Liberation Theology: Poverty

"A friend linked me" to this simple but fantastic interview with Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, "Remembering the Poor". Fr. Gutiérrez speaks briefly on the teachings of Jesus Christ as a liberation theology through the lens of poverty as an injustice. You should read it :]

Some ideas that it discusses(quotes are the words of Fr. Gutiérrez):

"There was a time when poverty was considered to be an unavoidable fate, but such a view is no longer possible or responsible. Now we know that poverty is not simply a misfortune; it is an injustice." ‎"An active concern for the poor is not only an obligation for those who feel a political vocation; all Christians must take the Gospel message of justice and equality seriously." - Let it be known, that this IS what Jesus taught. esus did not teach to do anything other than love others, and especially those in most need of our, and God's, mercy.
- "Matthew 25:34-45 (NIV)":
' The King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
- Whether you believe in a God, reincarnation, any form of enlightenment, or no god at all, this is real living. I do not claim to live it; even though I try. But those few moments in which I do, I do not wish to live any other life than that of helping those in need.

"In a rich and powerful nation, the challenge is to remember the poor and not succumb to ethnocentrism."


Inspiration:
"Remembering the Poor: An Interview with Gustavo Gutiérrez"
BenHammond.org

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A Big Misunderstanding and BIG TIME Exploitation

I was on Yahoo! Answers when I saw the question: "Why do people often blame the poor for their own plight?" I answered it; I like answering meaningful question. Or I should say, I like answering questions(some aren't, in themselves, meaningful) with meaningful answers. My answer was relatively simple. By that I mean, I did not cover all that could be discussed in an answer to that question. However, I think it is adequate:

"I witness this phenomenon as well. Really, they just don't understand. They don't understand what it is like to be unavoidably thrown into an unfortunate situation. Because it hasn't happened to them, they assume that they could easily avoid it. They just have no idea. I'm sure there are some people who had plenty of control over their life, but the vast majority of those living hard lives have been put in that position by our greed and profit driven, capitalistic society. Especially our health care system.

I highly recommend the movie SICKO. It depicts just how greedy the protectors of our health care system are. Most Americans have no idea. They accept the system as normal, when it it inhumane and socially unacceptable.

Similarly unfortunate events occur outside of our borders to do the same thing to citizens of other countries. In nearly every unavoidable case, it has probably been because of some form of greed(for money, power, etc.).

The solution: American citizens need to be educated on just what the wealthy people who run our country (not just the congressmen and President) are doing to its people. Capitalism is about a few getting rich, and for what? What we need is a system not centered on ripping people off. Free education, universal health care, etc."

Here is a link to the question itself. The answer above me is actually a great example of what many people think. Why do people...?

What do you think about people living in unfortunate situations? It is always their fault? Is it usually their fault? Again, I strongly recommend SICKO for anybody, regardless of your view on this. The book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins also sheds a great deal of light on the true America.

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