SecretMethod70

If you had even an inkling of an understanding of what liberation theology is about, you'd know how ridiculous it is for you to be calling it bigoted. Simplified to its core, liberation theology is merely about focusing on Jesus as savior from oppression, and on the ways in which Jesus' journey is similar to whatever the journey of the specific community is. In the Mexican American community (particularly near the southern border), for example, this means focusing on Jesus' Galilean roots - an area which had a mixed culture, in some ways Judean and in other ways Samarian, much like Mexican Americans are often rejected by Americans as not American enough and also by Mexicans as not Mexican enough. It is by focusing on these Galilean roots, and on the meaning of Jesus choosing to be born as a culturally mixed person, that Mexican Americans can identify with Jesus in one of their primary struggles. Jesus becomes someone they can look up to as conquering their status as an unaccepted people. Not that I really think you will, but if you actually care to learn more about the concept I recommend .

For black people, liberation theology takes on a different meaning. In this case, you have a group of people who are disproportionally punished in the criminal justice system, who live in disproportionate poverty, and who are disproportionately represented in leadership positions, among other things. The fact is, there are only two explanations: either black Americans are inferior to white Americans, or there continue to be external issues that exacerbate the problem, or at the very least, fail to make up for previous problems. If you want to talk about what's bigoted, it's saying that the entire black community has no one else to blame but itself for the fact that a black male has a 32% chance of serving prison time compared to a white male having a 6% chance. There is no other way to interpret that other than saying blacks are morally inferior, and I have no qualms about saying if you believe there are no external factors, you are a bigot.

So...since there are external factors, regardless of what they are, black Americans are an oppressed people in one way or another. Whether the chains are literal as in the past, or figurative as in the present (and, in 32% of black males case, still literal). Within Christianity, Jesus is the ultimate champion of the oppressed, having been oppressed himself, and having been born to a lowly tradesman (note, I'm not bothering to take into account what may or may not be historically accurate with this, because that's irrelevent when it comes to theology, particularly in the case of liberation theology). Black liberation theology is about overcoming oppression, with Jesus as inspiration and, no pun intended, as a brother. What it does not do is paint all white people in the same light, which is what you apparently would like to pretend it does. But it has no reservations about calling out white people - or black people - who do not stand up for what is just, particularly in the case of the black community. If you care to actually learn more about this, I recomment Douglas argues - rightly, IMO - that Jesus must be seen as representative of all that is oppressed. He is black, he is a woman, he is homosexual, etc. Or whatever applies to some other particular culture. The point is simple: what he is not is a representation of those in power. In the case of America (generally speaking), he is certainly not white.

Finally, no, I wouldn't have a problem with an Appalachian liberation theology, were one to develop. Again, it is about focusing the Jesus story on its relevance to the applicable community's struggles, and there are no doubt struggles that poor whites face that the Jesus story can apply to more specifically than "believe in Jesus and you'll get to Heaven" which, conveniently, helps keep people's minds off the struggles in their real life now.

In many ways, the Christian religion, like religions before it, has become tied with the state in the sense that it helps distract people from their reality. At least when you're talking about mainstream Christianity, it has certainly become the religion of the comfortable people rather than a religion which specifically relates to the poor over against those who are well-off. The Jesus movement, while not a direct challenge to Roman power, was certainly not a happy-go-lucky "it's OK that everything sucks cause when we die we'll go to a magical place" movement. For one thing, the concept of the Kingdom of God being a place separate from Earth, and a reward you get after you die, came well after Jesus died. Liberation theology, in whatever form, is one way of reclaiming the Jesus story to learn lessons about life and challenges in the here and now, rather than to learn what to do so that you can go to Heaven after you die and leave your miserable life here.

So, yes, liberation theology often finds itself necessarily opposed to certain institutions and people. But so is real Christianity if you actually pay attention to its messages. "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'" (Matthew 19:23-24, NRSV) That's pretty militant talk when you consider what it means to enter the Kingdom of God. No, Jesus isn't proclaiming that the poor should violently overthrow their oppressors, but he is very clearly saying that wealthy people are morally bankrupt and unworthy of god's love. Considering the context of the statement, he might as well have been saying "God damn Rome!" And, well, we all know how the people in power felt about him saying such things.

Bigotry I have a problem with. But I also have a problem with religion as a tool of distraction, and as a tool for - intentionally or not - preventing challenges to the status quo. Liberation theology is not about bigotry, but it is about challenging that status quo and recognizing that Jesus is always on the side of the oppressed, no matter how many times millionaire Pat Robertson prays.

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