Cesar Chavez: Naming the Sin That Oppresses - Liberation (Genesis 3)

Cesar Chavez named the sin: farmworkers were exploited, poisoned by pesticides, denied dignity. He called the growers to repentance—to stop sinning against their workers. Liberation theology reads Genesis 3 as the origin of domination: "He shall rule over you" (3:16) describes not God's intention but sin's consequence. Social sin—exploitation, oppression, structural violence—flows from the fall. Conscientization means naming this sin, and praxis means confronting it. The serpent's lie—"You will be like God"—continues whenever some humans claim godlike power over others. Liberation is the ongoing crushing of the serpent.