Original scientific paper
Dialogue with atheists
Ivan Šarčević
; Franciscan Theology in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
Evangelization is one of the main concepts in postconciliar Christianity. It covers
the classical “mission” as well as re-evangelization in Western de-Christianized
societies. This also means a return to Jesus’ Gospel for Christians themselves and for
their churches. The process of evangelization inevitably includes dialogue and cooperation
with atheists, since believers share the same time and space with atheists, and
ultimately the same concerns. The article addresses different types of atheism as presented
in the Council constitution Gaudium et spes. It points to contemporary Christians
who may be less open to dialogue, especially in post-communist countries where a
mentality of close-mindedness and self-containment has persisted, and to a new form
of atheism that forcefully or tacitly dismisses any discourse or dialogue on God and the
transcendent.
The second part of the article sets out a Gospel-based roadmap for dialogue
and cooperation between believers, Christians and atheists. Jesus’ invitation and meeting
with Zacchaeus serves as a model for new relations between believers and those
who maintain a distance from faith in God and are strongly committed to atheism
for manifold reasons. The Little Apocalypse in the Gospel According to Mathew (Matt
25:31-46) may serve as a benchmark for believers and nonbelievers to build a shared
society, without escaping into otherworldly consolation or curtailing social justice. Jesus’
plea on the cross about being forsaken by God and his prayer to God to forgive
his enemies is the third and most important area of dialogue between Christians and
atheists. This experience and the words of Jesus reflect the yearning of believers for
closeness to God and the protest of nonbelievers over God’s absence in times of unfathomable
evil and suffering in the world. At the same time, Jesus’ plea to God to forgive
people offers the ultimate theistic and atheistic affirmation of humanity and trust in
man. In this respect, evangelization, return to Jesus’ Gospel, is not only about finding a
response to the contemporary crisis of faith in God, more specifically to atheism. Evangelization
must also respond to the crisis of trust in man, to the contemporary doubt in
human reason and culture, to the widespread misanthropy that afflicts so many people
today – either on account of their theism or their atheism.
Keywords
evangelization; types of atheism; Gaudium et spes; Zacchaeus; justice; encounter; dialogue; cooperation; God’s absence; protest; trust in humanity
Hrčak ID:
266932
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2016.
Visits: 959 *