On this post I want to close out my discussion of Liberation Theology by looking at some of the weaknesses or the dangers of this school of thought. One of the dangers in liberation hermeneutics is that in the desire to liberate the text from the interpretation of those who seek to oppress others, liberators have in turn forced an understanding of Scripture that may not be any better than the previous view. In their efforts to liberate the Bible from their oppressors they may have enslaved the Bible to their own presuppositions. Janet Radcliffe Richards, a proponent of feminist hermeutics states this truth when she writes "the oppressed use the enemy's tools and thereby revert back to a new kind of bondage and oppression, perhaps with different victims." Instead of allowing the Bible to speak to the culture, they are making culture speak to the Bible. This technique is not a legitimate method of Biblical interpretation. There must be some control mechanism in the area of interpretation or we will be so liberated there will be no truth. The text has to mean what it means or the result would be biblical chaos. Without hermeneutical controls people would be free to interpret Scripture anyway they please to espouse their own personal agenda.
However the main weakness that I see in liberation hermeneutics is that they have perverted the primary teaching of Scripture. The Scripture is not about liberating people from classism, racism, or sexism, it is about liberating people from the power of sin and showing people how to have a right relationship with God through personal faith in a risen Savior. All the other teachings are secondary. As a matter of fact, what have we accomplished if we liberate someone from the supposed "oppressors" and do not liberate them from sin? It is interesting to note that one of the proponents of feminist hermeneutics states that one of the potential dangers is that feminists have the tendency to "accuse and blame external systems (patriarchy, capitalism, class structure) rather than our common participation as men and women in corporate human falleness." The truth is that "there is no difference, for all (black and white, male and female, rich and poor) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Though the ambition of the liberators may be admirable, their method is faulty. The fact is that we cannot change society from the outside, but it must be changed from the inside, one person at a time. As individuals are made right with God, they will in turn be right with one another. Jesus taught this truth when He said the two greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves.
The desire of the biblical interpreter is to try to understand the original meaning of the Scripture then apply the timeless message to contemporary society. We want to be relevant and we should be relevant, but in our desire for relevancy we cannot be abusive of the original meaning of Scripture. We must allow Scripture to speak for itself and not try to put new words in the mouth of the original author.
I believe the problem we are experiencing today has more to do with application than with interpretation. For instance, if every Christian followed the principle of tithing as taught in the Scripture, the question of poverty could be solved in a relatively short amount of time. The same is true in the area of racism and prejudice that seeks to oppress another race of people. If every Christian took seriously the teachings that all are equal in the eyes of God that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus" then there would be no discrimination, oppression or abuse, at least in Christian circles. So the primary problem is not the interpretation of Scripture, but the application of the interpretation.
Ultimately it is because of our sin. We must keep in mind that the Bible says there is no one that is righteous, none whatsoever. As a result of our sin, we fail to live up to the clear teachings of God's Word. When I was serving in Central America, an individual said that in Latin America when it comes to a choice between what the Bible says and what culture says, culture will always be chosen. This fact reveals one of the problems that we have in biblical interpretation. Interpreters of Scripture must rise above culture and strive to communicate the timeless truth of God's Word in our culture. Paul told his young protege Timothy, "for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations. . ." Perhaps we too need to keep our heads in such situations and trust God's Word to communicate His timeless truth.
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