USES OF THE BIBLE IN THE OF GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ: LIBERATING SCRIPTURES OF THE POOR

JEFFREY S. SIKER LoyolaMarymount University

Introduction

Gustavo Guti6rrez is widely recognized as the preeminent foun- dational figure of the Latin American liberation theology move- mcnt. ? The task of theology, to use Guti6rrez's classic definition, is "critical reflection on Christian praxis in light of the word of God. "2 For Guti6rrez, the Bible is the "word of God" that pro- vides a fundamental orientation for all Christian action and reflec- tion, and as such the Bible is indispensable for Christians as a source 3 of revelation about God and humanity.3 Given the central place that Guti6rrez assigns to reflection on the Bible, it is somewhat surprising that so little attention has been directed at Guti6rrez's use(s) of the Bible. Various treatments of

1For a general assessment of the significance of Gutiérrez's work, see especially R.M. Brown, Gustavo Gutiérrez:An Introductionto Liberation Theology(Maryknoll: Orbis, 1990); M. Ellis and O. Maduro (eds.), TheFuture of LiberationTheology: Essays in Honor of GustavoGutiérrez (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1989); and C. Cadorette, From the Heart of the People: The Theologyof GustavoGutiérrez (Oak Park, IL: Meyer-Stone, 1988). Although Gutiérrez considers himself a theologian, he sees himself first and foremost as a pastor engaged in ministry and only secondarily a "professional" the- ologian. This self-understanding fits with his conviction that pastoral activity comes first, whereas theology is a second step (not secondary) that reflects on pastoral ac- tivity. See, e.g., A Theologyof Liberation(Maryknoll: Orbis, 2nd edn 1988; orig., 1971), pp. 9-10; On Job: God-Talkand the Sufferingof theInnocent (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1987), p. xii. 2 A Theologyof Liberation,pp. xxix, 5. 3 For references to "the word of God" as a way of talking about the Bible, see, e.g., A Theologyof Liberation, pp. xxxiii, 32; The Power of the Poor in History (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1983), pp. 3-4, 102; The Truth Shall MakeYou Free (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1990), pp. 47, 88; We Drink fromOur Own Wells(Maryknoll: Orbis, 1984), pp. 34, 95; On Job, p. xvii; and The Godof Life(Maryknoll: Orbis, 1991), pp. 121, 189. I have not found any references to "the word of God" where Gutiérrez seems to be referring to something other than the Bible, although I would not conclude that Gutiérrez consciously restricts the term to the Bible exclusively. 41

Guti6rrez make reference to the significance of the Bible, and espe- cially to reading the Bible from the perspective of the poor, but I have not found any extended analysis of Gutierrez's use(s) of the Bible.4 This present essay is an attempt to address this lacuna. To that end, I have employed five questions to organize my descriptive analysis: 1) What biblical texts does Guti6rrez use?; 2) How does Guti6rrez use the Bible?; 3) How does Guti6rrez envision the authority of Scripture?; 4) What are Gutierrez's hermeneutical principles for using Scripture?; and 5) What is the practical sig- nificance of Guti6rrez's approach to the Bible? After exploring these questions I will conclude with a critical evaluation of Gutierrez's use(s) of the Bible. When we consider how Guti6rrez employs Scripture, it is impor- tant to be aware that his approach to the Bible results from and responds to the traditioned understanding he initially received as a student, namely, pre-Vatican II progressive European Roman Catholicism. Guti6rrez received his formal training at two of 's most prestigious and influential Roman Catholic universi- ties, The University of Louvain (1951 -55), and the Institut Catho- lique de Lyon (1955-59).5 This traditional understanding under- went radical transformation when it came up against Gutierrez's experiences as a in in the early to late 1960s. When

4 For a brief treatment of Gutiérrez's use of the Bible, see especially R.M. Brown, GustavoGutiérrez, pp. 107-108; and L. Boisvert, "Les images bibliques de Dieu dans l'oeuvre de Gustavo Gutiérrez," Eglise et Théologie19 (1989), pp. 307- 321. Even the volume of essays in honor of Gutiérrez, The Future of LiberationThe- ology(M. Ellis & O. Maduro, eds., Maryknoll: Orbis, 1989), includes no real dis- cussion of Gutiérrez's biblical interpretation. For discussions of biblical exegesis and Latin American liberation theology in general, see, e.g., C. Rowland & M. Corner, Liberating Exegesis: The Challengerof Liberation Theologyto Biblical Studies (Louisville: Wesminister/John Knox Press, 1989); L. Laberge, "L'éthique des thé- ologiens de la libération et ses fondments bibliques," Eglise et Théologie19 (1988), pp. 373-400; A.F. McGovern, LiberationTheology and Its Critics: Toward anAssess- ment(Maryknoll: Orbis, 1989), pp. 62-82; and A. Tambasco, "First and Third World Ethics," in R.J. Daly, S.J. (ed.), ChristianBiblical Ethics: FromBiblical Revela- tion to ContemporaryChristian Praxis :Method and Content,(New York: Paulist, 1984), pp. 139-155. For responses to uses of the Bible in Latin American liberation theology, see C.L. Nessan, Orthopraxisor Heresy: TheNorth American Theological Response to Latin American Liberation Theology(Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989), pp. 283-291, 377-381; and J.A. Kirk, Liberation Theology:An EvangelicalView fromthe Third World(Atlanta: John Knox, 1979), pp. 45-194. 5 Gutiérrez also studied at the Gregorian University in Rome (1959-1960). See Brown, GustavoGutiérrez, pp. 22-25.