Deeper Dialogue with Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia

Abstract

This chapter examines what Christians can learn from a deeper dialogue with Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia. Some of the recent developments in ecumenical dialogue include “spiritual ecumenism” and “receptive ecumenism,” while interreligious dialogue is engaged in through a fourfold dialogue methodology. Meantime, the church’s engagement with the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia continues through the more traditional and informal indigenous methodologies of relating. The chapter discusses the various types of dialogue in view of exploring if the methods used in one can help inform the dialogue of another. Its aim is to search for methodologies which facilitate a deeper dialogue with the indigenous peoples of Australia.