Ecumenical Circles Research Articles

Confessing church today?

Confessing church today? The article responds to the question from Reformed ecumenical circles regarding what it could mean to be a confessing church today. It revisits Karl Barth’s influential contributions to the same discussion during the 1920s and for several decades after that. It calls to mind some major claims from Barth’s authoritative paper for the ecumenical Reformed world in 1925 on the question of whether the Reformed community needed a general confessional document – a proposal in regard to which he strongly rejected both the possibility and the desirability. It then traces the legacy of these claims through the reception history of the Theological Declaration of Barmen, the Confession of Belhar and the Accra Covenant on Justice and the Ecology, and thereby suggests possible answers to the original question.

The Diaconate of All Believers: Theology, Formation, Practice

This article proposes an innovative direction for Christian social practice by reclaiming and revitalizing the diaconate of all believers. While the ministry of the laity received attention in ecumenical circles in past decades, the diaconate of all believers now needs elaboration and reception. A focus on the diaconate of all believers can provide a vital theological and practical paradigm for expanding Christian social practice. In this paradigm, diaconia engages the world through the involvements of Christian people in all their roles and relationships in life, including family, work, civic engagement, and church. Christian communities need to undertake focused education and intentional formation of the diaconate of all believers through their worship and educational practices. The liturgy provides substance for this formation process. Reclaiming the diaconate of all believers as a primary expression of the church’s diaconal practice means reorienting the ministry of deacons, pastors, and bishops in relation to the universal diaconate. The recovery of the diaconate of all believers has significance for a revised ecclesiology and theology of ministry that places ministry in daily life at the forefront of Christian social practice.

Experiencing Ecumenism in an International Theological Exchange Programme

Experiencing Ecumenism in an International Theological Exchange Programme

아시아 여성신학자 이선애 목사의 에큐메니칼 활동 연구

Sun-Ai Lee is well known in Korean ecumenical circles and among Asian women. She will be remembered as the pioneer of the Asian feminist Ecumenical Movement.She tried to help women in Asia to give voice to their social restrictions. She published the first Asian feminist theological magazine, In God’s Image, and worked as the Asian coordinator of EATWOT where she represented Asian women. Also, she established the Asia Women’s Resource Center (AWRC) to build the ground work for Asian feminist theology. Sun-Ai Lee’s theology is rooted in the context of oppression against women in Asian religious cultures. Her theological focus is based on equality and ecumenical partnership.<BR> The author of this essay argues that we can renew our faith and attitude by learning Asian feminist theology and studying the life and ecumenical feminist contributions of Sun-Ai Lee who lived a life of love towards Asian women.

Receptive Ecumenism and Discerning the Sensus Fidelium: Expanding the Categories for a Catholic Reception of Revelation

The benefits of the approach of “receptive ecumenism” are becoming increasingly appreciated within ecumenical circles. A primary focus is the way a particular Christian tradition can learn from another and, in a mutual exchange of gifts, receive gifts that have not been part of one’s own tradition. This essay views this dynamic in terms of recognizing differing “senses of the faith” that the Holy Spirit has brought forth within the baptized of different churches. It proposes that Catholic discernment of the sensus fidelium, as presupposed in Lumen Gentium 12, should also include the sensus fidei of other Christians, and that ecumenical dialogues play a crucial role in that ecclesial discernment.

The family of Abraham: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interpretations

The term religions has gained considerable currency in both scholarly and ecumenical circles as a way of referring to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In The Family of Carol Bakhos steps back from this convention to ask a frequently overlooked question: What, in fact, is Abrahamic about these three faiths? Exploring diverse stories and interpretations relating to the portrayal of Abraham, she reveals how he is venerated in these different scriptural traditions and how scriptural narratives have been pressed into service for nonreligious purposes.Grounding her study in a close examination of ancient Jewish textual practices, primarily midrash, as well as medieval Muslim Stories of the Prophets and the writings of the early Church Fathers, Bakhos demonstrates that ancient and early-medieval readers often embellished the image of and his family--Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac. Her analysis dismantles pernicious misrepresentations of Abraham's firstborn son, Ishmael, and provocatively challenges contemporary references to Judaism and Islam as sibling religions.As Bakhos points out, an uncritical adoption of the term religions not only blinds us to the diverse interpretations and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam but also artificially separates these faiths from their historical contexts. In correcting mistaken assumptions about the narrative and theological significance of Abraham, The Family of Abraham sheds new light on key figures of three world religions.

Jesus Traditions and Masculinities in World Christianity

Abstract This opening article offers an introduction to the theme of this special issue of Exchange: Jesus traditions and masculinities in world Christianity. Highlighting the historical trajectory of feminist theological debates on the maleness of Jesus Christ and its implications for configurations of gender (read: the position of women) in Christian traditions, the article particularly explores two recent developments: first, the critical discussion in academic, theological and ecumenical circles of men and masculinities in contemporary Christian contexts, and second, the growing body of scholarship on the masculinity (or better, masculinities) of Jesus Christ in the New Testament in relation to masculinities in the early Christian era. Building on these debates and this scholarship, the article identifies a new and critical field of inquiry that explores the complex and productive relationships between the ambiguous and unstable masculinity/ies of Jesus Christ and the multiple and changing masculinities that are found today in the local contexts of an increasingly diverse global Christianity.

Theology of Ministry in the Twentieth Century: Ongoing Problems or New Orientations?

The first World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 unwittingly provided strong impetus to unprecedented endeavours to establish an ecumenically agreed theology of ministry. Between the first Faith and Order Conference in 1927 and the Fourth in 1963 an ecclesiological revolution occurred. Its distinguishing achievement was to locate the gift of ministry not in ordination or its equivalent but in baptism. This principle was established on the basis of the New Testament term for ministry, diakonia, understood as a total giving of self in service to others. Consensus to this effect developed around the work of Karl Barth, Eduard Schweizer and Ernst Käsemann, but in ecumenical circles strong tensions developed about the implications for ordained ministry. The linguistic study of 1990 Diakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient Sources challenged the semantics underlying the consensus and provided a new semantic profile for an understanding of ecclesial ministry. The re-interpretation has been endorsed by subsequent lexicography and by Anni Hentschel's semantic investigation (2007). Theology of ministry in the twenty-first century has the opportunity to enrich the ministry with which the church is provisioned.

Does John 17:11b, 21−23 refer to church unity?

In ecumenical circles, John 17:11b, 21–23 has been understood as Jesus’ prayer for church unity, be it confessional or structural. This article questioned such readings and conclusions from historical, literary and sosio-cultural viewpoints. The Fourth Gospel’s language is identified as ’antilanguage’ typical of an ’antisociety’, like that of the Hermetic, Mandean and Qumran sects. Such a society is a separate entity within society at large, but opposes it. Read as a text of an antisociety, John 17:11b, 21–23 legitimises the unity of the separatist Johannine community, which could have comprised several such communities. This community opposed the Judean religion, Gnosticism, the followers of John the Baptist and three major groups in early Christianity. As text from the canon, this Johannine text legitimates tolerance of diversity rather than the confessional or structural unity of the church.

Different but One? A Regional Application of an Ecumenical/Global Debate

AbstractThe essay in the first instance, presents a sample of discussions and views dominant in the ecumenical circles on affirming and living with differences in churches. In the second part, it offers two case studies from West African experience with ethnic identities in churches. The third part applies the dominant views in the ecumenical circles that call for affirmation of differences to the West African church circles. The essay argues and concludes that affirmation of differences in churches is not helpful in the African context.

In defence of partisan justice - an ethical reflection on “the preferential option for the poor”

Can one defend a form of partisan justice? This question is answered in the affirmative in the light of two broad arguments: The theological argument arises from the preferential option for the poor from Latin America, and the philosophical argument is derived from John Rawls’ notion of the least advantaged representative person and assistance due to burdened societies in a global context. In closing, a number of important implications of such a partisan notion of both distributive and cultural justice are explicated. This article is developed in three sections. The first section briefly sketches a profile of the different theological arguments underlying a preferential option for the poor as particularly developed by Latin American liberation theologians, and later accepted in wider ecumenical circles. In the second section, philosophical arguments for a position of “prioritarianism” which seems to support such “preferential option” are outlined. This is attempted via a discussion of two influential books by well-known American political philosopher , John Rawls, namely his A theory of justice (1973), and The law of peoples (1999). Section three concludes the article by demonstrating the synergy between these theological and philosophical views, and by pointing out – in a provisional manner - the important consequences of such a “preferential” or “partisan” view for guiding ethical reflection on local and global socio-economic relations.

Hugo du Plessis’ theology of mission as influenced by missiological debates in ecumenical circles

The quest to understand the church’s missionary calling will remain a significant exercise in the life of the church of every age. Transformation in the world context compels the church to rethink its missionary calling and to strive towards a theology of mission that will respond positively towards the changing context. Hugo du Plessis lived and worked in the 20th century as the first missionary and missiologist of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (GKSA). It is the thesis of this article that Hugo du Plessis’ theology of mission, which had great impact on how the GKSA responded to the challenges of the day, was informed and shaped by missiological debates which took place within ecumenical circles.

Churches as Healing Communities: Impulses from the South for an Integral Understanding of Healing

AbstractFor several reasons in missionary ecumenical circles healing could become the new paradigm for mission. One of the main reasons is that in churches in the Southern hemisphere healing is the central focus of the local Christian community. Church life is characterized by the conviction that not the mere change of political structures will lead to a better world. Liberation from evil, forgiveness, medical care, mutual acceptance and common socio-political engagement, all are inspired by the integral message of the gospel. The author gives several examples of African Christian communities in the Netherlands that may be called healing communities and are an inspiration for new forms of living the Christian faith, badly needed for the white middle class congregations that are weakened by secularism and Enlightenment.

EXPERIENCE OF RELIGIOUS PLURALITY IN KOREA

International Review of MissionVolume 88, Issue 351 p. 399-413 EXPERIENCE OF RELIGIOUS PLURALITY IN KOREA ITS THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS MOONJANG LEE, MOONJANG LEE Dr Moonjang Lee lectures in Asian Theology at the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, New College, Edinburgh, Scotland.Search for more papers by this author MOONJANG LEE, MOONJANG LEE Dr Moonjang Lee lectures in Asian Theology at the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, New College, Edinburgh, Scotland.Search for more papers by this author First published: 25 March 2009 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6631.1999.tb00168.xCitations: 3 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume88, Issue351October 1999Pages 399-413 RelatedInformation

The Integrity of Creation and the Social Nature of God

The idea of the ‘integrity of creation‘ has been widely discussed in ecumenical circles at least since 1983. In that year, the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches (Vancouver) defined its agenda for service in the world in terms of the three rubrics, ‘justice, peace, and the integrity of creation’. A World Convocation on Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation was held in Seoul, Korea, in February 1990.

“Come, Holy Spirit – Renew the Whole Creation”

In a full survey of the programme and reports produced by the Seventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, René Padilla notes that though the theme was the Holy Spirit, Pentecostalism continued to be under suspicion in ecumenical circles. The life of the Assembly also illustrated the fact that the WCC must address the limits of theological pluralism and can no longer afford to maintain a separation between its confessional basis and its programmes.