The Liberation Theology Podcast

Pedro Trigo, SJ, helps us answer three key questions about creation and the material world. How to believe in a God of life in a situation marked by death? How to live with God when it is demanded of us to bear the mark of the beast? What is the relationship between humanity and nature? Resources: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Ecumenical theologian and author Stephen D. Morrison joins David to discuss common objections to liberation theology and to present a patristic, anti-capitalist Christianity. Isn’t Christianity about a change of heart and a personal relationship with God? Why turn religion into economics and politics? It’s true that early Christians abolished private property and shared their possessions, but this model did not last long because it was unrealistic. Human beings are fallen and selfish. Capitalism is the best economic model given the reality of original sin. Why repeat a failed, impossible experiment by advocating for common property today? Didn’t key figures in the early Church have a wide array of views on economics? Is there enough consensus among them to claim that their witness gives relatively clear guidelines on religion and economics? Marx was an atheist and a materialist. These starting points are not compatible with a Christian approach. Further, Marxism is responsible for the deaths of millions of people in the 20th Century. Why take Marx seriously given that his first principles are flawed and his views yielded mass murder? What is your “elevator pitch” for Christian socialism? How has liberation theology shaped your life and thought as a Christian socialist? Resource: All Riches Come From Injustice https://www.sdmorrison.org/books/ Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Laurel Marshall Potter and David Inczauskis present, critique, and share personal intercultural experiences related to the content of Paulo Suess' Mysterium Liberationis chapter on inculturation. How have the Catholic sacraments been abused in the process of Latin America's colonization? To what extent can we arrive at an understanding of Jesus' culture and relate it to today's cultural milieu? How have Latin American countries constructed national cultural identity, and who is marginalized in this construction? What's the connection between local culture and international struggle?

Revolutionary force does not emerge from a blank slate, from a level playing field. It is a response to systemic injustice, to repression, to a state of affairs that kills, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Drawing from Juan Hernández Pico's ML chapter, David looks at the historical, biblical, and ecclesial sources of a liberationist approach to violence. To conclude, David presents a few key points from "Teaching Methods for Liberation: Practical Insights from Liberation Theology." Resources: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Ignite: A Decolonial Approach to Higher Education Through Space, Place, and Culture https://vernonpress.com/book/1024 Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Dr. Michael E. Lee joins the podcast for the first time to discuss Ignacio Ellacuría's essay "The Crucified People" in Mysterium Liberationis. The discussion covers the story of Prof. Lee's engagement with Ellacuría; the relationship among the crucifixion of contemporary people in Latin America, the crucifixion of Jesus, and salvation; the debate surrounding this landmark text; and Ellacuría's use of Karl Marx. Resources: Ignacio Ellacuría: Essays on History, Liberation, and Salvation edited by Michael E. Lee https://orbisbooks.com/products/ignacio-ellacuria Bearing the Weight of Salvation: The Soteriology of Ignacio Ellacuría by Michael E. Lee https://www.amazon.fr/Bearing-Weight-Salvation-Soteriology-Ellacur%C3%ADa/dp/0824524217 Revolutionary Saint: The Theological Legacy of Oscar Romero by Michael E. Lee https://orbisbooks.com/products/n-a-3 Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

María Soledad del Villar Tagle returns to speak about some of the European roots of Gutiérrez' liberation theology in the French nouvelle théologie movement. David shares the varied responses of two German theologians, Moltmann and Metz, to liberation theology, and concludes with a positive assessment of the compatibility of Catholicism and socialism as well as a refutation of the alleged natural right to private property. Resources: "The European Roots of A Theology of Liberation: Gustavo Gutiérrez and the Nouvelle Théologie" by María Soledad del Villar Tagle https://www.academia.edu/81240675/The_European_Roots_of_A_Theology_of_Liberation_Gustavo_Guti%C3%A9rrez_and_the_Nouvelle_Th%C3%A9ologie Photo of The Crucified God book stained by the blood of the UCA martyr Juan Ramón Moreno, S.J. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M%C3%A1rtires_de_la_UCA_-_Libro_Dios_crucificado_con_sangre_de_Juan_Ram%C3%B3n_Moreno.jpg "Europe and Its Discontents" by Benedict XVI https://www.firstthings.com/article/2006/01/europe-and-its-discontents The Ideological Weapons of Death: A Theological Critique of Capitalism by Franz J. Hinkelammert https://coleccion.uca.edu.sv/files/original/7df4fb5477c141b8c3958d22a493414ae9344dd3.pdf Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

The Spanish-to-English translator of St. Oscar Romero's diary, Dr. Irene B. Hodgson of Xavier University, joins David to discuss the archbishop's inspirational life and his understanding of his role as an ordained minister. Then, David presents three theses on ministry in the church based on José María Castillo's chapter in "Mysterium Liberationis." Main texts: A Shepherd's Diary by Oscar Romero, translated by Irene B. Hodgson https://www.amazon.com/Archbishop-Oscar-Romero-Shepherds-Diary/dp/0867161701/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3FQO1J1SCG1SZ&keywords=irene+hodgson+romero&qid=1673712536&sprefix=%2Caps%2C479&sr=8-2 Through the Year with Oscar Romero, translated by Irene B. Hodgson https://www.amazon.com/Through-Year-Oscar-Romero-Meditations/dp/1632530651/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3FQO1J1SCG1SZ&keywords=irene+hodgson+romero&qid=1673712605&sprefix=%2Caps%2C479&sr=8-1 Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

David presents and assesses three perspectives on the relation between ideology and Christianity from the French Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser, the German theologian Karl Rahner, SJ, and the Spanish-born Salvadoran philosopher and theologian Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ. Main texts: "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" (1970) by Louis Althusser https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm "Is Christianity an ideology?" (1965) by Karl Rahner https://concilium-vatican2.org/en/issues/ Ignacio Ellacuria: Essays on History, Liberation, and Salvation (2013) by Michael E. Lee https://orbisbooks.com/products/ignacio-ellacuria Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

What exactly is ideology? How does liberation theology respond to critics who claim that liberation theology itself is ideological? And how does liberation theology engage with the prominent ideologies of our day? Main text: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Secondary texts: Composer un monde en commun: Une théologie politique de l'anthropocène by Gaël Giraud https://www.decitre.fr/livres/composer-un-monde-en-commun-9782021474404.html "Socialism and the Churches" by Rosa Luxemburg https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1905/misc/socialism-churches.htm A People's Green New Deal by Max Ajl https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745341750/a-peoples-green-new-deal/ Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Jesuit scholar and priest Anthony Lusvardi introduces the sacraments as the ecclesial preservation of the embodied graces of Jesus' earthly presence and as the primary way that most Catholics engage with God and the Church. David interprets Víctor Codina's chapter on the sacraments, situates them within the project of the reign of God, and describes the sense in which liturgy should be "ugly and scandalous." Tony's website: https://tonylusvardisj.com/ Text: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Though many consider "evangelization" to be converting others to Christianity, in liberation theology, "evangelization" means more than sharing a creed: it means bringing glad tidings to the poor--as Jesus himself defined it. It means seeing the suffering of the oppressed, feeling compassion, and acting smartly to alleviate their present pain as well as uprooting the unjust systemic factors that produced it. Texts: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

John Thiede, SJ, joins David to discuss liberation Christology. How have liberation theologians thought about Christ, and what difference does a liberationist understanding of Christ make in Latin America? Texts: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Remembering Oscar Romero and the Martyrs of El Salvador: A Cloud of Witnesses by John Thiede, SJ https://www.amazon.com/-/es/John-Thiede-SJ/dp/1498537987 Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Leonardo Boff shows how the Trinity serves as a model for a just society and how heresies against the Trinity reflect and reinforce various kinds of social oppression. David shares highlights from an interview with Chema Tojeira, SJ, on Nayib Bukele and El Salvador's crypto-financialization. Texts: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html "El Salvador’s president made Bitcoin a national currency. A Jesuit says the project reminds him of ‘the seven deadly sins’" https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2022/01/24/nayib-bukele-bitcoin-jesuits-el-salvador-242257 Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

God is not a single person but a community of three equal persons. So, as the Orthodox socialists of Russia would say, "The Trinity should be our social program." We examine the first half of Leonardo Boff's essay on the Trinity alongside commentary by Ismael Moreno, SJ, on the presidential victory of the social democrat Xiomara Castro in Honduras. Texts: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html "Jesuit Fr. Melo on the presidential victory of Xiomara Castro in Honduras: 'We are a happy people after a long bout of sadness.'" https://thejesuitpost.org/2021/12/jesuit-fr-melo-on-the-presidential-victory-of-xiomara-castro-in-honduras-we-are-a-happy-people-after-a-long-bout-of-sadness/ Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Why did the Salvadoran military assassinate Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ, and his companions on Nov. 16, 1989? Ellacuría openly and emphatically emphasized this subversive dimension of the Christian faith. He claimed that Latin America is searching for “revolutionary change rather than reformist change” and that Christianity exhibits a “subversive dynamism,” which, though running the risk of Marxist co-option, can propel revolution against “the demands of capital.” A continued interpretation of Juan Luis Segundo's "Revelation, Faith, Signs of the Times" accompanies our discussion of Ellacuría. Texts: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html "A sus órdenes, mi capital" https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X6IFk8uIV-bTiOagivWS1Ig6RDtOGu82/view?usp=sharing Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

We return to "Mysterium Liberationis" and interpret Juan Luis Segundo SJ's essay "Revelation, Faith, Signs of the Times." Despite the order of the elements in the title, historically speaking, humans face the signs of the times, bet with faith on a way of addressing them, and come to understand this way as revelation (or not) according to its fruits. David shares two personal narratives to illustrate Segundo's points. Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Guest María Soledad del Villar Tagle and David discuss the church from the intersecting angles of feminism, liberation, Chile, personal experience, and clerical sexual abuse. Sole's work: Academia.edu https://bc.academia.edu/Mar%C3%ADaSoledadDelVillarTagle Las asistentes sociales de la Vicaría de la Solidaridad https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Mar%C3%ADa-Soledad-Del-Villar-Tagle/dp/9563571509 Mujeres Iglesia https://www.facebook.com/MujeresIglesiaChile/ A Calzón Quitao! https://www.instagram.com/acalzonquitaomm/ Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

David and Marcus discuss Sobrino's essay "The Central Position of the Reign of God in Liberation Theology." How do we define the Reign of God? What are its biblical and historical parameters? Text: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

What is the new human being? What will the new economy and new society look like? David uses the war on terror to illustrate the "old human being" and compares Ignacio Ellacuría's vision of the new human being with Che Guevara's. Texts: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html "Socialism and Man in Cuba" by Ernesto "Che" Guevara https://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/1965/03/man-socialism.htm Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network

Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ, contends that, in liberation praxis, prophecy is the method, utopia is the horizon, and the reign of God is the revelation. David interviews Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ, about his new book "The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice." Text: Mysterium liberationis https://www.orbisbooks.com/mysterium-liberationis.html Saint-Jean's book: The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Work-Racial-Justice-Meditations/dp/1625248369 Music: "Los molinos" by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins "Azure Sky" by Terry Devine-King and Adam Drake Obtained via subscription to Audio Network