specific contextual issue of poverty and oppression among the locals did not make up the necessary context in which people could properly theologize. Thus, the praxis in the form of social change was needed to ensure that the Christian faith and theology did not lose their essence under such a harsh condition since indigenization was not plausible. In other words, the essential function of theology under the praxis is to lead the change of the world and not a mere interpretation.
The founder of the theology of liberation and the author of the concept itself, the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutierrez put forward the thesis that the concept of a political regime should contain the idea of freedom, without which neither order nor politics can exist. Freedom, in his opinion, implies constant and never-ending creativity, a new way to feel like a person, and a permanent cultural revolution (Bevans, 2009). It is also the implementation of the principles of social justice, which differs significantly from the understanding of freedom in liberal political thought, which proclaims as fundamental personal freedoms of conscience, speech, press, and assembly. The first characteristics of freedom are emotional characteristics and the mention of a permanent cultural revolution. The vagueness of the criteria for freedom is redeemed by a call for the implementation of the principles of social justice, which looks more concrete than the demand for all liberal freedoms taken together. It receives practical content in the imperative appeals to combat poverty that is put forward today to any Latin American government.
World Christianity and Contextual Theologies
Understanding the impact and spread of Christianity around the globe is of paramount importance to comprehending the practicality and underlying mechanisms of contextual theologies. Latin America, with its systematically oppressed poor, is a prime example of how Christianity invoked critical change by catalyzing unyielding action towards justice, humanity, and faith. The case of Latin American liberation through theology and Christian faith proves the fact that it “by nature does not have a particular culture or civilization (though it emerges from one) and is essentially dynamic to adapt and transform” (Pachuau, 2018, p. 4). In other words, its contextual theology provides a basis to factor in and manifest specific conditions, such as culture and poverty, within the theological and religious framework delivered to people. Walls affirms and “demonstrates the authenticity of southern Christianity and places it on par with Northern forms of Christianity” (Pachuau, 2018, p. 8). Therefore, there is no superiority of one framework or practical application of the Christian faith since they all fall within the context of a specific region.
Contextual theology was the most impactful and influential instrument in breaching and overcoming cultural and social barriers. It not only was able to preserve the true integrity of Christian tradition and texts alongside the completeness of the Word but also adapt it to the corresponding environments under the paradigm of contextual understanding. The mutually critical dialogue was the core central point of maintaining the perfect balance between the past and present experiences. Lamin Sanneh states that “world Christianity is the movement of Christianity as it takes form and shape in societies that previously were not Christian … without necessarily European Enlightenment frame” (Pachuau, 2018, p. 10). Therefore, it was not the export and import of European culture through the channel of Christian beliefs but rather the imposition of truth and faith over the layer of cultural connotations of Latin America.
The transformation of liberation theology into a tradition spanning several decades has led to the fact that it began to influence not only the style of the statements of church leaders but also the political agenda, with which representatives of the left camp, as well as the centrist and right forces, agree. Such a consensus exists, for example, regarding the recognition of the acuteness of the problems of corruption, poverty, and social justice in the countries of Latin America. Liberation theology also has its influence on the vision of the principles of international relations officially declared by the heads of Latin American states. Despite a fair amount of propaganda rhetoric, it is reflected in the practice of political decision-making. Criticism of the existing world order at its global and local levels is one of the central tasks that liberation theology sets for itself. It does not limit itself to criticizing only the governments of the countries of the northern hemisphere or their own right-wing governments. As a result, there is confidence in the ability to offer some specific measures to combat this or that manifestation of social ill-being because the moment of opening eyes and awakening sleeping minds has already passed at the moment. The future of liberation theology directly depends on the extent to which its representatives can move from ideal concepts to practical conclusions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the entire process of theology took place through the rise of context as a locus, the use of traditional approaches, the creation of new meanings and methods, and the spreading of these notions within the framework of world Christianity within a specific contextual issue of cultural poverty and oppression of the poor in Latin America. The concept of context emerged and rose to the theological understanding as a response to the fallibility of indigenization practices, where the goal was to preserve the integrity of the Word and factor in the human experience of the Latin American population. Latin American liberation theology was the prime example of contextual theology manifesting in the region, where the praxis model or method of theology was utilized. Specifically, the oppressed poor living in poverty became the focus of Christian theology, which required liberation through social change, which allowed them to live in accordance with the Word and Christian values. Latin America was and still is an example of how world Christianity spread through contextual theology to bring truth and salvation through God.
References
Bevans, S. B. (2009). An introduction to theology in global perspective. Orbis Books.
Greenman, J. P., & Green, G. L. (2012). Global theology in evangelical perspective: Exploring the contextual nature of theology and mission. InterVarsity Press Academic.
Pachuau, L. (2018). World Christianity: A historical and theological introduction. Abingdon Press.