Sight for the Blind?

Abstract

The Spirit of Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for blind, to release oppressed, to proclaim year of Lord's favour. (Luke 4:18-19) Once again I am raising issue of education for a matter which is constantly being examined--or perhaps not. When I speak of the people, I am actually thinking of those living in poor suburbs who struggle day by day to survive and improve their standard of living, and who are strong believers--people with different origins, Indigenous Afro-Americans, women, country folk, or descendants of peasant families who have come to cities seeking work and are trying to organize themselves to defend their rights and to build community, and do not organize themselves and live as if problems are going to get solved by those in government, by prevailing economic system, by themselves or by magic. I am not saying that people are not educated, but simply indicating that there is a need to support them in educational process in which they are involved. There are individuals among people who would be grateful to learn some basic things that they could put into practice to improve their daily lives. Of course, there are schools, universities, institutes and educational centres of all sorts, but I am not thinking of formal education, or of training that has immediate aim of earning money, although people do need to earn money in order to support themselves. I do believe, however, that such education needs to be complemented. In any case, when churches are teaching, preaching, evangelizing, doing mission and singing, they are always engaged in education. Educational activities are constantly going on in churches, h is more a matter of enriching those educational activities, in churches and elsewhere. Perhaps in some cases, we need to reshape education in churches so as to make it a practice of freedom and liberation that supports people in their constant struggle for independence and freedom rather than increasing their alienation. There is already enough alienation in formal education and in manipulation to which people are constantly being subjected by media, which misinform rather than inform, and in Evangelical churches themselves. Information of all kinds is circulating, or not circulating, in world: technological, scientific, humanist, social, economic, political and theological. Many people are not aware of this, do not have up-to-date information, or do not manage to understand what implications information has for their lives. Humankind's scientific discoveries do not get through to them. I do not mean that people should learn things like quantum mechanics, astrophysics or Mandarin Chinese (although I certainly would like to!) but that they should at least be learning what they can use, in order to form opinions, to discern their social and political situation and even gain some religious discernment, since religious enterprises are wreaking havoc with people's lives by deceiving them and, in capitalist societies, by holding out to them visions of paradise in return for generous donations which make their leaders rich-those modern prophets, apostles and gurus who have seen in religion a good business opportunity. I believe that we must not confuse having respect for faith of people with encouraging misinformation. It is not only a matter of making a sociological or theological examination of content of faith of people or of role of religion among but also of providing them with opportunity to discuss issues, to become politicized, to cope with information and (why not?) so that they come to see themselves as subjects having power to make changes in their society. In my context, Evangelical churches, instead of awakening lull them to sleep with their dogmas, beliefs and practices. …