Q & R: Salvation as liberation?

Here’s the Q:

I’m a UK citizen and daily reader of your blog. I find many of your posts inspiring and transforming; and you have started me on a journey relooking at my faith (or lack of it), which had led to me start questioning a lot of what I thought I knew.
To come to my question – In your interview with Red Letter Christians (linked on your blog) you describe salvation as:
‘”Salvation” for many people is the good news of how souls can escape the curse of original sin and go to heaven after death. But that definition would never flow from the Hebrew Scriptures. There, salvation means liberation. It’s meaning comes from God saving – or liberating – the slaves of Egypt.’
Would you be able to enlarge on this further? I am struggling with the concept of Salvation as liberation. To me it feels like a Western worldview. How can people who live in other parts of the world, who do not have a democracy / an enshrined set of human rights etc access a ‘liberation’. Particularly, how in light of the Christian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Harem and other atrocities committed by other extremists groups; how do these Christians work for / achieve their own liberation, when their rights and ability to make changes is controlled by others ‘in this life’.
I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

Here’s the R:
For a really good answer to this excellent question, can I suggest my new book, We Make the Road by Walking? It’s an overview of the Bible, and it puts the word “salvation” in its full biblical context.
The term “salvation” gets its meaning in the Bible from what God did for the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. God saved them from slavery – which means they were set free or liberated. But it didn’t stop there … God guided them to a new home, and God gave them moral guidance as well. In that case, it didn’t involve democracy at all; it involved a good and courageous leader (Moses) confronting a selfish and unjust leader (Pharaoh) with the liberating truth and power of God. His courageous leadership inspired the people to “make a road by walking” through the wilderness. The tragic situation in Nigeria will require similar leadership, inspiration, and collaboration. Each of us – through our example, through our daily advocacy in simply speaking our best truth, empowered by God’s Spirit of liberation – plays a role in this kind of joyful, life-giving change.