구스타보 구티에레즈의 ‘해방의 영성’에 관한 연구

Abstract

The Korean Protestant Church does not grow any longer in the society where many people do not like Christianity. This reality is related to the issue of spiritual formation. The spirituality of liberation is a new concept developed by Gustavo Gutierrez, a pioneer of Liberation Theology in Latin America. The spirituality of liberation emphasizes its connection with the miserable context of oppression, suffering, and poverty, following the biblical and Christian tradition. In particular, the spirituality of liberation tries to participate in the work of God who liberates the oppressed and the poor in history, emphasizing the practice of love for God and neighbors. This article studies the spirituality of liberation as a main theme, focusing on Gutierrez’s works. The spirituality of liberation is a typical example of propheticcritical spirituality that focuses on serving our neighbors, criticizing the society, and realizing God’s justice. The spirituality of liberation functions as a spiritual foundation of Liberation Theology which analyzes the reality of society from the perspective of the lowly, the poor, the deprived, and the marginalized people. The spirituality of liberation can vitalize the Korean Church which centers around the individualistic and inner-centered spirituality. In the first part of this article, the author explores traditional concepts of spirituality and Gutierrez’s criticism of them. Gutierrez presents his own concept of spirituality, criticizing individualism and elitism of traditional spirituality which distorted genuine spiritual experiences and perspectives of Christians and privatized Christian spirituality. On the basis of that criticism, Gutierrez presents the spirituality of liberation that emerged in the context of Latin America. In the last part of this article, the author studies the historical background, the characteristics, and the concept, and the themes of the spirituality of liberation. It can be said that the spirituality of liberation is a biblical, Christ-centered, inductive, and prophetic-critical spirituality. The spirituality of liberation can be explained by the four main concepts: conversion, gratuitousness, joy, spiritual childhood, and community. In conclusion, the author summarizes this article and suggests the themes for further studies.