The Development of Liberation Theology by Gustavo Gutiérrez and Its Global Influence

Abstract

Gustavo Gutiérrez is a figure responsible for facilitating the voice of the lower-class community to express the life realities they experience through the existence of liberation theology. This theology affirms God’s nature of caring for the poor and oppressed. Gutiérrez first brought the attention of theologians to this theology in his speech in Lima titled “Toward a Theology of Liberation” (1968). From there, he composed other works that provided substantive foundations for liberation theology, such as “The Power of the Poor in History” (1979), which critiques structures of injustice and encourages the lower-class community to bravely act against the oppresion that has long endured, and “On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent” (1986), which focuses on the story of Job to convince His believers that submission to God involves surrendering one’s self completely to Him. This article attempts to examine the development of Gutiérrez’s theology through his works over the years. Furthermore, this article will also trace contributions of liberation theology to the Christian worldview, ranging from church leaders and theologians views on whether they support or reject liberation theology, as well as it’s influence both from Latin Americans and others outside of Latin America.