In the opening chapter of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he explains the manner in which oppressors interact with the oppressed in society. Freire expounds on how oppressors manifest power and also how the oppressed grapple with their own sense of power. Freire describes this dynamic in the context of his explicit intention to eradicate the imprisoned minds of the illiterate by advocating a paradigm shift; he believed that an individual could realize his/her “social reality” and then participate in his/her own critical advancement within that society. He states:
“This, then, is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well. The oppressors, who oppress, exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves. Only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong enough to free both. Any attempt to ‘soften’ the power of the oppressor in deference to the weakness of the oppressed almost always manifests itself in the form of false generosity; indeed, the attempt never goes beyond this. In order to have the continued opportunity to express their “generosity,” the oppressors must perpetuate injustice as well. An unjust social order is the permanent fount of this “generosity,” which is nourished by death, despair, and poverty. That is why the dispensers of false generosity become desperate at the slightest threat to its source.” (26).
Though Freire’s work as a whole is from that of a radical social perspective, there are timeless truths contained within his work that can be beneficial in understanding oppression in terms of spiritual depletion. In the aforementioned statement, there are incredible parallels that can be drawn when thinking of oppressors as the demonic and the oppressed as fragile, fallen, humans.
The struggle of power between oppressors and the oppressed is a constant battle in a Christian’s life. A Christian must contend on a daily basis because of the tensions that have been wrought upon him/her since the Fall. However, the very tension that pulls will only give way to destruction or sin when we lose the desire to stand firm, or when we resign altogether. Freire states that the mission of the oppressed is to free themselves and the oppressors. Instead of giving way to sin, one must participate in liberation by letting go of tension. This is different from resigning. Resignation infers a spiritual and mental defeat: believing that sin/death has won. Letting go, on the other hand, indicates a conscious maturity: refusing to buy into the mentality that the tension has any power in the first place.
In turn, as Freire states, the oppressors are deemed powerless, while the oppressed find power in weakness. Again, there is a remarkable congruence between this dynamic that Freire describes with the dynamic of spiritual warfare. Since Satan is a creation of the Creator, and because his only power comes from himself, neither Satan nor his tactics could ever free himself from his own demise. Satan and all contained within the demonic realm could never attain the power to liberate. Satan also has no greater authority than that which God allows. Likewise, also as creations, humans by themselves, cannot free themselves totally from sin or from the wretched pain that comes with sin. By him/herself, an individual only has human nature, which is prone to the tension of oppression.
Freire further asserts that the oppressors mask a lessening of power through a type of “false generosity”. When the oppressor wants to appear fair or to the benefit of the oppressed, power is supposedly “softened”. However, the truth of the matter is that oppression continues and manifests in a disrupted social order. This false generosity can be likened to the tactics of Satan. The enemy is never a life-giver. Much like Freire’s claim that social disruption “is nourished by death, despair, and poverty,” the enemy’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). When an individual falls prey to the enemy’s tactics, defeat soon arrives. Again, Satan is not a creator; therefore, he can only whisper the same old lies, lure one into typical destructive behaviors, and seduce a person with an insatiable appetite for that which could never satisfy. Thus, when the enemy is threatened by the hope and will of the oppressed, he launches deceptive, subtle, and certainly cunning tactics, which are in fact a supposedly charitable sense of security.
Gratefully, I have come to a place of revelation. There is one way to truly attain liberation from sin: the strategy is to be weak. We are to delight in the finished story: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” The Holy Spirit dwells within each saved Christian, thereby lending him/herself to be weak to the point of death, and yet not responsible for being the Savior. Thus, it is the power of grace that becomes sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). The daily grace that God gives me is shocking. As R.P.C Hanson put it, “Grace means the free, unmerited, unexpected love of God, and all the benefits, delights, and comforts, which flow from it.” Though entirely undeserving, I prostrate myself to receive, and it is my prayer that all may also have a riveting, radical, and convincing encounter with His grace.
