Week 4

For this our fourth session in Foundations we will entertain the thoughts and insights from Johnson's work Quest for the Living God Chapters 4 & 5.
First Prayer: 

St. Vincent de Paul 

“You will find out that Charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the full basket. But you will keep your gentleness and your smile. It is not enough to give soup and bread. This the rich can do. You are the servant of the poor, always smiling and good-humored. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting master you will see. And the uglier and the dirtier they will be, the more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them. It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.”

I would like to entertain the following questions related to Chapter 4 "Liberating God of Life:"

1. Describe the context in which liberation theology develops.
2. What is the traditional explanation for poverty? And how does Johnson describe the new insights from the communidades eclesiales de base?
3. What is the biblical grounding for this theology?
4.How does liberation theology explore "idolatry" and "mystery" differently?
5. What does "the glory of God in the poor person fully alive" mean?
6. What is praxis? How does it affect the poor and the non-poor?

A brief explanation of Liberation theology.

An excellent powerpoint explanation of liberation theology via 

Gustavo Gutierrez - Biblical roots and contemporary examples

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkGaqBmQnoI

Chapter 5 - "God Acting Womanish"

·      “Far from being silly or faddish, the theological approach women are pioneering goes forward with the conviction that only if God is named in this more complete way, only if the full reality of historical women of all races and classes enters into our symbol of the divine, only then will the idolatrous fixation on one image of God be broken, will women be empowered at their deepest core, and will religious and civic communities be converted toward healing justice in the concrete. Along the way, every female naming of the Holy produces one more fragment of the truth of the mystery of divine Sophia’s gracious hospitality toward all human beings and the earth” (God Acting Womanish – 110)
 A word on Feminist theologies

1. Considering the world and questions from the historical and contemporary experiences of women, in all their diversity.
2. It aims at the flourishing of all people and creation (94).
3. Draws on the teaching from Genesis about the equality of men and women
4. Develops in the face of a tradition of seeing women as "less" than God's image or particularly the source of sin (92).
5. NOT about victimization (91).
6. Admits that women have been excluded from the centers of power until recently, and are still not equally represented (95)