Tuesday, September 16, 2008

A Little Gutiérrez to Ponder

Man is saved if he opens himself to God and to others, even if he is not clearly aware that he is doing so. This is valid for Christians and non-Christians alike - for all people.... Human existence, in the last instance, is nothing but a yes or no to the Lord: 'Men already partly accept communion with God, although they do not explicitely confess Christ as their Lord, insofar as they are moved by grace, sometimes secretly, to renounce their selfishness.... They reject union with God insofar as they turn away from the building up of this world, do not open themselves to others, and culpably withdraw into themselves.'
quoted in Margaret Campbell's Critical Theory and Liberation Theology, p.63.

Despite the non-inclusive langauge I really liked this quote. I tried to find it in my copy of A Theology of Liberation, but I think the one she used is much older. Perhaps I'm just too tired. Her book is definitely a thesis, so it is well laid out and actually quite well written. It gave me a taste of Critical Theory and now I'm reading Rudolf Siebert's (a student of Peukert) From Critical Theory to Critical Political Theology. I'll probably follow that up with an article or two from the Blackwell Companion to Political Theology (I'm really enjoying that one) and then move onto Charles Davis. It is very stimulating reading.

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