At first glance, evangelicals and liberation theologians seem rather different. On average, American evangelicals are middle-aged white Southerners, have conservative and republican ideologies, and historically originate from the tradition of fundamentalist Protestantism. Liberation theologians, on the other hand, come from a diverse array of backgrounds and historical contexts but in general are tied to the needs of a community and concerned with the transformation of social existence.
Yet, when one considers what evangelicalism and liberation theology are at their core, where they come from, and what is central to them, similarities subsist. In their broadest senses, liberation theology and evangelicalism are movements. They are not formal organizations, Christian denominations, or churches. No one attends 1st Evangelical of Chicago or Christ the Liberator of New York. There are no governing bodies that manage their affairs or central administrations to define what is and is not part of these movements. Evangelicalism and liberation theology are umbrella terms. They cover a wide span of Christian traditions, and it is the individuals within these movements who define them.
Historically, these streams were formed as reactions to circumstances. Liberation theology developed in response to social atrocities—Black liberation theology from within the context of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, and Latin liberation theology from theologians who witnessed extreme poverty, inequality, and violence in South America. Although not arising out of such dire circumstances, Evangelicalism was also a response. It is rooted in 20th century fundamentalism, which was a reaction to Protestant liberalism. These fundamentalists be...
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...onement: Biblical, Theological, and Practical Perspectives: Essays in Honor of Roger Nicole, edited by Charlies E. Hill and Frank A. James. Downer Grove: IVP, 2004.
Newport, Frank and Carroll, Joseph. “Another Look at Evangelicals in America Today,” Gallup,
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Noll, Mark A. “What is ‘Evangelical?’” in The Oxford Handbook of Evangelical Theology, edited by Gerald R. McDermott. New York: Oxford Press, 2010
Schreiner, Thomas R. “Penal Substitution View” in The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views, edited by James Beilby and Paul R. Eddy. Downer Groves: IVP, 2006.
Sobrino, Jon. Jesus the Liberator: A Historical-Theological Reading of Jesus of Nazareth.
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Even though the First and Second Great Awakenings focused its attention on other matters of life later on, religion was the theme upon which they were built. The First Great Awakening started among the American colonial Protestants during the early 1700s, mainly due to the weakening of the strict Puritan tradition of religious doctrine, and in part, the religious decline caused by negative publicity from the Salem witch trials and the Enlightenment (www.wikipedia.org). The movement to correct these problems began with Jonathan Edwards, a strictly Puritan, orthodox theologian from Massachusetts who dedicated his time to bringing the people back to the strict Calvinist roots, and to reawaken the fear of God' (www.wikipedia.org). He was a powerful speaker, and preached to his large followings that it was to simply come to church was not enough to be saved, but they must also acknowledge their grievances in the heart, and feel God's love for them (Danzer, 38). He set off the wave of religious revival, as preachers traveled all across the colonies, attracted thousands of people to revival meetings of spiritual rebirth, gave impassioned sermons, and encouraged people to rededicate themselves to God (Danzer, 38). Although after the First Great Awakening America's religious zeal faded, its influence in religion was the beginning step (www.wikipedia.org). The Second Great Awakening's religious cycle took a bigger step in trying to turn the religious tide. Starting in New York during the early 1800s, the movement spread north, south, and west before ending during the 1840s (Klepp, 2). The Second Great Awakening's religious portion came about through the replacement of the predestination doctrine with the belief that anyone, whether they be sinners or not, can achieve salvation through the internal and external struggle against sin.
Edwards died roughly 20 years before the American Revolution, which means he was a British subject at birth and death. Edwards believed that religion is tied to nations and empires, and that revivals were necessary in history. Edwards’ belief in revivals began what is known as The Great Awakening. Edwards’ purpose in ministry was the preaching that God is sovereign, but also loving towards his creation. Since God is sovereign, Edwards claimed that God worked through revolutions and wars to bring the message of the gospel (Marsden, Jonathon Edwards, 4, 9, 197). Edwards’ most known sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was preached to revive the demoralized congregations. The congregations of New England had low memberships within different churches, and competition from denominational pluralism was stagnant (Lukasik, 231). Getting the colonists to return back to God was the mission and purpose of The Great Awakening. Through this, Edwards hoped that this movement will foster a great increase in learning about God (Marsden, Jonathon Edwards,
1) Jonathan Edwards delivered this sermon during the first Great Awakening, a time of religious revival in Europe and America. During the Great Awakening, christianity shifted its focus from ceremonies and rituals, and began to realign itself with introspection to encourage fostering a deep sense of morality and redemption. Edwards was a key preacher and minister that delivered many sermons preaching about revival and reformed theology.
Wesleyans and Fundamentalist may have different views on different subject matter reguarding the doctrine and the theology because of their presupsitions. Although this book makes comparasionsleyans to between Wesleyans and Fundamentalists , the Authors of this book makes a clear message that although we may have differnt views on scripture tere is no way to be sure which one is correct however, "we recognize that Wesleyans and their sisters and brothers who are fundamentalists share a love for Jesus Christ and his inaugurated kingdom." (8) Meaning that we the readers should not discriminate between the two views because untimently they both love Jesus and it is for the glory of God.
Evangelicalism by its very nature is hard to define. In fact, Douglas Sweeney, Chair of the Church History and the History of Christian Thought Department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School states, “precious little consensus exists among those who have tried to describe the evangelical movement.” Nevertheless, Sweeney does an excellent attempt by briefly explicating the diverse history of the evangelical movement in his book, The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement. Sweeney, a Lutheran and expert in American religion and culture not only introduces
"God of the Oppressed" is brilliantly organized into ten chapters. These chapters serve as the building blocks to the true understanding of Cone’s Black Theology. This progressive movement begins with an introduction of both him and his viewpoint. He explains that his childhood in Bearden, Arkansas and his membership to Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E) has taught him about the black Church experience and the sociopolitical significance of white people. “My point is that one’s social and historical context decides not only the questions we address to God but also the mode of form of the answers given to the questions.” (14) The idea of “speaking the truth” is added at this point because to go any further the reader must understand the reason and goal for Black Theology. Through the two sources in that shape theology, experience and scripture, white theology concludes that the black situation is not a main point of focus. Cone explains the cause for this ignorance, “Theology is not a universal language; it is interested language and thus is always a reflection of the goals and aspirations of a particular people in a definite social setting.” (36) This implies that one’s social context shapes their theology and white’s do not know the life and history of blacks. As the reader completes the detailed analysis of society’s role in shaping experiences, Cone adds to the second source, scripture.
New brands of distinctly American Christianity began developing early in the country’s history. Before the revolution, George Whitefield set the stage for American religious movements. The most important factor that helped launch these movements was the American Revolution. The country was ripe with conversation and action on a new understanding of freedom. The revolution “expanded the circle of people who considered themselves capable of thinking for themselves about issues of … equality, sovereignty, and representation” (6). The country was beginning to move toward an understanding of strength lying in the common people, and the people’s ability to make their own personal decisions on issues of leadership and authority. There was a common belief that class structure was the major societal problem. The revolution created the an open environment that pushed equality of the individual, allowing political and religious beliefs to flourish and grow without being held in check by authoritarian leaders.
Slavery was a dominant part of the political and social arenas of 1800’s America. However, it was not homogenous as it divided America into two distinct groups: those who supported it and those who did not. Traditionally, the states in the north had been anti-slavery while the states in the south had been pro-slavery. Southern life and economy depended on slavery and therefore staunchly supported the continued legal status of slavery. The northern states on the other hand recognized the inhumane nature of slavery and campaigned to establish equality for all citizens. In order to establish solid reasoning for their stance, both pro-slave and anti-slave groups turned to theological inspiration for their actions. The Bible inspired both pro-slavery advocates and anti-slavery abolitionists alike. Religion was used in order to justify slavery and also to condemn it.
The Second Great Awakening impacted the social scholarly literature. The traditional school of thought has tended to portray the time period as one of widespread secularization and the concomitant efforts of church elites to bring wandering Christians back into the ecclesiastical fold. The Second Great Awakening appears as a process of renewal, as churches tried to co-opt Evangelical activism by dressing in new clothes, rather than the old traditional. By concentrating on the impulses of the Presbyterian and Congregationalist establishments, but neglecting the Second Great Awakening outside New En...
The ministers of the Great Awakening certainly account for the tremendous success that the movement attained. George Whitefield is the primary figure in this group of men. In John Gillies introduction to Memoirs of Rev. George Whitefield, he states of Whitefield that “no individual . . . has so identified himself with the growth and spread of practical religion, in England and America” (iii). In this text as well as in Frank Lambert’ s “ ‘Pedlar in Divinity’: George Whitefield and the Great Awakening, 1737-1745,” George Whitefield is recognized as the catalyst behind the success of the movement. Lambert argues that Whitefield’s success was anchored in his ability to market the revival. He gives an account of the cartons full of literature that Whitefield brings to the colonies with hopes of elevating the movement to great le...
Black Liberation Theology can be defined as the relationship that blacks have with god in their struggle to end oppression. It sees god as a god of history and the liberator of the oppressed from bondage. Black Liberation theology views God and Christianity as a gospel relevant to blacks who struggle daily under the oppression of whites. Because of slavery, blacks concept of God was totally different from the masters who enslaved them. White Christians saw god as more of a spiritual savior, the reflection of God for blacks came in the struggle for freedom by blacks. Although the term black liberation theology is a fairly new, becoming popular in the early 1960’s with Black Theology and Black Power, a book written by James H. Cone, its ideas are pretty old, which can be clearly seen in spirituals sang by Africans during the time of slavery nearly 400 years ago.# It was through these hymns that black liberation spawned. Although Cone is given credit for “the discovery of black liberation theology,” it’s beliefs can quite clearly be seen in the efforts of men like preacher Nat Turner and his rebellion of slavery in mid 1800’s or Marcus Garvey, one of the first men to “see god through black spectacles” in the early 1900’s. More recently black theology emerged as a formal discipline. Beginning with the "black power" movement in 1966, black clergy in many major denominations began to reassess the relationship of the Christian church to the black community. Black caucuses developed in the Catholic, Presbyterian, and Episcopal churches. "The central thrust of these new groups was to redefine the meaning and role of the church and religion in the lives of black people. Out of this reexamination has come what some have called Bla...
The origination of Black Theology was only cracked open by the idea of slave theology. The origination of Black Theology first began when churches began to become segregated. Many could not understand how Whites could continue to behave this way in the Lords house. It was soon realized that this was because according to them their God allowed segregation. The Whites even went on to say that biblical figures had slaves. Many, such as Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, who is regarded as “the apostle of Black Theology” in the United States, Howard Thurman, and Martin Luther King all contributed to the cause of Black liberation and theology throughout black history. Due to these men Black Theology emerged as a formal discipline. Many black clergy were apart of the “Black Power” movement in 1966. Black Theology began to originate when it was realized that a new staring point was needed in theology. It was realized that just as everything else had been taught incorrect so had Biblical history. James Cone is accredited as the most prolific and sophisticated write of the new Black Theology. Black Theology was developed by early theologians because Black people needed something to believe in and give them help in times of need. The idea of Black Th...
Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.
New Testament. Vol. 2. Edited by Gerhard Kittel. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964.
To attempt to address these questions, Gundry compiles a collection of responses from the views of five scholars representing the Weslyan (Melvin E. Dieter), Reformed (Anthony A. Hoekema), Pentecostal (Stanley M. Horton), Keswick (J. Robertson McQuilkin), and Augustinian-Dispensational (John F. Walvoord). Each contributor provides an overview and introduction to their specific evangelical position and at the same time compare and critique as they response to the other views presented. This is an excellent study as it helps to clarify the essentials as well as the distinctiveness of each position.