Liberation theory was a movement, mostly in South America, that the church should be actively involved in human rights and alleviating poverty, even if that meant being involved in revolutionary movements. You know, kind of like that guy Jesus. (This is a very simplistic explanation.)

Buncha dirty hippies, is what.

My family priest, growing up, was sent to us directly from El Salvador where he was very involved with LT movement. He was sent home in the early 1980s for being too involved.

Liberation theology is, well, a frelling huge concept, with tens of thousands of pages of study and talk unpacking it, but at heart and at its simplest it's about taking Christ's parable about separating out those who know Him from those who don't, about visiting prisoners, feeding the starving, caring for the ill and the helpless and generally trying to live justly and make this shitty world at least marginally least shitty for those with the fewest resources, and putting it into action, including action that may seriously upset the established religious and political powers that be.

It was first fully and thoroughly articulated by Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutierrez in 1971 (he's still alive! 83 and teaching at Notre Dame! I didn't even realize that!); good quick summary here.

St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Jones were totally proto-liberation theologians. Archbishop Romero, Bishop Tutu, the many-too-many clergy, missionary and lay martyrs of Central and South America, liberation theologians. MLK Jr., the Berrigan brothers, Dorothy Day, the Thanksgiving Day marchers every year at the gates of the School of the Americas, liberation theologians.

And the post-post-Vatican II Church is scared shitless of it, and people who talk it, defend it and try to live it are generally shouted down as Marxists nowadays.

STOP PASSING THE BUCK, POPE.

He could take a lesson from JoePa, frankly. (JoePa's statement that, in hindsight, he wished he had done more. It's too little, too late, and yet it's WAY better than the flaily "Not our fault!" statement that the Pope made.)

And the post-post-Vatican II Church is scared shitless of it

I don't get that (which may also be a part of why going back to the church is not right for me) -- what is the church about, if not to make things better for the people in most dire need?

Erin, insent to your profile address.

what is the church about, if not to make things better for the people in most dire need?

Ha ha ha ha ha.

It's to collect money, maintain power and protect the status quo, while trying to enforce a standard of sexual behavior that keeps the poor poor.

Atheism, though terrifying, seems much less annoying. The closest thing I have to any sort of teaching is probably Sagan's Pale Blue Dot.

Mostly the stuff that scares me is shit I shouldn't care about. Like the sun becoming a red giant, turning the earth into vapor and dust, and everything that ever happened being snuffed out, with no one to ever know we were even here. In 4.5 billion years. It freaks me out.

Amy, I would totally scramble you some eggs. These were some of my best work and it's amusing to me because the ingredients were so controlled by the fact that I really need to go shopping. My fridge now contains an onion, a little bit of parm and milk. Operation "empty fridge, freezer and pantry" in hopes of only refilling with things I will actually use is really quite a success.

Liberation theology is, well, a frelling huge concept, with tens of thousands of pages of study and talk unpacking it, but at heart and at its simplest it's about taking Christ's parable about separating out those who know Him from those who don't, about visiting prisoners, feeding the starving, caring for the ill and the helpless and generally trying to live justly and make this shitty world at least marginally least shitty for those with the fewest resources, and putting it into action, including action that may seriously upset the established religious and political powers that be.

This is really fascinating. I conveniently will have my uncle here for several days at Thanksgiving so I foresee interesting discussions.

Atheism never asks you to tithe.