On the basis that to a certain degree human autonomy has the ability to set or alter history, the implication stands that God’s grace is active in natural history. It is implicitly impossible to then consider individual sin without considering the social sins that exist as human beings are be understood within community and furthermore it is individuals who create and govern societal structures.
There is an intrinsic, yet not exclusive link between the Christian notion of salvation and human liberation. For the individual, salvation is being liberated from sin and not bound to the present reality. For liberation to expand in history, it must be known to the individual first followed by self-transcending acts of love for one’s neighbour. Human autonomy then becomes an instrument by which grace is active in the world. The objective of action is to liberate the person, so our concern is to confront social structures and institutions that are oppressing persons; bearing in mind conflict is not directed at the individuals. Likewise no structure or institution can objectively embody salvation as inner sinfulness remains and inner conversion of individuals is the priori to human liberation.
Liberation theologies highlight the notion of sinful social, economic and political institutions and infrastructures. Whilst understanding that Christianity is not exclusively linked to social reform, I believe there are certain implications for the way followers of Christ ought to conduct their lives. Two comparitively similar ideas are presented in The Moral Theology of Pope John Paul II, by Charles E. Curran. Firstly, every personal sin has social consequences and secondly that some sins directly effect the neighbour. Social sin, in whatever form is directly associated with man’s fallen nature.
It appears apparent that the solution to systematic injustice can only be found in human autonomy by aligning one’s free will with that of God’s desire. Just as social sin is spread throughout history flowing from individual consciousness, so too divine grace flows through autonomous acts of self-transcending charity.
“We all have the right and duty to promote the common good. In all aspects of our life, including family and work, those of us who are Christians, especially, should fulfill our responsibilities with fidelity and with competence, as leaven in society, guided by the gospel and the Church but normally acting on our own initiative. (McOustra, 1990, 112)”
This idea is present in what Christ, the central figure of grace taught when he said “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough” (Matt 12:33). Jesus role on earth was to bring liberation (Lk 4:18-21). In first century Palestine, the Jewish people were under Roman oppression and for Christ liberating Israel from Rome was persuading Israel to change. If there was no internal liberation within the Jews, there was no hope for liberation from imperialism.
Liberation is not about a mere reform in social structure. The reform that Jesus preached is deeper and affects every sphere of life in dealing with the root cause of oppression and domination: humanity’s lack of compassion.
True liberation is about reconciliation, and to love your enemies’ means to live in solidarity with all people. This idea of liberation is far more radical then what the Zealots of first century Palestine could hope to of achieved in overthrowing the government. Loving your enemies challenges every area of life, whether it is political, social, economic or religious. With people as the primary concern for liberation, we a forced to look beyond human brokenness, as the battle being fought “is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12)
Profane history and grace are interdependent on one another, as grace comes from divine being and is exercised in the world through human involvement. As Karl Rahner, the Jesuit theologian so articulately stated, the church ought to be very the tangible present expression of a hidden reality. What radical change grace effects inside the individual, subsequently ought to be expressed in the world through love – this is communication of the supernatural reality of grace.
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