A man with a heart overflowing with compassion: longing to see justice done, the hungry fed and the poor properly housed, clothed and treated with dignity. This was my initial reaction as I listened to Dr. Sidney Rooy’s lecture on “Crisis and Challenge in Central America.” The terrible grinding poverty in Third World countries is shocking, and a disgrace. Wh en we lived in Negros Occidental , one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines, we were daily confronted by appalling poverty, terrible suffering, gross injustice and the immense disparity between the rich and the poor. So I share Dr. Rooy’s passion for justice. The below-subsistence level of the poor multitudes in the Third World is an abomination to the Lord. But as I pondered Dr. Rooy’s analysis of Central America’s economic and social crisis and his proposal for change, I was left with an uneasy feeling.
1. America the Guilty
Dr. Rooy claims that Central America’s spiritual crisis is caused by hunger, the unjust income distribution, class inequalities, racial tension and religious quarrels. Who is to blame for those conditions? The U.S.! It has imposed sub-human conditions south of its borders. It is living in a state of mortal sin. But not all Central America ‘s problems of corruption and general injustice can be attributed to the U.S. Why put U.S. Christians on a constant guilt trip? Luis Burstin, a Costa Rican doctor and journalist, calls claims that the northern nations are responsible for the poverty of Latin America “political mythology.” Burstin points out that “hunger, political turmoil, instability, terror, and corruption are the oldest stories in Latin America and did not begin with American investment in the region.” On the one hand, nobody will deny that rich and powerful nations have at times taken advantage of their privileged position. And the rich nations do have a responsibility towards the poor and the suffering. On the other hand, today’s greatest colonial power, Russia, is guilty of unprecedented oppression, plunder and enslavement of many nations. Afghanistan‘s invasion is a gruesome example. Its foreign aid consists mainly of military hardware.
2. Need for Change.
The wrongs must be righted. But the solutions offered by Dr. Rooy appear to be mainly on the horizontal level. As a church, we must send reconstruction and development aid, take care of the refugees in Central America, U.S. and Canada. A democracy from the bottom up, people’s participation, is called for. The logic of the majority must dominate. We need to take positive action. Is this not socializing and politicizing the Gospel? In offering solutions, Dr. Rooy appears to be influenced by Latin American liberation theology, which is a form of political theology. This theology is not dependent on Scripture for its social analysis but on the social sciences, the study of man. Gustave Gutierrez, one of the most influential of the Latin American liberation theologians, asserts that theology should start with “real questions” derived from the world, not Scriptures.
3. An Appraisal.
What is the message of the church? To change social structures? Scriptures teach that hearts must be changed before society can be reformed. Suffering, injustice and poverty are spiritual problems. Their root cause is man’s alienation from God. Rebellious man must be reconciled to God. His spiritual hunger for a personal relationship with God must be met. There is still heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned. People must change, both poor and rich. The church must reject attempts to politicize the Gospel, to try to bring the unregenerate world into the Kingdom. Man is not perfectible. The Biblical doctrine of sin gives a sober and even pessimistic view of the world, society and mankind. Christians should have no illusions about themselves, society or the world. Heaven on earth, we will not get through human efforts. Only divine intervention will usher in the Kingdom. Am I saying that Christians should not participate in politics? No. Christians must be involved in political action based on their faith conviction. In the name of the Lord the hungry must be fed and justice must be sought. But our actions cannot make a new creation.
Dr. Rooy confronted his audience with the intense suffering he had witnessed in Central America. We need to be reminded of the plight of the suffering. We can become so complacent in the midst of all of our material wealth. But I question his proposed solutions. The Word may not become divorced from the deed. And Dr. Rooy tends to emphasize the deed at the expense of the Word.
Johan D. Tangelder, the pastor of the East C.R. church of Strathroy, Ontario, Canada , has served as missionary in the Philippines.