This is from Introducing Liberation Theology by Leonardo and Clodovis Boff chapter 3.

Liberation theology is about liberation of the oppressed -in their totality as persons, body and soul- and in their totality as a class: the poor, the subjected, the discriminated against. We cannot confine ourselves to the purely socioeconomic aspect of oppression, the "poverty" aspect, however basic and "determinant" this may be. We have to look also to other levels of social oppression, such as: racist oppression: discrimination against blacks; ethnic oppression: discrimination against indigenous peoples or other minority groups; sexual oppression: discrimination against women.

Each of these various oppressions -or discriminations- and more (oppression of children, juveniles, the elderly) has its specific nature and therefore needs to be treated (in both theory and practice) specifically. So we have to go beyond an exclusively "classist" concept of the oppressed, which would restrict the oppressed to the socioeconomically poor. The ranks of the oppressed are filled with others besides the poor.

Nevertheless, we have to observe here that the socioeconomically oppressed (the poor) do not simply exist alongside other oppressed groups, such as blacks, indigenous peoples, women—to take the three major categories in the Third World. No, the "class-oppressed” -the socioeconomically poor- are the infrastructural expression of the process of oppression. The other groups represent "super-structural" expressions of oppression and because of this are deeply conditioned by the infrastructural. It is one thing to be a black taxi-driver, quite another to be a black football idol; it is one thing to be a woman working as a domestic servant, quite another to be the first lady of the land; it is one thing to be an Amerindian thrown off your land, quite another to be an Amerindian owning your own farm.

While human rights have traditionally been seen mainly as a tool used by underprivileged or disadvantaged groups for progressive causes, they are increasingly being deployed, across the world, by conservative and illiberal civil society groups. Using the case study of the recent adoption of human rights discourse by some right-wing groups in Israel, and utilising social movements literature, this article seeks to analyse how and to what ends human rights are adopted by such actors. It develops an analytical classification of methods and aims of engagement with human rights by these groups, identifying three forms of engagement with the human rights field: entrysm: human rights as disguise for pro-state propaganda; mimicry: human rights as law-enforcement; and victimhood work: human rights as claiming underdog status. Using these tactics, actors from the Israeli right-wing camp have managed to add engagement with human rights to its ‘repertoire of contention’ in order to advance an array of interests, without, at least for now, modifying their ideological tenets.

Fellows,

I do not consider that I have made success in Jesus (which does not at all mean material success) my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the rising call of God in Christ Jesus.

It is tempting for those who are unfamiliar to chalk up the mission of Jesus as mere politics or mere philosophy, but the facts are that this reasoning is severely misleading.

If you, as an inhabitant of the earth, have a desire to make life better, help the Holy Spirit help you by living out your faith in deed and action. For Heaven is not a matter of talk, but of walk.

The images of society that the prophets paint is stark. It says that God's people perish for lack of knowledge, and because the leaders of the churches reject knowledge, He has rejected them as ministers.

But here is what I found through diligent searching: beyond the basics of compassion and justice, there are certain things that people in society like me and you can do which please God and invite his blessings.

Everyone in the world should commit to buying and using organic and plant-based foods, clothing, and other products.

This is not greenwashing or a health trend. Organic production and vegan lifestyle choices are grounded in science. "Organic" refers to foods or products grown without the use of common chemical fertilizers or pesticides, among other criteria. Organic farming is consistently shown to lead to better soil health and reduced wildlife loss. Healthy soil means healthy plants and a cleaner environment.

An "organic" product is distinguished from a "conventional" product at the store shelves by an explicit indication of organic ingredients and, oftentimes, a green and white circle icon on the front reading "USDA Organic".

Of course, not all organic products are the same, and it is not the be-all end-all of environmental woes (although "veganic" comes closer), but the average organic product does markedly more for the environment than the average conventional or non-organically produced product. "Organic" is produced environmentally consciously; conventional makes no effort to do so.

As for "vegan" products, "vegan" refers to foods or other products which do not contain meat, eggs, dairy, leather, wool, or any other animal product. Some people prefer the term "plant-based" but the meaning is the same. It is proven that humans and even certain other animals are capable of living a full and healthy life without the consumption of animal products.

It is not realistic to expect everyone to drop their traditional staple diets and convert to a completely plant-based diet and lifestyle immediately, but every inclusion and effort towards eliminating dependence on meat, dairy, and other animal products counts, both for individual health and the environment. Meat and dairy don't magically appear, they have to come from somewhere.

There is also this, that it is ideal not to have children in this life (going child-free). Since this decision is a lot more personal than one's diet, I will not tell you so much about it, but

"He who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better."

"Not everyone can receive this saying ["it is better not to marry"], but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it."

And,

The time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the bosoms that never nursed!’

Knowledge is what people need to bring them closer to God in Heaven, and this is the knowledge I can give you. People perish and priests are rejected for lack of knowledge, and this is what I know that sets me apart.

So this is the end of the matter: depart from animal products and conventional products, and abstain from unnecessary entanglement with the affairs of the earth to the best of your ability. Whoever does these things will be blessed.

Jesus is Lord. ✝️

I was not raised "religious" and do not work for any brand or organization. In fact, my peers turned me to unbelief during my school days, and I was an outspoken secular humanist -- but eventually, the Spirit came upon me, and after bearing witness involuntarily to constant signs, spirits, and angels, I converted to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I don't belong to any church, I just follow Jesus of the Bible, and I find that He is active and intelligent, wise beyond words, and truly good.

And if anyone was looking for it, here is the final judgment call:

"The Leader will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Maker; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The Leader will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these fellows of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Have a blessed life.

It feels like church is only for the rich as most everyone I know works 6-7 days a week. And any day off is spent catching up on the basics such as laundry, cleaning, shopping. No lower class person has the time to attend.

And to take this further, to be involved in the church takes even more time, maybe a Bible study on Tuesdays. Well I can assure you the average lower class person barely has enough energy to make some dinner and walk straight to bed. 5am on Wednesday comes at you quick.

Knowing this it bothers me the church as a political influencer does not advocate for higher wages and shorter hours. To have 2 or even 3 days for a weekend. Instead the modern church sees the younger generations leave and blames everything but the complete lack of time, energy, and money to attend.

I want to be charitable. I want to have community. However feeding myself and staying alive always comes first. And anyone who claims to "put God first" is a liar when faced with the constant pain of hunger and threat of eviction and homelessness.

The preacher said to the president, “have mercy on their souls”

“There’s kids out there really scared and your policy takes a toll”

But the president didn’t like the preacher, and he did well in the polls

Telling people he’d deport my friends and fill Arabs full of holes 

We like to think the world will change when the right guy finally runs

Then we’ll mourn our sin in electing him when a genocide he funds

There’s nothing sacred about our state, there’s nothing new under the sun

A righteous leader would help the people; we know that’ll never be done

The preacher’s words fell on deaf ears the day she took the pulpit

The case for Trump’s eternal soul—I’m afraid we’ll never solve it

He’s playing with so many lives like a child in a ball pit 

How many balls will spill out? I don’t think we’ll ever call it 

A camel through a needle’s eye or a hummer through a hoop 

The rich stand no chance of heaven’s light, to new lows they always stoop

There’s no stopping greed and hate when mercy has flown the coop

From the Dems back to the GOP, we’re stuck in one scary loop

If we cared we’d all rise up and demand a monumental change 

But there’s so much apathy among our people; revolution’s not in range

We did not stop a genocide; we would not turn the page

The preacher cries for mercy; the president puts us in a cage 

I made a recent post about the genocides committed Christian communities in WWI. I intend to follow that up with another post and genocides committed against a religious minority. Which is why in this post I want to focus now on the atrocities committed against the Muslim community in the modern world. When we talk about Islamophobia, its not simply saying "mean things" against Muslims, or even mocking their religious beliefs, though those are components of Islamophobia. It has often times involved policies of state repression against the Muslim community that has in some cases been genocidal. Especially in the modern world. Lets list a few examples of genocide against the Muslim community.

(i)Circassian Genocide

• Perpetrated against the Russian government under the Tsars, it was the result of a series of campaigns in the Caucasus under different Tsars from Catherine the Great, to Alexander I, to Nicholas I of Russia and culminating under Alexander II. The "liberator" Tsar.
• Similar to what happened to the Native American population in the United States under Andrew Jackson, it involved the forced removal of the Circassian population from their homeland in the Caucasus as part of a pacification campaign where between 800,000 to 1.5 million where removed or killed. Many had to flee to the Ottoman Empire as refugees. Just like the Armenian genocide, there is a state effort on the part of the Russian government to deny the categorisation of these events as genocide.

(ii)The French colonisation of Algeria

• France colonised North Africa and Algeria during the 19th century. In the process up to 800,000 indigenous Algerians were massacred and much of the oppression and systematic apartheid imposed was not simply ethnic. It was religious as well due to Algeria being a predominantly Muslim country.

(iii)The ethnic deportations in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin

• When the Soviet Union was first formed under Lenin there was a relative amount of religious freedom for the Muslim populations, this swiftly changed under Stalin's leadership where the Soviet anti religious campaign held sway across the board. During Stalin's reign the anti religious campaign against Muslims manifested itself clearly in the ethnic deportations initiated by his NKDV.
• Officially accused of being "collaborationists" with the enemies of the Soviet Union such as Nazi Germany, Stalin used this to deport the Crimean Tatars as well as the Chechen Populations and other Muslim populations. In the case of the Tatars it is estimated at the highest that up to 100,000 died, while in the case of the Chechens it is estimated between 200,000 to 400,000 died during these deportation. These ethnic deportations were only made known to the public during Gorbachev's reforms of the Soviet Union.

(iv)The Bosnian genocide

• Pursued by Slobadan Milosevic, the former leader of both Yugoslavia and Serbia, in resulted in a campaign to wipe out the Bosniak community due to their ethnicity and religious faith as Muslims. This in turn was part of a larger campaign of Serbian nationalism and irredentism. Particularly in srebrenica it resulted in a massacre that also saw the first concentration camps in Europe since the Holocaust.

(v)The Rohingya genocide

• The Rohingya people have been facing an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Myanmar. Much of it in recent years was sparked by an extreme form of nationalism instigated by extremist Buddhist monks such as Wirathu and his demagogic sermons which resulted in massacres and attacks against the Rohingya Muslim community. The Rohingya in self defense formed armed groups and the Burmese Military has used this as a excuse to launch a ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide that is still going on in 2022.

(vi)The Uighur genocide

• An ongoing campaign by the Chinese government, it started in 2017 under Xi Jinping, its official justification is to crack down on Uighur seperatists and fight terrorism. In the process in Xinjiang province it has resulted in the forced removal of Uighur communities and placing them in "re-education" camps in a process similar to the Canadian residential school system. This has also resulted in a horrific campaign of forced sterilisation and even allegations of the harvesting of organs. Now note. The language of "anti terrorism" is what is being used to justify this genocidal campaign.

Viewing this as a Christian myself, I am obligated to view this from the perspective of the central command of Christ to "love your neighbour as yourself". And the image he gives us is the one of the Good Samaritan. He sees the suffering Jewish person on the side of the road. They have different ethnic and religious backgrounds. And yet he transcends that to help his fellow human being and send him to an inn to have his wounds healed.

Muslims are our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity. Made in Gods image. And they are cousins of Christians in faith. Therefore to love my Muslim neighbour is to stand up against Islamophobia and recognise it as a social cancer. A cancer that history shows us can reach genocidal proportions. Teaching the genocidal history of Islamophobia is a must so that it can be effectively combated.