Gustavo Gutierrez is one of the fathers of what has been termed 'Liberation Theology.' He is a native of Peru and is most well known for his book, A Theology of Liberation. Similar in nature to Bonhoeffer, he believes that theology must start with the sufferings of the oppressed. Liberation theologians in general believe that "God speaks particularly through the poor, and that the Bible can be understood only when seen through their perspective" (www.brown.edu).
             In the face of suffering and adversity identified in Peru, Gutierrez questioned the traditional term 'theology.' He saw theology as a disconnected exercise of the intellect, and to him it made no sense to ascribe authority to a system appearing so abstract. A path needed to be carved which was to get the Church to have a hand in the struggle to supersede the Neo-Classical Capitalism with a more equitable and Bible-focused social-economic order. Theology is not a reflection on truth, or a philosophy, but more simply is a way to live. This is what Gutierrez refers to as 'praxis.' This lead him to redefine theology as a reflection on 'praxis' in light of the Word of God: to be committed to the poor in real situation, and to identify with them and take action on their behalf.
             He believes theology should make explicit the commitments and concerns of the people, who are on the ground, with scripture in hand, trying to figure out what to do. Therefore, theology has a 'context.' Theologians who do not realize this notion of 'context' are disillusioned, and unaware of the fact that through this naivete they are representing an elite bourgeoisie far removed from economic suffering of the poor and oppressed. They fail to recognize the fact that due to these economic and social differences, the poor and the rich encounter Biblical revelation in completely different manners and from completely different pers...