WESTERN
Atheism in liberation Theology
Antonio Pérez-Esclarín,
Atheism and liberation(Orbis: NY 1978)
conclusion: Atheism as a purifying agent for Christianity
Atheism can be a purifying force, and faith
can serve as a substitute for courage or sincerity. - H. Duméry
One can be an atheist while professing faith in God,
and a believer while professing atheism. - H. De Lubac
In the midst of this idolatrous and dehumanized civilization, humanistic
atheism presents itself as the liberator of humanity and the champion of
authentic humanism. As we have seen in this book, it tends to emphasize faith in
human beings rather than the denial of God. As Camus once wrote: "If the
world has been, and still is, inhuman with God, then we shall try to humanize it
without God or against him." Humanistic atheism rejects all deities who
are antagonistic to humanity, all images of a being who prevents us from being
fully human.In that sense modern atheism can clearly help to revitalize and
purify authentic Christianity a great deal. It is paving the way for an
encounter with the true and authentic God, the God who liberates us. If the
struggle for justice (understood in the broadest and fullest sense) seems to be
the only way to live humanly today, and if the essence of true religion is to
seek justice in practice, then perhaps we should go along with Martin Marty and call atheistic humanism "an ally of
faith." From that point of view we can also understand what Tillich meant when he compared the atheist to
the mystic, saying that they both have a mission to liberate us from idolatry
and lead us to the heart of authentic religion. ...
Only a faith devoid of idolatries and free to serve people can be a fully
Christian faith. Only human beings who are atheists with respect to the
gods of consumption and the gods they have made of themselves can recognize
the liberating God. 194-6
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