WESTERN
Atheism in liberation Theology
Pablo Richard, Victorio Araya G., Joan Casañas, Hugo Assman,
The idols of death and the God of life: a theology
(Orbis: NY 1983) 92
Pablo Richard, "Biblical theology of confrontation with idols"In an oppressed
world, evangelization must direct its attention mainly to idolatry, not to
atheism. ...
Capitalism is terrorized and obsessed with the problem of atheism. ...
Atheism is definitely the greatest threat to the continued growth of the modern
capitalist system. ...
Faced with this modern capitalist world threatened by atheism, the poor and
oppressed world, itself threatened by underdevelopment, discovers that its
political struggle for liberation has acquired a new atheistic and
anti-idolatrous dimension. ...
In this context, evangelization--the search for and proclamation of the God of
Jesus Christ--acquires a new dimension. For the capitalist system, this
proclamation represents a subversive and irrational atheism, whereas for
Christians it represents an anti-idolatry and anti-fetish practice.
3-25
Victorio Araya G., "The God of the strategic covenant"
The first step on the pathway to God: Atheism 110
Joan Casañas, "The task of making God exist"
"I believe that the true church of Christ includes many who do not consider
themselves to be inside the church, and even some who regard themselves as
atheists." - comment by Ernesto Cardenal, 131
Hugo Assman, "The faith of the poor in their struggle with
idols" Concern with atheism as a matter of geography 201
"His [Ernesto Che Guevara] emphasis on the rejection of the "harsh god" is a
demand for radical apostasy from the "opium-gods." This does not mean that the
"atheist"--or, to put it more aptly, the anti-idolatrous
position--must necessarily be at odds with the practical position of
Christian faith from the biblical perspective." 218
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