Liberation Theology and Land Reform 

Lesson 8

Readings covered in this lesson: From Wasteland to Promised Land, Chapters 9 and 10, and Essay #5, "The Sermon on the Mount," and the Speech of Chief Seattle.

Your Name:

1. What was the Sabbatical Year? How did the practices of the Sabbatical and the Jubilee work together to ensure a just and prosperous community?



2. How does the arrangement made for the support of the clerical tribe, the Levites, foreshadow the land reform proposal of Henry George?



3. What is meant by "the tragedy of the commons"? How does Henry George's remedy provide a means to avoid this tragic outcome?



4. Henry George asserted that political economy, if properly understood, is not a "dismal science" but a divine gift to allow the creation of a just and prosperous society. The land laws of the Bible also asserted that a just and prosperous society could be designed on earth. What is your opinion?



5. According to the authors, what is it about our taxation system that provides proof of "structural sin"?



6. If it is true that "the earth is the Lord's," and, in the words of Jesus, "whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me," what does that tell us about the place of human beings in the world?



7. "Beyond the problems of the community," wrote Henry George, "lie the deeper problems of the individual life." Keep that thought in mind as you comment on the following verses from Lao Tzu:

When the Tao is present in the universe,
the horses haul manure.
When the Tao is absent from the universe,
war horses are bred outside the city.

There is no greater sin than desire,
no greater sin than discontent,
no greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself.
Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.



8. How do you reconcile the demand for social action with the need for personal salvation?



9. Chief Seattle's challenge to his homeland's European conquerors was neither simple nor easy. How did he assert, in his speech, his rejection of the White Man's conception of land ownership?



10. How has this course changed your perception, or understanding, of the meaning of <em>land</em> and your own relationships to the earth and to society?