Liberation Theology and Land Reform 

Lesson 1

Readings covered in this lesson: Introducing Liberation Theology, and From Wasteland to Promised Land, Chapters 1 and 2.

Your name:

1. What was the "challenge to theologians" to which liberation theology was the response?



2. How does the "strategy of liberation" outlined here differ from a "reformist" commitment to work for social justice?



3. What is the most essential element of faith, in liberation theology?



4. How do Andelson & Dawsey characterize the themes of wasteland and promised land?



5. How is the Biblical Exodus analogous to the experiences of many modern peoples?



6. What do the prevalent meek, mournful images of Jesus and Mary signify about the historical role of the Catholic church in Latin America?



7. Describe the fifteenth-century Church's official attitude toward colonization of the New World.



8. What do the Spanish terms encomienda, hacienda, and mercedes mean?



9. What historical fact shows that a great many of the early Christian missionaries in Latin America were not merely "cynical agents of colonial expansionism"?



10. Compare and contrast the role of the church in an impoverished community with the role of the church in an affluent community.