I recently had a paper shared with me that was written by the District President of the Montana District, Rev. Terry Forke. I think it is worth a read for those interested in our current cultural trends in the world and inside the LCMS as well.
Here is the PDF file of the paper “The Long Chains of Liberation Theology”.
Excellent article. I hope this will receive a wide reading.
Thank you for posting Rev. Forke’s thoughtful article. I especially appreciated the way he discussed Christian freedom as freeing believers from the harmful effects of the culture in which we live. I think that his focus on the civil protection of religious freedom was excessive. While the free exercise of religion in public is a useful blessing, its guarantee is not part of the Christian life to which we are called.
Jesus did not enjoy this blessing. He was persecuted by the religious authorities of the Temple and synagogues and the civil authorities of the Roman Empire. This persecution was an essential part of his ministry as our Savior. Jesus actively pursued this persecution by his fellowship with social outcasts and the poor and his criticism of the hypocritical moralism of the Pharisees, the shallow ritualism at the Temple, and the naked power of the Romans.
The essential aspect of liberation theology Rev. Forke does not discuss is that the sanctified Christian life will seek to use Jesus’ persecution as a model. Our behavior should reflect Jesus’ fellowship with the powerless and criticism of systems of authority that oppress them. When Christians stand up against the man-made institutions that created poverty, pollution, racism, and other forms of oppression, we should expect persecution. But with every small victory that we win, we see the answer to the prayer, “Thy kingdom come.”