Liberation Theology 5

     We have been examining the teachings of liberation theology in the last few posts and in this post I want to examine some benefits of this teaching.  Even though I am not a proponent of this method of interpretation there have been some significant contributions made.  Liberation theologians have prodded a social awareness that causes us to examine our own presuppositions when it comes to interpreting Scripture.  Jesus did the same thing in His own teachings.  When we look at the Sermon on the Mount, we see Jesus making a statement "You have heard that it was said . . . but I tell you. . ." and then Jesus goes on to espouse a non-traditional interpretation of an ancient teaching. 

     Was Jesus practicing liberation hermeneutics?  Of course Jesus was not bringing a new teaching to Scripture, but restoring the original meaning, but the point is that mankind can sometimes pervert the original intention of the Scripture.  As a result we must be careful that we do not bring our own bias when we interpret Scripture.  We discovered this truth when working in Latin America as missionaries.  Often, the truth we were trying to communicate had more to do with our cultural understanding of Scripture than an actual biblical view of Scripture. 

     The truth is that each person interprets Scripture through a hermeneutical lens, which brings us back to Ricoeur's hermeneutics of suspicion.  Each one of us needs to be careful that we do not force the Scripture to say something it does not say and by so doing promote a teaching that may be more cultural than biblical.  One of the benefits of liberation hermeneutics is that it helps the modern interpreter to ask the relevant questions such as: "how can there be racism and prejudice in the church in light of Scripture?"  How can there be continued oppression of the poor in Christian circles in light of Scripture?"

     Such questions challenge us to make sure that we have properly understood the teachings of Scripture.  There can be no mistake that one of the primary teachings of the prophets in the Old Testament was the oppression of the poor and disenfranchised of the land.  All we have to do is examine the words of Micah 6:8 and Amos 5:24 for an example of this teaching.  The prophets saw this continued abuse and neglect as a sign that the people were indeed sinful and in need of punishment.  Therefore, the teachings of the prophets still have relevance in the area of our ethics today.  As such liberation hermeneutics constantly call us to be mindful of this aspect of interpretation.

     It was Augustine, who initially said that any proper understanding of Scripture will lead to a proper communication of the truth of Scripture.  If our communication, or application is faulty, then have we truly understood the teaching of Scripture?  As one individual stated, what we are truly trying to do is communicate a heavenly culture that rejects our culture as well as the culture of the hearing audience.  We want to transform culture by a clear communication and application of God's timeless truths.  As interpreters we have a challenging task, to communicate the timeless message of the Bible through our own culture to another culture. 

     Even though there are some benefits to this method of interpretation in my next post we will discover that the weaknesses far out way the benefits.  Looking forward to sharing with you tomorrow some truths that will help us combat this tendency in religious circles today.