Avery Dulles
- Published in print:
- 1987
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198266952
- eISBN:
- 9780191600555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198266952.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
In the creeds and for the Church Fathers, the catholicity of the Church generally meant completeness and authenticity. In the Reformation period, Roman Catholics picked up especially on the idea of ...
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In the creeds and for the Church Fathers, the catholicity of the Church generally meant completeness and authenticity. In the Reformation period, Roman Catholics picked up especially on the idea of geographical extension. Subsequently, liberal Protestants identified Catholicism with ritualism and legalism. In the era of Romanticism, Catholics began to depict catholicity as a synonym for incarnational and sacramental religion. In the mid‐twentieth century, attention became focused on the problems of seeking unity and reconciliation in the secular world. Offsetting the accusation that religion was divisive, Vatican II presented catholicity as a progressively achieved reconciliation of diverse elements. The World Council of Churches at Uppsala (1968) depicted the Church as ‘the sign of the coming unity of mankind,’ overcoming all forms of alienation and oppression.Less
In the creeds and for the Church Fathers, the catholicity of the Church generally meant completeness and authenticity. In the Reformation period, Roman Catholics picked up especially on the idea of geographical extension. Subsequently, liberal Protestants identified Catholicism with ritualism and legalism. In the era of Romanticism, Catholics began to depict catholicity as a synonym for incarnational and sacramental religion. In the mid‐twentieth century, attention became focused on the problems of seeking unity and reconciliation in the secular world. Offsetting the accusation that religion was divisive, Vatican II presented catholicity as a progressively achieved reconciliation of diverse elements. The World Council of Churches at Uppsala (1968) depicted the Church as ‘the sign of the coming unity of mankind,’ overcoming all forms of alienation and oppression.
Thomas B Dozeman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195367331
- eISBN:
- 9780199867417
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367331.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This book is an initial response to the call of the World Council of Churches for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ...
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This book is an initial response to the call of the World Council of Churches for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue. It is grounded in the assumption that the vocation of ordination requires an understanding of holiness and how it functions in human religious experience. The goal is to construct a biblical theology of ordination, embedded in broad reflection on the nature of holiness. The study of holiness and ministry interweaves three methodologies. First, the history of religions describes two theories of holiness in the study of religion — as a dynamic force and as a ritual resource — which play a central role in biblical literature and establish the paradigm of ordination to Word and Sacrament in Christian tradition. Second, the study of the Moses in the Pentateuch and the formation of the Mosaic office illustrate the ways in which the two views of holiness model ordination to the prophetic word and to the priestly ritual. And, third, canonical criticism provides the lens to explore the ongoing influence of the Mosaic office in the New Testament literature.Less
This book is an initial response to the call of the World Council of Churches for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue. It is grounded in the assumption that the vocation of ordination requires an understanding of holiness and how it functions in human religious experience. The goal is to construct a biblical theology of ordination, embedded in broad reflection on the nature of holiness. The study of holiness and ministry interweaves three methodologies. First, the history of religions describes two theories of holiness in the study of religion — as a dynamic force and as a ritual resource — which play a central role in biblical literature and establish the paradigm of ordination to Word and Sacrament in Christian tradition. Second, the study of the Moses in the Pentateuch and the formation of the Mosaic office illustrate the ways in which the two views of holiness model ordination to the prophetic word and to the priestly ritual. And, third, canonical criticism provides the lens to explore the ongoing influence of the Mosaic office in the New Testament literature.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823233373
- eISBN:
- 9780823240463
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823233373.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter presents the Patriarch's various ecumenical addresses including the encyclical for Sunday of Orthodoxy 2010; greetings to the Papal Delegation, Ecumenical Patriarchate; addresses at the ...
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This chapter presents the Patriarch's various ecumenical addresses including the encyclical for Sunday of Orthodoxy 2010; greetings to the Papal Delegation, Ecumenical Patriarchate; addresses at the World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, and National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA; and occasional addresses and messages.Less
This chapter presents the Patriarch's various ecumenical addresses including the encyclical for Sunday of Orthodoxy 2010; greetings to the Papal Delegation, Ecumenical Patriarchate; addresses at the World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, and National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA; and occasional addresses and messages.
Brian Stanley
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691196848
- eISBN:
- 9781400890316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691196848.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter explores how the Catholic and Protestant churches respectively reconceived their theologies of mission in the final four decades of the twentieth century. Particular attention is devoted ...
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This chapter explores how the Catholic and Protestant churches respectively reconceived their theologies of mission in the final four decades of the twentieth century. Particular attention is devoted to the Second Vatican Council of 1962–65, the Uppsala Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1968, and the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization convened by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1974. It was not accidental that this process of fundamental revision was concentrated on the 1960s and 1970s—decades that witnessed the rapid dismantling of the Western colonial empires, the emergence of the “Third World” as an ideological bloc, and the highly charged political atmosphere of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West. Neither the Catholic nor the Protestant missionary movements were the offspring of colonialism, but both regularly employed the language of global Christian dominion and both tried to use colonial governments to forward their evangelistic objectives. It was thus inevitable that the anticolonial invective of these decades should not leave the churches' overseas missionary activities unscathed. These years were also an era of social and intellectual ferment in European societies. Movements of revolutionary protest against established institutions and their perceived role in the perpetuation of structural injustice and international capitalism swept through university campuses. The historic churches and their governing hierarchies were often caught in the gunfire. Their formulation of their role in the world and even of their message itself could not be unaffected.Less
This chapter explores how the Catholic and Protestant churches respectively reconceived their theologies of mission in the final four decades of the twentieth century. Particular attention is devoted to the Second Vatican Council of 1962–65, the Uppsala Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1968, and the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization convened by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1974. It was not accidental that this process of fundamental revision was concentrated on the 1960s and 1970s—decades that witnessed the rapid dismantling of the Western colonial empires, the emergence of the “Third World” as an ideological bloc, and the highly charged political atmosphere of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West. Neither the Catholic nor the Protestant missionary movements were the offspring of colonialism, but both regularly employed the language of global Christian dominion and both tried to use colonial governments to forward their evangelistic objectives. It was thus inevitable that the anticolonial invective of these decades should not leave the churches' overseas missionary activities unscathed. These years were also an era of social and intellectual ferment in European societies. Movements of revolutionary protest against established institutions and their perceived role in the perpetuation of structural injustice and international capitalism swept through university campuses. The historic churches and their governing hierarchies were often caught in the gunfire. Their formulation of their role in the world and even of their message itself could not be unaffected.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823233373
- eISBN:
- 9780823240463
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823233373.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter presents the Patriarch's messages and declarations including those to heads of Orthodox Churches, declarations with the Pope, and reflections on the World Council of Churches.
This chapter presents the Patriarch's messages and declarations including those to heads of Orthodox Churches, declarations with the Pope, and reflections on the World Council of Churches.
Brian Stanley
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691196848
- eISBN:
- 9781400890316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691196848.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter examines the ecumenical movement. The twentieth century has sometimes been denominated by historians of Christianity as “the ecumenical century.” Narratives of the ecumenical movement ...
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This chapter examines the ecumenical movement. The twentieth century has sometimes been denominated by historians of Christianity as “the ecumenical century.” Narratives of the ecumenical movement typically begin with the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh in June of 1910, which assembled some 1,215 Protestant delegates from various parts of the globe to devise a more effective common strategy for the evangelization of the world. Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, the Edinburgh conference has been widely identified as the birthplace of the formal ecumenical movement. Without it, there would be no World Council of Churches. Yet serious attempts to bridge divisions between Protestant Christians were already under way in India and China before 1910. Furthermore, the World Missionary Conference was precisely that—a gathering of mission executives and missionaries convened to consider questions of missionary policy. Delegates represented missionary agencies rather than churches, and discussion of questions of doctrine and church order was forbidden, in deference to the Church of England, whose endorsement would not have been given if the conference had been expected to discuss matters of faith and order with Nonconformists. The chapter then looks at the failure and success of the ecumenical movement.Less
This chapter examines the ecumenical movement. The twentieth century has sometimes been denominated by historians of Christianity as “the ecumenical century.” Narratives of the ecumenical movement typically begin with the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh in June of 1910, which assembled some 1,215 Protestant delegates from various parts of the globe to devise a more effective common strategy for the evangelization of the world. Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, the Edinburgh conference has been widely identified as the birthplace of the formal ecumenical movement. Without it, there would be no World Council of Churches. Yet serious attempts to bridge divisions between Protestant Christians were already under way in India and China before 1910. Furthermore, the World Missionary Conference was precisely that—a gathering of mission executives and missionaries convened to consider questions of missionary policy. Delegates represented missionary agencies rather than churches, and discussion of questions of doctrine and church order was forbidden, in deference to the Church of England, whose endorsement would not have been given if the conference had been expected to discuss matters of faith and order with Nonconformists. The chapter then looks at the failure and success of the ecumenical movement.
Michael G. Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452727
- eISBN:
- 9781501701801
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452727.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
This chapter argues for interwar ecumenism's place in the history of international thought and interwar internationalism, rather than simply in the ecclesial prehistory to the World Council of ...
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This chapter argues for interwar ecumenism's place in the history of international thought and interwar internationalism, rather than simply in the ecclesial prehistory to the World Council of Churches. Surveying the major conferences of the 1920s—Peking 1922, Stockholm 1925, and Jerusalem 1928—the chapter highlights the major themes and debates in 1920s ecumenical internationalism. These include the stress on racial equality as a matter of theological confession as well as political activism, and the unresolved tensions between Anglo-American social Christianity and Continental theology, which both politically and philosophically were suspicious of an internationalism shaped merely by American “aktivismus.” Given the differences between the conferences, the ecumenical movement in the 1920s might better be seen as a plurality, as many “ecumenical movements,” rather than a single ecumenical movement.Less
This chapter argues for interwar ecumenism's place in the history of international thought and interwar internationalism, rather than simply in the ecclesial prehistory to the World Council of Churches. Surveying the major conferences of the 1920s—Peking 1922, Stockholm 1925, and Jerusalem 1928—the chapter highlights the major themes and debates in 1920s ecumenical internationalism. These include the stress on racial equality as a matter of theological confession as well as political activism, and the unresolved tensions between Anglo-American social Christianity and Continental theology, which both politically and philosophically were suspicious of an internationalism shaped merely by American “aktivismus.” Given the differences between the conferences, the ecumenical movement in the 1920s might better be seen as a plurality, as many “ecumenical movements,” rather than a single ecumenical movement.
Alister Chapman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199773978
- eISBN:
- 9780199919024
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199773978.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
John Stott became one of the leading figures of the global evangelical movement. This chapter explains his growing prominence. It looks at his leadership in the evangelical Lausanne movement, which ...
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John Stott became one of the leading figures of the global evangelical movement. This chapter explains his growing prominence. It looks at his leadership in the evangelical Lausanne movement, which aimed to bring together evangelicals to further the spread of the gospel worldwide and served as an evangelical counterpart to the World Council of Churches. The obstacles to evangelical unity are discussed. The chapter also examines the foundations Stott set up to support leaders in churches in the non-Western world.Less
John Stott became one of the leading figures of the global evangelical movement. This chapter explains his growing prominence. It looks at his leadership in the evangelical Lausanne movement, which aimed to bring together evangelicals to further the spread of the gospel worldwide and served as an evangelical counterpart to the World Council of Churches. The obstacles to evangelical unity are discussed. The chapter also examines the foundations Stott set up to support leaders in churches in the non-Western world.
Matthew Bersagel Braley
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199362202
- eISBN:
- 9780199389872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199362202.003.0021
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter recounts developments in mid-twentieth-century Protestant theology and their impact on the World Health Organization (WHO). The World Council of Churches’ Christian Medical Commission ...
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This chapter recounts developments in mid-twentieth-century Protestant theology and their impact on the World Health Organization (WHO). The World Council of Churches’ Christian Medical Commission (CMC) held two conferences in the 1960s to examine the role of the church in providing health care through medical missions. What followed was a theologically informed shift from hospital-based tertiary care in cities, many in post-colonial settings, to primary care delivery in rural as well as urban communities. A close relationship between the leaders of the CMC and the WHO facilitated a parallel and equally radical shift in the WHO’s strategy, from a vertical or top–down, focus on single diseases to the 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata, which focused on primary care. The chapter argues that both the WHO and the CMC saw primary care as a more just and egalitarian way to distribute their resources and bring health to all.Less
This chapter recounts developments in mid-twentieth-century Protestant theology and their impact on the World Health Organization (WHO). The World Council of Churches’ Christian Medical Commission (CMC) held two conferences in the 1960s to examine the role of the church in providing health care through medical missions. What followed was a theologically informed shift from hospital-based tertiary care in cities, many in post-colonial settings, to primary care delivery in rural as well as urban communities. A close relationship between the leaders of the CMC and the WHO facilitated a parallel and equally radical shift in the WHO’s strategy, from a vertical or top–down, focus on single diseases to the 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata, which focused on primary care. The chapter argues that both the WHO and the CMC saw primary care as a more just and egalitarian way to distribute their resources and bring health to all.
John Pollard
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199208562
- eISBN:
- 9780191785580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208562.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Church History
This chapter seeks to bring into relief the complexities and contradictions in Pius XII’s fulfilment of his pastoral ministry, which reflect the strong differences of opinion among his closest ...
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This chapter seeks to bring into relief the complexities and contradictions in Pius XII’s fulfilment of his pastoral ministry, which reflect the strong differences of opinion among his closest advisers. His rigid doctrinal orthodoxy, demonstrated in encyclicals warning against new forms of ‘modernism’ and in the Vatican’s rejection of the emerging ecumenical movement, on the one hand, contrasts with a certain flexibility on exegesis on the other, just as his focus on Mary as co-mediatrix contrasts with his genuine commitment to liturgical reform. Similarly, the contrast between his ‘high church’ ecclesiology and hieratic charisma and his achievement of world ‘celebrity’ status will be analysed, as will his orientation of missionary policy in the face of the emergence of the Third World. Finally, in the light of his exercise of papal infallibility during Holy Year 1950, the question of whether Pius XII was ‘the last real pope’ will be considered.Less
This chapter seeks to bring into relief the complexities and contradictions in Pius XII’s fulfilment of his pastoral ministry, which reflect the strong differences of opinion among his closest advisers. His rigid doctrinal orthodoxy, demonstrated in encyclicals warning against new forms of ‘modernism’ and in the Vatican’s rejection of the emerging ecumenical movement, on the one hand, contrasts with a certain flexibility on exegesis on the other, just as his focus on Mary as co-mediatrix contrasts with his genuine commitment to liturgical reform. Similarly, the contrast between his ‘high church’ ecclesiology and hieratic charisma and his achievement of world ‘celebrity’ status will be analysed, as will his orientation of missionary policy in the face of the emergence of the Third World. Finally, in the light of his exercise of papal infallibility during Holy Year 1950, the question of whether Pius XII was ‘the last real pope’ will be considered.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823231713
- eISBN:
- 9780823237005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823231713.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
In this chapter, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew speaks of The Ecumenical Patriarchate in his Enthronement address in the Church of St. George at the ...
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In this chapter, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew speaks of The Ecumenical Patriarchate in his Enthronement address in the Church of St. George at the Phanar, Istanbul and at the conferral of an honorary doctorate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, in Massachusetts. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, being one of the founding members of World Council of Churches, will not diminish its concern for the good and correct orientation of the Council and its concern that there not be a departure from its first and principal mission, which is the service of Christian unity. He mentions the importance of the Orthodox Church and suggests three particular strengths of Orthodox Christianity. Finally, in keeping with the venerable tradition of this university's contributions to international law and diplomacy, he humbly pledges to “pursue what makes for peace”.Less
In this chapter, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew speaks of The Ecumenical Patriarchate in his Enthronement address in the Church of St. George at the Phanar, Istanbul and at the conferral of an honorary doctorate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, in Massachusetts. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, being one of the founding members of World Council of Churches, will not diminish its concern for the good and correct orientation of the Council and its concern that there not be a departure from its first and principal mission, which is the service of Christian unity. He mentions the importance of the Orthodox Church and suggests three particular strengths of Orthodox Christianity. Finally, in keeping with the venerable tradition of this university's contributions to international law and diplomacy, he humbly pledges to “pursue what makes for peace”.
Petra Goedde
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780195370836
- eISBN:
- 9780190936136
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195370836.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
A host of religious individuals and groups became politically active on behalf of world peace at the height of the Cold War. Those groups tried to add a religious dimension to the debates about Cold ...
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A host of religious individuals and groups became politically active on behalf of world peace at the height of the Cold War. Those groups tried to add a religious dimension to the debates about Cold War international relations, while at the same time pushing the religious conceptualization of peace into the political realm. The Cold War turned religious groups and individuals into political activists. These activists still promulgated peace as an internal state of spiritual harmony, common to many of the world’s largest religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. But they added a new dimension that stressed its communal, political, and global aspirations. They merged the ideals of peace activism and ecumenism in the postwar world by relying on the universal code enshrined in the global human rights agenda, doing so a decade before the secular human rights revolution erupted in the 1970s.Less
A host of religious individuals and groups became politically active on behalf of world peace at the height of the Cold War. Those groups tried to add a religious dimension to the debates about Cold War international relations, while at the same time pushing the religious conceptualization of peace into the political realm. The Cold War turned religious groups and individuals into political activists. These activists still promulgated peace as an internal state of spiritual harmony, common to many of the world’s largest religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. But they added a new dimension that stressed its communal, political, and global aspirations. They merged the ideals of peace activism and ecumenism in the postwar world by relying on the universal code enshrined in the global human rights agenda, doing so a decade before the secular human rights revolution erupted in the 1970s.
Francis A. Sullivan
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199778775
- eISBN:
- 9780190258306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199778775.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter examines the issue of distinguishing between Tradition and traditions of the Catholic Church. It first considers the views of Cardinal Albert Gregory Meyer, Joseph Ratzinger, and Karl ...
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This chapter examines the issue of distinguishing between Tradition and traditions of the Catholic Church. It first considers the views of Cardinal Albert Gregory Meyer, Joseph Ratzinger, and Karl Rahner as well as the report of the World Council of Churches's Faith and Order Commission about Tradition and traditions. It then considers the question of how one can be sure that particular traditions are authentic embodiments of the Tradition and presents two examples of Catholic traditions that have become obsolete in the course of time: slavery and religious liberty. It also discusses the position of Avery Cardinal Dulles in a review of Judge John T. Noonan's book, A Church That Can and Cannot Change.Less
This chapter examines the issue of distinguishing between Tradition and traditions of the Catholic Church. It first considers the views of Cardinal Albert Gregory Meyer, Joseph Ratzinger, and Karl Rahner as well as the report of the World Council of Churches's Faith and Order Commission about Tradition and traditions. It then considers the question of how one can be sure that particular traditions are authentic embodiments of the Tradition and presents two examples of Catholic traditions that have become obsolete in the course of time: slavery and religious liberty. It also discusses the position of Avery Cardinal Dulles in a review of Judge John T. Noonan's book, A Church That Can and Cannot Change.
Christian W. Troll and C.T.R. Hewer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823243198
- eISBN:
- 9780823243235
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823243198.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This book captures the autobiographical reflections of twenty-eight Christians who were amongst those who, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and initiatives of the World Council of ...
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This book captures the autobiographical reflections of twenty-eight Christians who were amongst those who, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and initiatives of the World Council of Churches, committed their lives to the study of Islam and to practical Christian-Muslim relations in new and irenic ways. They record what drew them into the study of Islam, how their careers developed, what sustained them in this work and salient milestones along the way. These men and women come from a dozen nationalities and across the spectrum of the Western Church. Their accounts take us to twenty-five countries and into all the branches of Islamic studies: Qur'an, Hadith, Shari'a, Sufism, philology, theology and philosophy. They range in age from late-forties to late-nineties and so have a wealth of experience to share. They give fascinating insights into personal encounters with Islam and Muslims, speak of the ways in which their Christian traditions of spiritual training formed and nourished them, and deal with some of the misunderstandings and opposition that they have faced along the way. In an analytical conclusion, the editors draw out themes and pointers towards future developments. Such a constellation has not existed before and will not be seen again for at least half a century. Theirs is a unique generation and this is their considered contribution to the state of Christian-Muslim engagement today.Less
This book captures the autobiographical reflections of twenty-eight Christians who were amongst those who, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and initiatives of the World Council of Churches, committed their lives to the study of Islam and to practical Christian-Muslim relations in new and irenic ways. They record what drew them into the study of Islam, how their careers developed, what sustained them in this work and salient milestones along the way. These men and women come from a dozen nationalities and across the spectrum of the Western Church. Their accounts take us to twenty-five countries and into all the branches of Islamic studies: Qur'an, Hadith, Shari'a, Sufism, philology, theology and philosophy. They range in age from late-forties to late-nineties and so have a wealth of experience to share. They give fascinating insights into personal encounters with Islam and Muslims, speak of the ways in which their Christian traditions of spiritual training formed and nourished them, and deal with some of the misunderstandings and opposition that they have faced along the way. In an analytical conclusion, the editors draw out themes and pointers towards future developments. Such a constellation has not existed before and will not be seen again for at least half a century. Theirs is a unique generation and this is their considered contribution to the state of Christian-Muslim engagement today.
Paul Gifford
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190095871
- eISBN:
- 9780190099602
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190095871.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter argues that Western religion today, besides losing public importance, has also largely been transformed in accordance with this cognitive shift to the ‘this-worldly’. The chapter shows ...
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This chapter argues that Western religion today, besides losing public importance, has also largely been transformed in accordance with this cognitive shift to the ‘this-worldly’. The chapter shows how arguments like ‘believing but not belonging’ and ‘vicarious religion’ do not discredit the secularization thesis; nor does the idea that Christianity gave rise to Western modernity and therefore the West must be religious. The decreasing salience of Christianity became undeniable in the Victorian age. The 1960s saw this trend intensified and diffused more widely; this cognitive shift is illustrated in both the workings of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and in the World Council of Churches Uppsala Assembly (1968). The Christianity that the mainline Western churches exhibit today has become internally secularized, evidenced in characteristic works of modern academic theology.Less
This chapter argues that Western religion today, besides losing public importance, has also largely been transformed in accordance with this cognitive shift to the ‘this-worldly’. The chapter shows how arguments like ‘believing but not belonging’ and ‘vicarious religion’ do not discredit the secularization thesis; nor does the idea that Christianity gave rise to Western modernity and therefore the West must be religious. The decreasing salience of Christianity became undeniable in the Victorian age. The 1960s saw this trend intensified and diffused more widely; this cognitive shift is illustrated in both the workings of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and in the World Council of Churches Uppsala Assembly (1968). The Christianity that the mainline Western churches exhibit today has become internally secularized, evidenced in characteristic works of modern academic theology.
