Teaching 2 of 3
Because of the pervasiveness of Liberation ideologies, I will now seek to address some of the false notions of this doctrine (teaching) which so dominates the times in which we live.
Here is both a repeated theme as well as a precise explanation of Liberation Ideology:
“The oppressed must break free or be liberated from those who are oppressing them.”
Please read my previous teaching article titled: Understanding Liberation Theology
Below are some of the resulting behaviors that are rooted in Liberation Theology/Ideology contrasted with the biblical view.
As a reminder, a theology includes God or a god, while an ideology espouses ideas without the assumption of a Supreme Being. Many ideologies act or behave like a religion in the sense that someone, or some form of authority, functions as ‘god.’
For brevity sake, hereis a key code to the following:
LT/I= Liberation Theology/Ideology
BV/BB=Biblical View & Biblical Behavior
LT/I: Redistribution of wealth in order to foster equality. This behavior is taken directly from the Marxist handbook. Like Aristotle said, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.”
BV/BB: The Bible teaches private wealth is generated by personal work which brings peace, security, and prosperity (1 Kings 4:25; 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12).
“During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.” – 1Kings 4:25 NIV. This is the verse that the Founders of America used to support the right to private property.
“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.” – 1Thessalonians 4:11-12 NLT
Jesus Christ never viewed profit as evil but only the misuse of profit. He expects us to be responsible managers/stewards of the resources given to us. (see Matthew 25:14-30)
LT/I: Racism is only racism if the wealthy or the oppressor discriminates. The oppressed of any society can never be accused of racism. For example, under Black Liberation Ideology, blacks can never be accused of racism. There is always white supremacy but never black supremacy or blacks who are racist.
BV/BB: The Bible teaches judicial justice is always to be fair irrespective of a person’s color of skin, position of power, or economic conditions or disparities (see Exodus 23:1-3).
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. 2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.” – Exodus 23:1-3
“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great but judge your neighbor fairly” – Leviticus 19:15
Biblical justice is civil, legal, or judicial in nature, as in a court of law. Judgments are rendered based on an individual’s behaviors, not justice meted out to societal groups (See Proverbs 29:13, 14).
“The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.” – Proverbs 29:13 NKJV
This verse is one of many that shows that all men are equal before God and, therefore, God will judge both the oppressor (king) as well as his subjects (the poor) without partiality.
LT/I: Personal or group violence is justified to help break the bonds of those in power. Those in movements like Antifa, Black Panthers, or Black Lives Matter regularly justify group intimidation.
Masked anarchists demonstrate with clubs, protective clothing and mace, all in an effort to intimidate the police, or as a liberation proponent would call them, “the authority-oppressors.”
These aggressive and violent behaviors have now moved beyond fighting only those in authority. Aggression and intimidation is now being carried out where conservative speakers gather privately or in the public square as they address people genuinely interested in their viewpoint.
The real solution to controlling these anarchists lies with those in political power who have the authority to empower police to use strength, arresting, and physical removal of anarchists. Paul instructs government authorities to exercise power to bring punishment on the evil-doer.
“For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” – Romans 13:3-4
BV/BB: The Bible supports the right of a person to defend themselves from any person attacking or threatening them with the intent to harm or kill. (see Exodus 22:2; Nehemiah 4:16-18; Luke 22:36 below).
“If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, [there shall be] no guilt for his bloodshed” – Exodus 22:2 NKJV
“But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. 18 All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm” – Nehemiah 4:16-18 NLT
“But now,” He [Christ] said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” – Luke 22:36 NLT
The Bible does not condone personal hostile retaliation (Romans 12:19) towards individuals or the government. However, it does condone the right to resist or to disobey the governing authority when it violates the Word of God (Acts 4:18-20).
“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” – Luke 22:36 NLT
LT/I: Social Justice becomes the new politically-correct cry. In reality, so-called “social justice” is no more than a call to redistribute wealth. Liberation ideologies such as Marxism, socialism, fascism, feminism, etc. always emphasize the group rather than individual. Thus, the notion of identity politics becomes an emphasis of the liberation movements. Even though each group has a set of absolutes exclusive only to them, the overall absolute is that the oppressed always have the right to overcome the oppressor.
BV/BB:
Redistribution of wealth:
In Luke 19:11-27, Christ gives the parable of the Minas (pay for about one day of work) in which the King gives each servant an equal amount of money with this admonition: “put this money to work until I get back.” Of the three servants, two managed the money well and made a profit, but one did not. For that servant, upon the King’s return, the master took his minas (pound) and gave it to the servant who earned the most and who was the most industrious and, at that point, the wealthiest. Christ was clearly not a socialist! ☺
“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 “‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ 26 “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away” – Luke 19:24-26 NLT
The “ism” Ideologies
All Liberation ideologies with an “ism” emphasize the “state” (also the Federal Government) as the answer to the social problems of the day. Once again, the theme is “the oppressed must be liberated from the oppressor.”
The Biblical view is that the individual is responsible for his actions and, therefore, reaps the rewards of his behavior.
“Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor” – 1 Corinthians 3:8 NASB
No Absolutes
One of the characteristics of Postmodernism is the fact that each so-called interest group (i.e. Homosexuals, Environmentalist, Feminists etc.) espouses their own set of values and absolutes while denying an overarching absolute of what is morally right and morally wrong.
“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” – Judges 17:6 NASB
The biblical view is that there is an overarching right and wrong based on God’s Word, which applies not only universally but for each and every subgroup.
“Woe [judgment] to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! … 23 Who acquit the guilty for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right” – Isaiah 5:20, 23 NASB
The biblical view is that injustice is the result of individual human selfishness, deceitfulness, malice, envy, greed and lust. Injustice is the consequence of our free will as human beings (Exodus 23:8; Mark 7:20). “Society” is not the cause of injustice. Society is merely a reflection of who we are. However, judicial justice is of paramount concern in Torah. Look to Deuteronomy 16:20, which is the only place in Scripture where the doubled-noun word Justice is used twice in the same verse!
“Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” – Deuteronomy 16:20
I am reminded of the biblical axiom that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough,” (1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9) —that is, if diligence is not practiced, little changes ignored can grow into big problems.
Those with a pro-God worldview must become reengaged in society. They must not only vocally and politically reassert their support and approval for the public religious liberties expressions that Americans have enjoyed and cherished for four centuries, but they must also denounce those who attack and seek to abolish those liberties and expressions. If we do not, we will continue to lose those liberties by default—by silence and inactivity.
Remember that even though God told His people that He had given them the Promised Land, they still had to keep fighting the giants. In fact, the lesson of the children of Israel clearly demonstrates that if you don’t like fighting, get used to living in the wilderness; but if you enjoy the richness of what God has promised, learn to battle hostile forces. A very helpful resource is an article in the Founders’ Bible titled: We Won’t Be Silent pages 1667-1676.
So, What Do We Do?
Begin by educating yourself and your family members. Read, read, read! Acquaint yourself with authors who have a biblical frame of reference with regard to what is happening in society at large.
A most valuable resource is the Jewish scholar Dennis Prager. Rooted in Torah, his pragerU.com website is a must for every culturally attuned Christ follower. He presents short videos from a wide range of scholars on a variety of subjects. I cannot recommend him any higher than I can in view of what is taking place in our society. It is sad to say, but you will not get this information in church but his website will answer questions that your kids are being inundated with at school.
Purchase The Founders’ Bible, general editor David Barton and read the articles identified with Scripture. Here are some suggestions as to what you can do.
–Select 10 and make a 10-week study in your church small group.
–Pay your grandkids a few bucks an article to read 10 articles and sit with them and discuss the truths from Scripture and our history. If they only read five and you connect with them, you will be on your way to success!
–If you are happily married ☺ sit with your spouse and read aloud several of the articles and discuss the powerful information.
–I have given this Bible for wedding presents, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, graduations, and birthdays. Here is a website to order the Bible and if you order two you will receive free shipping. Livingavenue.com.
Making an effort with you,
In Christ,
Dale
dale@daleebel.org