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"Konrad Raiser here offers not just an invaluable personal history but also real insight into the ongoing dynamism, transformative challenges, and genuine promise of the ecumenical movement in an age of globalization."--Reverend Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC General Secretary *** Konrad Raiser's vital and engaging memoir presents a first-person and deeply reflective account of ecumenical developments in recent decades: from the decisive turning point at the Uppsala assembly in 1968 through subsequent decades to now. He chronicles and assesses events that tested the identity and purpose of the WCC and the whole ecumenical movement, and he shows how a new paradigm of the WCC has emerged and develo...
Whenever an attempt has been made in recent years at a diagnosis of the ecumenical movement, an impression has emerged of stagnation or even resignation. Has the momentum been lost? Taking this question as his starting point, in this book Konrad Raiser undertakes a critical examination of the present-day problems areas in the ecumenical movement. What some see as a period of marking time and helplessness, he attempts to understand in terms of a paradigm shift which will lead to fresh approaches to contemporary problems.
This book offers a historical assessment and balanced critique of contemporary church movements, especially in light of missional ecclesiology. An expert on Lesslie Newbigin and an expert on contemporary church models show how Newbigin's ideas have been developed and contextualized in three popular contemporary church movements: missional, emergent, and center church. In addition, the authors explain that some of Newbigin's insights have been neglected and need to be retrieved for the present day. This book calls for the recovery of the missionary nature of the church and commends church practices applicable to any congregation.
Konrad Raiser proposes a transformation of those processes of globalization which have brought into being a complex system of mutual interdependence as well as mutual suspicions that often end in violence. Beginning with an examination of the root causes and long-term implications of international cooperation and cross-cultural hostility, he argues for the creation of an "ecumenical space" for dialogue and the building of community. Recognizing that religious sentiments and affiliations underlie many contemporary conflicts, Raiser challenges any attempt to use the teachings of "peace, shalom and salaam" as justifications for violence. Noting the complexity of humanitarian intervention by military powers, he opposes the return to a "logic of war" and calls for the strengthening of peaceful, political means of conflict resolution.
The expectations that economic leaders and politicians have of religions and their leaders as guardians of the moral and ethical traditions of humanity, and of their ability to mediate in the current situations of conflict, requires religions, and not least Christian churches, to engage in critical self-reflection about their action in the public space. -- Konrad Raiser *** Religion pervades today's headlines, yet not always in a positive way. Is there a positive role for religion in the future? Focusing on the global picture and on all religions, not the least Christianity, in this book author Konrad Raiser closely probes the relationship between religion and politics in all its rich, promi...
Last year a group of sixteen theologians from various church traditions published "In One Body through the Cross, a landmark statement on the present state and future possibilities of modern ecumenism. In order to help readers understand the true depth of this document (also known as "The Princeton Proposal"), "The Ecumenical Future makes available the scholarly studies that stand behind it. According to the editors of this timely and provocative volume, "the perception is widespread that the ecumenical train is stalling or has even run off the tracks." In spite of significant gains in understanding between Catholics, Orthodox, and various Protestant denominations, the church's present divisions are nothing less than a scandal. Seen in the light of Jesus' prayer in John 17 that "all may be one," ecumenism is neither an option nor a social or political football. The fourteen essays in this book represent a focused examination of the issues that still divide and of the common ground still to be discovered.
Western society is now a very different, very difficult mission field. In such a situation, the mission of evangelism cannot succeed with an attitude of "business as usual." This volume builds a theology of evangelism that has its focus on the church itself. Darrell Guder shows that the church's missionary calling requires that the theology and practice of evangelism be fundamentally rethought and redirected, focused on the continuing evangelization of the church so that it can carry out its witness faithfully in today's world. In Part 1 Guder explores how, under the influence of reductionism and individualism, the church has historically moved away from a biblical theology of evangelism. Part 2 presents contemporary challenges to the church's evangelical ministry, especially those challenges that illustrate the church's need for continuing conversion. Part 3 discusses what a truly missional theology would mean for the church, including sweeping changes in its institutional structures and practices. Written for teachers, church leaders, and students of evangelism, this volume is vital reading for everyone engaged in mission work.
An exploration of the rapid development of African Christianity, offering an analysis and interpretation of its movements and issues.
What is unity and how does it serve as a goal for ecumenical dialogue? How can churches, ecumenical organizations, ministers, and theologians effectively approach this goal in the twenty-first century? Sustaining the Hope for Unity offers a methodological reflection on these questions using insights of contemporary critical theory. With particular attention to the work of Jürgen Habermas, the book develops a framework for exchanging religious narratives in a postmodern context marked by pluralism and ambiguity. Using this framework to address questions that have emerged out of the life of the World Council of Churches, Sustaining the Hope for Unity argues that unity must be imagined eschatologically in order to achieve inclusive and non-coercive dialogue between diverse Christian communities. Looking ahead to ecumenism in the twenty-first century, it makes a case for the role of the WCC as a public space for the exchange of religious narratives.