Liberation Theology: Jewish and Islamic

Summary

As we have noted earlier, the Torah, the five books of Moses (the Pentateuch) tells the Jewish story of a people enslaved, struggling to be free, obtaining freedom through the grace and guidance of God and then resisting or abandoning the rules of God as prescribed in the Jewish history with God. For the Jews, freedom is dependent on recognizing the equal rights of all peoples, be they Jewish or not. Freedom is also dependent on the rich sharing so that none are poor, or even more importantly, sharing so none are dependent, but rather have the opportunity to be independent. Freedom, as well, is dependent on sharing not only on an individual, but a communal level. And freedom is dependent on following the laws and commandments of God. The sense of a Jewish Liberation Theology goes back to the beginning and works its way into the stands of modern day Reform and Conservative Judaism, as opposed to Orthodox Judaism, which is more ‘conservative’ by Liberation Theology and social justice standards. The New Jewish Agenda is seen as being part of this liberating leaning in American Judaism. A Jewish Theology of Liberation by Marc Ellis is an example of this focus in Jewish theology.