Leonardo Boff: Liberation Theology's Unannounced Hostile Attack on Catholicism

A close reading of the first few chapters of Leonardo Boff's 1977 book 'Passion of Christ, Passion of the World',(Orbis), reveals an unannounced all-out attack on Catholic Theology.

Some of the interpretations made by Boff are:

1) Page 4, biblical texts are not direct accounts of Jesus
2) Page 10, The classic view of Jesus as savior is not historical, and not from the account of the apostles.
3) Page 10-11, Jesus is a man, "just like us"
4) Pages 11-13, the historical situation of the time of Jesus is like that of Latin America (present day 1977)
5) Page 16, according to Jesus; as Boff interprets it; human beings are "enslaved" by tradition, religion and law
6) following Jesus, salvation is not to be achieved through traditional church rites or laws, but in behavior towards one's neighbor- what Boff calls the "de-absolutization" of religion

The argument in #6 creates the appearance that the relationship; between what is written in the bible and the rites and laws of the church; in a logical sense, is one that is necessarily and naturally opposed. It depicts, in a way that is not directly stated, that the practices of the church are not correctly focused, thus merely hierarchical and bureaucratic. A different interpretation, less hostile to the church, would place the rites and practices of the church as the means to facilitate and achieve this "behavior towards one's neighbor" espoused by Jesus.

The sum of these 6 positions is a theological attack without the announcement of one- without the announcement of opposition. It is a theological ambush from within, a systematic attack on the biblical texts, on the traditional view of Jesus, on the separation between savior and parishioner, and on church practices and tradition. It is, in effect, a total theological assault. It is the very same kind of separation as Martin Luther's, only without the writer leaving the church and without the announcement of "this is wrong" or "I am against".

I hold some of the same theological positions as Boff, and because of this I am not a practising catholic.