Gustavo Gutierrez Quotes

#1. In the Bible poverty is a scandalous condition inimical to human dignity and therefore contrary to the will of God.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#2. So you say you love the poor? Name them.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#3. To hope does not mean to know the future, but rather to be open, in an attitude of spiritual childhood, to accepting it as a gift.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#4. Faith is not limited to affirming the existence of God. No, faith tells us that God loves us and demands a loving response. This response is given through love for human beings, and that is what we mean by a commitment to God and to our neighbor.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#5. If there is no friendship with them [the poor] and no sharing of the life of the poor, then there is no authentic commitment to liberation, because love exists only among equals.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#6. Reason has, especially today, many other manifestations than philosophical ones.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#7. Christendom is not primarily a mental construct. It is above all a fact, indeed the longest historical experience the Church has had. Hence the deep impact it has made on its life and thought.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#8. The denunciation of injustice implies the rejection of the use of Christianity to legitimize the established order.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#9. The God of Exodus is the God of history and of political liberation more than he is the God of nature.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#10. So true is this that if we do not respond to the demands of the present, because we do not know in advance whither we may be led, we are simply refusing to hear the call of Jesus Christ. We are refusing to open to him when he knocks on the door and invites us to sup with him.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#11. Human history is in truth nothing but the history of the slow, uncertain, and surprising fulfillment of the Promise.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#12. But there is one thing that is privileged to be a paradoxical sign of God, in relation to which men are able to manifest their deepest commitment
our Neighbor. The sacrament of our Neighbor!'
Congar

Gustavo Gutierrez

#13. History is no longer as it was for the Greeks, an anamnesis, a remembrance. It is rather a thrust into the future.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#14. As we progress, various shades of meaning and deeper levels of understanding will complement this initial effort.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#15. There are not two histories, one profane and one sacred, 'juxtaposed' or 'closely linked.' Rather there is only one human destiny.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#16. If I define my neighbor as the one I must go out to look for, on the highways and byways, in the factories and slums, on the farms and in the mines, then my world changes.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#17. The imbalance between developed and underdeveloped countries - caused by the relationships of dependence - becomes more acute if the cultural point of view is taken into consideration.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#18. The future of history belongs to the poor and exploited.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#19. The world today is experiencing a profound and rapid socio-cultural transformation. But the changes do not occur at a uniform pace, and the discrepancies in the change process have differentiated the various countries and regions of our planet.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#20. Is the Church fulfilling a purely religious role when by its silence or friendly relationships it lends legitimacy to dictatorial and oppressive government?

Gustavo Gutierrez

#21. Theology is reflection, a critical attitude. The commitment of love, of service, comes first. Theology follows; it is the second step.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#22. Liberation from every form of exploitation, the possibility of a more human and dignified life, the creation of a new humankind - all pass through this struggle.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#23. The unqualified affirmation of the univeral will of salvation has radically changed the way of conceiving the mission of the Church in the world ... The work of salvation is a reality which occurs in history.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#24. The theory of dependence will take the wrong path and lead to deception if the analysis is not put within the framework of the worldwide class struggle.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#25. The building of a just society means overcoming every obstacle to the creation of authentic peace.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#26. Through the persons who explicitly accept his Word, the Lord reveals the world to itself.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#27. There is no authentic evangelization that is not accompanied by action in behalf of the poor.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#28. The complete encounter with the Lord will mark an end to history, but it will take place in history.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#29. Once causes are determined, then there is talk of "social injustice" and the privileged begin to resist.

Gustavo Gutierrez

#30. [Neighbor is] not he whom I find in my path, but rather he in whose path I place myself, he whom I approach and actively seek.

Gustavo Gutierrez