Liberation and Asia

Aloysius Pieris is a Jesuit priest from Sri Lanka, and a brilliant author. To my knowledge he only has a few major books he has written, which I consider to be a great tragedy after just finishing An Asian Theology of Liberation. Pieris is reported to be the first non-Buddhist to be awarded a Ph.D. in Buddhist studies by the University of Sri Lanka. In this book, which was first published in 1986, he combines the insights of liberation theology (then at its height) with a very well thought out theology of religions. His insights into other religions of Asia are profound due not only to his training but also his vast personal experience of those religions. In other words, Pieris is no outsider.

As a liberation theologian he frames the mission of the church as partaking in God’s battle against Mammon, which he occasionally (and I think aptly) refers to as Capital. This battle is both a struggle for and against poverty. The struggle against poverty is something that is becoming common in our present day situation. But, Pieris claims that this is inescapably tied to the converse struggle to be poor. These are two necessary poles of the same struggle against Capital.

Framing his theology as such, though, was not what I found so profound in this book. I’ve heard similar ideas said in much more accessible language by Shane Claiborne, or even among other liberation theologians. What is so innovative with Pieris’ book is his stance on other religions, and their place in this same struggle. Pieris seeks to escape the christocentric thought that has dominated liberation theology up to the present. He argues that all religions have the kernel of liberation in their core, and that all have fallen short of this in their own way. In other words, every religion shares Mammon-Capital as a common enemy, and all have been infiltrated with tendencies to capitulate to this great enemy.

Pieris sees Christian missions in the common usage of the term, as an insidious tool of Mammon-Capital to subvert the liberative tendencies of other religions. Not that he is against any evangelization, but that sharing the good news is inescapably tied to the liberation of the poor from oppressive structures. The history of Christian missions has shown that it’s end result is anything but such a liberation. Thus, Pieris’ most controversial idea is that Christian missions in Asia must be accompanied by a baptism into the religions of Asia. He argues that the story of Jesus is one that seeks to fulfill the faith of the poor by fulfilling their work toward their own liberation. This is because the rich do not pour down the blessings of God upon the poor. Rather God is among the poor already, and if the rich want any part with him then they must sell all they own and come follow him. Jesus certainly did not side with the theology of the rich. It can be easily seen that he cared little for the doctrines of the fortunate few, but lived fully in the worldview of the poor among whom he claimed God shared his favor. Thus, the current idea that the rich of the West should charitably share their “true” faith with the poor of Asia is a complete antithesis of what is actually Christian faith. If we wish to be a part of what God is doing we must lose our faith to find it, and be immersed in the religiousness of the poor. We must do this because this is where Jesus is actually to be found, and where the kernel of liberation is still living waiting to break through the soil.

As liberation theology always manages to do, this book proved to me how I am not a Christian nor do I know any. Yet, at the same time it revealed to me the hope of the gospel in its authentic form. Beyond all my struggles to perceive “the Truth” are the greater matters of human dignity and the oppression of those who don’t have the leisure to consider “theological matters”. For the poor the conflict between science and religion is minutia. Arguments over cosmology and the nature of God are luxuries they are rarely afforded. They are born into a faith and culture that are inadequately replaced by the gospel of missionaries. If I truly hope to follow the man who proclaimed God preferentially living in their midst, then my concern is not that they hear my version of the gospel, but that I participate to my fullest ability in their experience of his liberating blessings.

I give the book five stars. If one has any interest in liberation theology, it is a must read.