A concept so old it comes to us in a dead language: divide et impera. The original phrase is attributed to Philip II of Macedon as he played Greek city-states off against one another in the fourth century BC. In ancient Greek, διαίρει καὶ βασίλευε; in English, divide and rule.

Liberation theology was born out of the deep poverty in Latin America, and the poor’s relationship to Catholic teachings in their everyday struggles against unjust social structures. ‘Liberation’ here meant liberation from these social structures as much as liberation from sin. For adherents of liberation theology, the scripture provided the principles and inspiration to work toward releasing people from unjust social patterns. Getting to heaven was not as important as changing people's lives for the better. In this way, it was a cultural challenge to the traditional Catholic teachings.