2012-10-01 12:22:02

Editorial: "A world with or without God"


(Vatican Radio) In the third in our series of European Editorials, senior journalist at Vatican Radio’s Scandinavian Programme, Charlotta Smeds, looks at the broader implications of the recent "Courtyard of the Gentiles" meeting, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden, on the 13th and 14th of September.

“A world with or without God” - reflections after the Courtyard of the Gentiles in Sweden

The 12th “Courtyard of the Gentiles” took place in Sweden in mid-September. An encounter between believers and non-believers on the theme: A World with or without God, the event brought together people from the worlds of Swedish culture and science, along with representatives of religions and atheists.

Sweden is often called a “post-Christian” country – one in which, according to statistics, secularization has gained more ground, and where God has had to step aside – a country in which reign “human rights” but not “the law of God.”

A country, Sweden, in which the choice of where to give birth to a son, and when, is part of the logic of rights, along with the right to “have” a “flawless” child and discard one during pregnancy if it is not. It is a country in which the Ministry of Education forbids priests to say, “God bless you!” to students at the end of the school year; in which every politician (except one) in the parliament voted against the freedom of conscience for healthcare workers. A country in which are copied
the same rites of the sacraments - with the only difference that every last trace of God is excluded. It is a country in which you do not take the place of university president because in your résumé you have written that you are a believer.

According to statistics, God is not important to the Swedes. On the contrary, He is. Sweden is not indifferent to God. Anyone who lives there as a believer knows it, and meets amazement, curiosity and even diffidence when he or she declares it. Those who experienced the Courtyard of the Gentiles in Stockholm know it, as well. It was with genuine fervor that participants spoke of belief and the role of religion in society.

The major contribution of the Courtyard of the Gentiles was to bring into open debate a topic, the public discussion of which is considered politically and culturally incorrect in Sweden. Not only: the two-day meeting was broadcast on state television in full (6 hours), twice. The openness of all participants to treat questions surrounding the theme with a personal touch, focusing more on the question of belief than non-belief, was evident. The halls were filled with people who listened for hours in silence, complaining in the end only that there was too little time. One thing that came to light, and on which there was agreement, was that radical laïcité (or, if you will, “secular” fundamentalism) is not less dangerous than religious fundamentalism.

There is an enormous difference between a society with God and one without God. The society without God wants to put man at the center: a man who, in the face of life’s vicissitudes, desperately seeks control. On the other hand, the society that leaves room for God, not only as a distant thought, but as a participant present in life, puts trust where the former placed the illusion of control. It is trust in a God, whom I did not make myself, but who made me – to have a part in a design that is good, even when it requires suffering and sacrifice for love.

We are standing before the ancient difficulty that man has in admitting that he needs God, that he is dependent and even indebted to Him. Man would say, “I want to be God. I do not ever kneel.” How much wisdom is there instead, in the simple phrase, “One must be able to kneel down, in order to be able to stand up.” When life is uncertain, when the family or society wavers, there is the simple answer of the saints: “Get on your knees - if not, you will fall. Leave room for God.” Though the world denies the presence of God, He certainly has not lost interest in the world. We need continually to remind ourselves how small, and how great, man is.

Charlotta Smeds








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