Foundations For A Social Theology

Name  : Krisnataniel

Foundations For A Social Theology: Praxis, Process And

Salvation

1.    The Move to Praxis in Theology

Teologi praxis an the practice of teologi, practice from reflection from action and the reflection is doing not stopped but the teology praxis is doing as sircular. Many people practice from teology praxis to oppose toward the injustice. A glaring discrepancy does exist between theory and practice, faith and experience, life and religion. In addition to this fundamental option for the poor, the praxis of liberation opens up a whole new perspective on our understanding of what constitutes knowledge and truth. In fact it points the way to the emergence of a new epistemology, a theme we will have more to say about in chapter three. As Gutierrez points out it involves: breaking with the old ways of thinking and knowin and recognizing that a great change has taken place in the way people come to know truth and relate it to their practice in history. This new way of knowing the truth is bound up inextricably with the experience of the praxis of liberation. The praxis of liberation becomes the key to knowledge and truth: knowledge is bound up with transformation. We come to know history in the process of transforming it and ourselves. As Vico put it long ago, we really know only what we ourselves do.

An adequate assessment of liberation theology is clearly beyond the scope of this chapter. However, some initial remarks about its emphasis on the praxis of liberation theology is in order. David Tracy’s statement that ‘the theological landscape. Has been changed irretrievably’ by liberation theology can hardly be questioned. Liberation theology has given a practical as distinct from a purely theoretical orientation to the Christian faith that was not always visible in the recent past. Further, it has and is providing a powerful Christian witness and counter force in situations of extreme injustice in the world today. In addition it has overcome the tendency towards individualism, privatization, and apoliticism that char acterised Christian faith so much in the early half of this century. In contrast ogden understands theology as a process and product of a certain kind of critical reflection from action. As a process it is concerned with the two-fold question of the meaning and truth of the Christian witness of faith. As aproduct, it is concerned with areasoned answer to the question about the meaning and truth of the Christian witness. As both process and product, theology is involved with the ultimate question of the meaning and truth of human existence. This latter constitutes the basic commitment of the theologian.The second area of major criticism by Ogden concerns the conceptual aspects of liberation theology. According to Ogden, liberation theologians tend ‘to focus on the existential meaning of God for us without dealing at all adequately with the metaphysical being of God himself.

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