Have any of you read or studied a thing called liberation theology?

It's pretty cool. In a nutshell, it's a theological/political movement that portrays Jesus as a liberator from the yoke of economic oppression. I think there's a pretty good case to be made there. Jesus did spend an awful lot of time talking about economic justice.

I understand everybody interprets things differently. Personally, my understanding of Jesus and Christianity is a large part -- the biggest part, really -- of my liberalism, and why I identify myself as a liberal.

I know that will get a lot of squawking from a certain stripe of conservative.

I personally think that Jesus was also more of a socialist, and that he wouldn't like capitalism if he was here today. However, Jesus also lead a moral movement. He wanted people to follow his preachings from the good of their hearts, and was not involved in politics. If liberals/socialists were like this, and they all set up communes in Siberia or somewhere, I would not mind them. The problem comes when people seek to force their morals on other people through political power. This is where I cannot accept socialism, but I can still be a Christian and do good works voluntarily when I feel like it.

__________________
.

"It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

--Murray Rothbard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skinny. A liberal is just a libertarian who hasn't studied economics.

I dont know if your talking about me, but I never said he was a Socialist.

I dont think the Republican party or modern Capitalism existed back then either lol.

We are simply saying that he shares some Socialist views when looking at it in the modern sense.

DayBreaker---Yes I am familiar with the Liberation Theology and I agree its pretty interesting. What is actually the most interesting to me about it though is some of the stuff that the Catholic Church wasn't ok with for various reasons lol.

__________________
"The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments"

--George Washington

"Never spend your money before you have earned it."

--Thomas Jefferson

"One man with courage is a majority."

--Thomas Jefferson

I basically agree with this. I think that good works are inherently voluntary (if they're involuntary then they sort of stop being good, don't they?).

But are your day-to-day dealings voluntary under modern capitalism, either? Not so much, I don't think. A clever person can use the free market to coerce and abuse others just as readily as a clever person can use communism to do the same. I'm sure you've heard of a rich guy getting his way in America now and then, right?

A part of me wants to agree also, but another part of me wants to think that good works should not be subject to the "demand" for it... at least not always If this gives others the right to somehow enforce "good" acts, I don't know...

__________________
True knowledge exists in being aware of what you don't know.

Didn't jesus go into the temple and start flipping tables over? i remember that in a movie about him..

__________________
Collective? I'm sure thats easy when your not surrounded by a bunch of (*)(*)(*)(*)ing retards!!!

So I understand.

__________________
True knowledge exists in being aware of what you don't know.

Bah. I think people try to compare it to Jesus to gain some support. To assume things are at all like how they were in Jesus' time sounds crazy.

Well temples used to run everything back then this was a stand against political control.. jesus was a libertarian.

__________________
Collective? I'm sure thats easy when your not surrounded by a bunch of (*)(*)(*)(*)ing retards!!!

Yeah he did, but he did that because people were defiling the temple by turning it into a market for goods. It has nothing to do with any opposition to there being a market anywhere!