DOCSLIB.ORG

Book Reviews Bearing the Witness of the Spirit: Lesslie Newbigin's Theology of Cultural Plurality

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Book Reviews Bearing the Witness of the Spirit: Lesslie Newbigin's Theology of Cultural Plurality Book Reviews Bearing the Witness of the Spirit: Lesslie Newbigin's Theology of Cultural Plurality. By George R. Hunsberger. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans,1998. Pp.xii,341.Paperback $28. ChurchhistorianGeoffreyWainwrighthas became rather alarmed because I didn't nuanced, and brimming with insight into said that when the history of the church in know I had a philosophy of culture." the structure of Newbigin's theology and the twentieth century comes to be written, However, Newbigin's ad hoc and into a number of significant issues Lesslie Newbigin will be considered one contextual theology has always issued discussed in missiology today. This book of thetenor twelvemostinfluentialfigures. from a sound theological foundation. is a (slightly revised) publication of The significance of Newbigin's legacy can Hunsberger has exposed that theological Hunsberger's 1987 doctoral dissertation alreadybe gaugedby the number of Ph. D. foundation for cultural plurality by at PrincetonTheological Seminary, with a dissertations in process that deal with his examiningthemesessentialto Newbigin's new opening chapter that shows its thought. missionary theology: the missionary, relevance in the present context. As such, Bearing the Witness of the Spirit is a significance of the doctrine of election, it does not contain any assessment of pioneering work that examines Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God as Newbigin's writing in the last ten years of Newbigin's missionary theology. the clue to the meaning of universal his life (about eighty items, by my count), Hunsberger is professor of missiology at history; conversion and the boundaries of including perhaps his most important WesternTheologicalSeminaryin Holland, the community called church; and the book, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. Michigan, and coordinator of the growing relationship of the Gospel as "secular However, this does not at all detract from GospelandOurCultureNetworkin North announcement" to other religions. The the valuable contribution this book will America. In this book Hunsberger concluding section exposes Newbigin's make to missiological discussion today. uncoversa "theologyofculturalplurality" theology of culture by employing a -Michael Goheen implicit in Newbigin's writings. I believe triangular model with culture, Gospel, Newbigin may have responded to this and church at the three corners, and proposal in a way similar to the remarkhe examining the three axes of Gospel­ Michael Goheen is Professor of Mission and made upon hearing that a Dutch culture, Gospel-church, and church­ Worldview Studies, Redeemer College, Ancaster, philosopher had written a paper entitled culture. Ontario,Canada. "Newbigin's Philosophy of Culture": "I The book is clearly written, highly Strategy of the Spirit: J. Philip Hogan further inquiryand dialogue. Perhapsthis and the Growth of the Assemblies of is a project whose time has come-a God Worldwide, 1960-1990. missions-specific compilation of biographical legacies/autobiographical By Everett A. Wilson. Carlisle, Cumbria, reflections and bibliographic resources England, and Irvine, Calif.: Regnum Books/ from the twentieth-century Pentecostal Paternoster Press, 1997. Pp. xiv, 214. missions community. Paperback $19.95. -Grant McClung If missionary biography is a means to bringing the far-reaching contributions of Grant McClung, former miseionaru in Europe, is understanding mission history and Hogan into wider circulation. the Coordinator of Education for Church of God strategy, then Everett Wilson's important Hogan, who had served the WorldMissionsandAssociateProfessor ofMissions newbookis a significantdoorwaythrough Assemblies in pre-Communist China andChurchGrowthattheChurch ofGodTheological which one can enter into the ethos of the (Ningpo, Chekiang Province, East China) Seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee. Assemblies of God (AOG), the prototype and Taiwan, was AOG director of the denomination of the twentieth-century Division of Foreign Missions during the Pentecostal movement. Everett Wilson is turbulent and transitional years of 1960­ the president of Bethany College in Scotts 90. Wilson presents him as a rugged Valley, California, and director of individualist who combined a passionate CINCEL-the Latin America Language heart with a singular tough-mindedness. God-Mystery-Diversity: Christian and Research Center in San Jose, Costa Hogan, typical of his generation of Theology in a Pluralistic World. Rica-both of them AOG institutions. Pentecostalleaders,wasmore of anactivist Being an insider of the denomination missions promoter/strategist than one ByGordon D. Kaufman. Minneapolis: Fortress and an obvious admirer of J. Philip Hogan provided with the luxury of time for Press, 1996. Pp. xii, 233. Paperback $21. makes it difficult for Wilson to offer an reflection and writing. Yet, the samples of objective analysis of Hogan or a critique of various quotationsfrom Hogan'swritings Gordon Kaufman presents a forthright his own missions organization. Never­ (mostly informal articles from challenge to the traditional Christian theless, the author is to be credited for denominational publications) invite understanding of world mission. He forcefully argues that truth is not 80 INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH mono lithic b u t pluralist ic, that truth in simple and straightforw ard terms what turned more and more to Asia, as Asia n emerges through open d ia logue as they wanted and neede d to know about im migra tion w as beco m in g an opposed to being revealed at a particular the wide world of religio n. He had begun inc re asi ngly importan t fac tor in th e time and p lace in history. According to as an A fr ica n is t, an d so me, myself re ligious d emography of th e United Kaufman, we should abandon the task of include d, think that his experience in Kingd om , and the mainst ream churches findin g a co nc ep tuality ca pable of Africa, between 1933and 1956,stimulated see me d at a loss to know how to react to it. ex p lain ing th e di ver sity of religi ous him to produce his best wo rk, Religion in As far back as the late 1950s Parr inder had ph enomena an d instea d be content to live an African City (1953) being particu larl y been writin g popu lar books about Asian with a cer tain measur e of ambiguity, good. religions an d how the Chr istian migh t thereb y crea ting a clim ate for toler ance In 1958 Parrinder returned to Londo n, assess them, and he followed this line and mu tual respect. where he taught at King's Co llege until through out the rem ainder of his long and Kaufman is ad ama nt that the claim his retireme nt in 1977; he con tinues to live fru itfu l career. H is best no n-African book that Ch ristian ity is abso lute or fina l is "an near London. From Africa his attention was no doubt AvatarandIncarnation(1970) . intrinsically unstable position"(p. 18). An absoluti st sta nce on religio us questions o ffe rs " re ligious legi tim a tion for dangerous ly parochial social and ethnic movem en ts and practices that, in their divisiveness and destructiv eness, are a th reat to all human ity" (p . 191). Yet Kaufman h imself argu es in an absolutist fas hion that all ideas are relative and that pluralism is the only vi ab le wa y of understandin g religio us tr u th. H e contends that matt ers of ultimate im po rt and conce rn are bes t gras pe d thr ough "democratic intera ction " (p.203). For faith in Jesus Christ he substitutes faith in interrelig ious d ialogu e. He cha mpions "unr estricted openness" in the discussion of fund amen tal questions. All positions should be accepted in interfai th discussion on "eq ua l terms" (p. 214). Here we see the ban kru ptcy ofa liberalism that ineluctab ly leads into postmod ernism, thus subve rting the claims of historic Christian faith. - Dona ld G. Bloesch DonaldG.Bloeschis Emeritus ProfessorofTheologtJ, University of Dllbuque Theological Seminary , Dubuque, Iowa. " Lesslie Newbigin was one of the great semina l Christian thinkers of the twentieth century. The merit of this study is that it ide ntifie s the theological bedrock on wh ich Newbigin based his engagement with the burning issues facing the contemporary church. Newbigin A Bag of Needments: Geoffrey was a passionate thinker who boldly engaged th e issues of the Parrinder and the Study of Religion. day affecting the life and witness of the Ch ristian church. It is By Martin Fo rward. Bern: Peter Lang, 1998. instructive to see how these cor e convictions reliably guided him. Pp. 181. $30.95/DM 54/£19. Implicitly, Hunsberger's elaboration of Newbigin's thought call s us Those who, like myself, were privileged to a recovery of conviction, hope, and pa ssion for the gospel, to know and work together with Geoffrey precisely in a radically pluralist world ." -WILBERT R. SHENK Parrinder in the United Kingd om in the peri od from abo ut 1965 to 1976 remember him with affection , no t untou ched wi th a ''A pioneering assessment of Lesslie Newbigin's legacy." sha dow of envy. A mo re likable person it wo uld be hard to imagin e. The envy was -GERALD H. ANDERSON generated by w ha t seeme d to younger colleagues to be the effor tless ease wi th ISBN 0-8028-4369-7 • 353 pages • Paperback • $28.00 which he produced book after book- and had them all publi shed! In those years Par rinder was the compa rative religion ist At your bookstore, who was read by people who did not as a or call 1-800-253-7521 8550 II\... WM. B. EERDMANS rule read com parative religion, notbecause FAX: 616-459-6540 _ I \~ PUBLISHING CO. he was a grea t stylist (he was no t), but E-mail: sales@ee rdmans.com 255 JEFFERSON AVE.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • HISTORICAL BULLETIN VOLUME 42, NUMBERS 1&2 2015 EDITION from Our PRESIDENT from Our GENERAL SECRETARY Dr
    WORLD METHODIST HISTORICAL SOCIETY AN AFFILIATE OF THE WORLD METHODIST COUNCIL HISTORICAL BULLETIN VOLUME 42, NUMBERS 1&2 2015 EDITION from our PRESIDENT from our GENERAL SECRETARY Dr. Ulrike Schuler Dr. Robert Williams I have been involved with the World Methodist Historical Soci- THE RECENT CONFERENCE IN BULGARIA ety since I became treasurer in 1991. When I became General Secretary of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, we elected Dan Swinson of the Northern Illinois Conference of The UMC as treasurer. However, I had to con- tinue writing the checks as our bank could not find a way to add his name as the WMHS is not incorporated. Given the greater complexity of banking in the United States, I have tried to think about the best way to move the organization into the future, especially around the handling of our funds. And now I am raising that topic for all of you to consider. I have discussed this with Ivan Abrahams, General Secretary of the World Meth- odist Council. I believe that the best way forward is to have a closer relationship with the Council with the Council treasurer handling the finances of the Society. This is a very preliminary exploration and needs consultation with all parties involved. As announced in previous Historical Bulletins, the Conference With that in mind, I have sent to Bishop Abrahams the follow- of the World Methodist Historical Society – European Section ing outline of a proposal: (WMHS-ES) took place September 9 to 12, 2015 in Ruse, Bulgaria. A young minister from Switzerland (Erica Stalcup, Future Prospects and a Proposal minister in Lausanne/Switzerland and Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • I Nformation
    Assembly Update No. 4 Lutheran World Includes InformationLWI Call for a Spiritual Ecumenism at Highlights Joint Declaration’s Tenth Anniversary African Lutheran Church Leaders Explore Climate Change Impact on Food Security ............ 3 Climate change, food security and poverty in Africa were the focus topics of a consultation of the Lutheran World Federation held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 5-10 October... Lead the Drive for Justice and Peace, Asian Faith Communities Urged ...............6 Use your institutions to develop Church representatives follow the festive ecumenical service in the Augsburg Cathedral marking the tenth anniversary of the signing opportunities for common action, of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification © LWF/D.-M. Grötzsch a Lutheran World Federation consultation has urged religious communities in Asia... LWF General Secretary Noko Says Walls of Separation Are Broken Down LWF Congratulates Newly Elected Leader of German AUGSBURG, Germany/GENEVA (LWI) – A few years—all that is sheer ingratitude,” he Protestant Church Body .......13 festive ecumenical service concluded cel- asserted. “We need a spiritual ecumenism, The Lutheran World Federation extended warm congratulations ebrations marking the tenth anniversary and it has grown, thank goodness, in the to Bishop Dr Margot Kässmann of the signing of the Joint Declaration on last few years.” Kasper’s closing words were: upon her election on 28 October, as the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) in “Ultimately, ecumenism is not an end in chairperson of the Council of the Augsburg, Germany. Methodists, Luther- itself: it aims to go beyond itself toward Evangelical Church in Germany. ans and Roman Catholics underlined how reconciliation, unity and world peace.
    [Show full text]
  • The Notion of Covenant As Ecumenical Instrument
    Written for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies and presented with the permission of the editors. The Notion of Covenant as ecumenical instrument Gillian Kingston (Respondent: Neil Stubbens) Introduction Addressing the Lambeth Conference 2008, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks observed that ‘A contract is a transaction. A covenant is a relationship. Or to put it slightly differently, a contract is about interests. A covenant is about identity. It is about you and me coming together to form an “us”. That is why contracts benefit, but covenants transform’. Identity and relationship lie at the heart of the notion of covenant in today’s ecumenical scene. While many remain convinced that the ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement is, in the words of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, ‘full communion in faith, mission and sacramental life’ (Nairobi Report, 1986, 20), many also have come to believe that there are steps along the way which may serve to bring churches to interim positions which nevertheless have the potential for development into closer relationship. This is made explicit in An Anglican-Methodist Covenant where the parties note that ‘we see the Anglican-Methodist Covenant that we propose as a stepping- stone on the way to further developments in the near future.’( An Anglican-Methodist Covenant : Common Statement of the Formal Conversations between the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the Church of England, 2001 Foreword v.) Background The International Missionary Conference at Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1910, set in motion a process which led to the creation of the World Council of Churches in 1948.
    [Show full text]
  • Peace Church News
    Peace Church News Newsletter of the English Speaking United Methodist Congregation in Munich: June 2020 Faith in Corona Times What does that mean for our faith? By Bishop Walter Klaiber This leads to the crucial question: What does this situation mean for our faith, what does it tell us Sars-CoV-2 is perhaps not the most dangerous about God? Some will ask: Why does God allow disease that has occurred recently. But it is such a dangerous pathogen to spread? Others will extremely treacherous, and measures have been see this as a sign of the end times for which the taken worldwide to contain it, which affect public spread of epidemics is predicted. But there have and private life in a way that we have not seen since been much more dangerous epidemics in human World War II. The outcome of the crisis is still history. Still, the question remains: Did God create uncertain and the consequences of the restrictions this virus to teach us a lesson? for individuals and society are not foreseeable. But Some time ago a pastor from Tübingen said a many may be driven by the question of what that sentence regarding such questions that has means for our faith. Quick answers to this are accompanied me ever since. He said, “I don't think problematic. So far, I have hardly noticed any God let my daughter die to teach me a lesson. But I attempts to think about it publicly. I am also learned a lot from this experience, which is still struggling for an answer and would therefore like to important to me to this day.« That deadly viruses share my thoughts on this with others.
    [Show full text]
  • The Holiness Tradition in German-Speaking Methodism
    THE HOLINESS TRADITION IN GERMAN-SPEAKING METHODISM MICHEL WEYER This paper is an attempt to chart the course of the idea of sanctification within German-speaking United Methodism.' The historical roots of that Methodism are to be seen in the nineteenth century-missionary work of three former Methodist bodies.' The Wesleyan Conference of Great Britain started its work by 1830 in Swabia; by 1850, the Gennan-speaking section of the former Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States sent its first missionaries to Bremen, while, at the same time, the American Evangelical Association started its Germany-Mission in Stiittgart. It required three decades to spread out from these three missionary bridgeheads and to gain a foothold in German-speaking Europe. Methodism established itself later as three distinct Free Churches which have been united since 1968. As a matter of fact, the period of the establishment of Methodism on our continent was the great time of the holiness revival within American Methodism.' So we have to be prepared to meet with a young European Gennan-speaking Methodism, which will be very strongly influenced by both the traditional Wesleyan emphasis on sanctification as Christian perfection and by the special understanding of the doctrine within the American holiness revival. Present German-speaking Methodism is still considering that sanctification is the central point of its theology "inasmuch as it is willing to be faithful to its original calling and heritage."' But in fact, a serious theological revision has taken place in Michel Weyer is professor of church history and historical theology at UMC Theological Seminary in Reutlingen, Cennany.
    [Show full text]
  • Faith and Unity in the World Methodist Council: an Issue of Ecumenical Integrity
    FAITH AND UNITY IN THE WORLD METHODIST COUNCIL: AN ISSUE OF ECUMENICAL INTEGRITY Robert Gribben [Respondent: Richard Clutterbuck] Issues of faith and intra-Methodist unity have surfaced a number of times in the recent history of the World Methodist Council (hereafter WMC). That inner unity is obviously significant also for our relationship with other Christian churches. One of the stated purposes of the WMC is 'to foster Methodist participation in the ecumenical movement and to promote the unity of Methodist witness and service in that movement'; another is 'to advance unity of theological and moral standards in the Methodist churches of the world'.1 The Council has published statements in its own name on several such matters, but on the whole, they have remained documents of record, occasionally remembered. The growing maturity of our relationships with several Christian World Communions means that our ability as an international Methodist body to speak authoritatively on the doctrine and life of our churches has become urgent, if decades of discussion are not remain unproductive. At the heart of this problem is the question of what kind of body the WMC purports to be. The basis of membership is very general: 'The WMC is comprised of the Churches of the Methodist tradition which satisfy the criteria, including a measure of autonomy which the Council may itself from time to time prescribe'.2 There may be a record of such prescriptions 'from time to time', but I am not aware of them. Leaving aside the issue of autonomy and size, it would seem that a claim to belong to the worldwide Wesleyan family is sufficient.
    [Show full text]
  • A Wesleyan Understanding of Grace As Responsible and Therapeutic: a Path to Transformational Spirituality
    Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 4-12-2002 A Wesleyan Understanding of Grace As Responsible and Therapeutic: A Path to Transformational Spirituality Katherine Simmons Conolly Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin Part of the Christianity Commons A WESLEYAN UNDERSTANDING OF GRACE AS RESPONSIBLE AND THERAPEUTIC: A PATH TO TRANSFORMATIONAL SPIRITUALITY Presented To The Faculty of George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Ministry by Katherine Simmons Conolly April 12, 2002 PORTLAND CENTER LIBRARY GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY PORTLAND, OR. 97223 Copyright © 2002 by Katherine Simmons Conolly All rights reserved SEM I NARY DISSERTATION ACCEPTANCE CERTIFICATE Title: A WESLEYAN UNDERSTANDING OF GRACE AS RESPONSIBLE AND THERAPEUTIC: A PATH TO TRANSFORMATIONAL SPIRITUALITY Presented by: Katherine Simmons Conolly AprillS, 2002 We, the undersigned, certify that we have read this dissertation and approve it as adequate in scope and quality for the Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Forl2migree. v· 4 Reader Dedicated to my parents Janet L. Simmons and Ralph 0. Simmons who are an incredible source of grace in my life CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Vll ABSTRACT Vlll Chapter 1. IN SEARCH OF TRANSFORMATIONAL SPIRITUALITY 1 What's So Amazing about Grace? Class 1 The Ministry Problem that Needs to be Addressed 3 Lost Touch with Wesleyan Roots 5 Transformational Sprituality 7 The Lack of Transformational Spirituality is Not Just a First United Methodist Church Problem 8 Wesley's Understanding of Grace as One Way to Affect Transformational Spirituality 10 "Coming Home to Wesley": Grace as "Responsible" 11 Coming Home to Wesley: Grace as Therapeutic 14 Developing a Curriculum of Responsible and Therapeutic Grace to Promote Transformational Spirituality 17 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Book of Discipline
    THE BOOK OF DISCIPLINE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH “The Book Editor, the Secretary of the General Conference, the Publisher of The United Methodist Church and the Committee on Correlation and Editorial Revision shall be charged with edit- ing the Book of Discipline. The editors, in the exercise of their judgment, shall have the authority to make changes in wording as may be necessary to harmonize legislation without changing its substance. The editors, in consultation with the Judicial Coun- cil, shall also have authority to delete provisions of the Book of Discipline that have been ruled unconstitutional by the Judicial Council.” — Plan of Organization and Rules of Order of the General Confer- ence, 2016 See Judicial Council Decision 96, which declares the Discipline to be a book of law. Errata can be found at Cokesbury.com, word search for Errata. L. Fitzgerald Reist Secretary of the General Conference Brian K. Milford President and Publisher Book Editor of The United Methodist Church Brian O. Sigmon Managing Editor The Committee on Correlation and Editorial Revision Naomi G. Bartle, Co-chair Robert Burkhart, Co-chair Maidstone Mulenga, Secretary Melissa Drake Paul Fleck Karen Ristine Dianne Wilkinson Brian Williams Alternates: Susan Hunn Beth Rambikur THE BOOK OF DISCIPLINE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 2016 The United Methodist Publishing House Nashville, Tennessee Copyright © 2016 The United Methodist Publishing House. All rights reserved. United Methodist churches and other official United Methodist bodies may re- produce up to 1,000 words from this publication, provided the following notice appears with the excerpted material: “From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church—2016.
    [Show full text]
  • 384 Walter Klaiber, Justified Before God: a Contemporary Theology
    384 Book Reviews / Ecclesiology 4 (2008) 356–391 Walter Klaiber, Justifi ed Before God: A Contemporary Th eology (Nashville: Abingdon, 2006). 212 pp. £13.99. ISBN 0-687-06316-7/ 978-0687- 063161-9 (pbk). In 1999 the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justifi cation . In this momentous document the two churches agreed that the doctrinal condemnations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with regard to the doctrine of justifi cation by faith alone could no longer be regarded as dividing the two churches from each other. Unfortunately, for some this has meant saying that the idea of justifi cation itself, described by Luther as the articulus stantis et cadentis eccle- siae , the article by which the Church stands or falls, is now irrelevant. One does not need to be a Lutheran (or even to have been one) to know that this is neither true nor was what the authors of the 1999 declaration had intended. In the present book, fi rst published in Germany in the early 1990s and now available in English, Walter Klaiber argues that the idea of justifi cation by faith is not only the key to reading both the Old and the New Testament but essentially the good news which all human beings need to hear at all times and especially today. Although other key texts on the subject of justifi cation, such as Hans Küng’s Justifi cation: Th e Doctrine of Karl Barth and a Catholic Refl ection (1964) and Eberhard Jüngel’s Justifi cation: Th e Heart of the Christian Faith: A Th eological Study with an Ecumenical Purpose (ET 2001), have been available in English for some time, justifi cation remains essentially a very German and essentially Germanic topic.
    [Show full text]
  • The Missionary Perspective of the Pauline Doctrine of Justification
    The Missionary Perspective of the Pauline Doctrine of Justification. A Response to the “New Perspective” It was more than 40 years ago when Krister Stendahl published a paper in the Harvard Theological Review with the title: “The Apostle Paul and the ‘Introspective’ Conscience of the West”.1 In this article he challenged the common protestant interpretation of the Pauline doctrine of justification since Luther and even more the whole exegesis of Paul since Augustine. According to Stendahl Paul’s concern was not the afflicted conscience of the individual believer who was asking for “a gracious God” but the question of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God. And this question had been solved already in the first century. The reaction of the supporters of the traditional interpretation was rather harsh. Ernst Käsemann responded with an essay “Rechtfertigung und Heilsgeschichte im Römerbrief”, which conceded that Stendahl rightly protested against a far too individualistic interpretation of the doctrine of justification in classical Protestantism but strongly emphasized all the dangers of a ‘heilsgeschichtliche’ interpretation of Paul.2 But the discussion had just begun. In 1977 E.P. Sanders published his seminal work “Paul and Palestinian Judaism”3. He tried to prove that the whole picture of Judaism as “work religion” which provided the base for the classical interpretation of Paul’s doctrine of justification was totally wrong, and that the question which was answered by Paul’s doctrine was not how to pass the last judgment but the question of “getting in” into the people of God. Although details of his work were disputed many New Testament scholars joined the main line of his arguments and a few years later James D.G.
    [Show full text]
  • Mark R. Teasdale United Methodist Scholarship on Evangelism 1 According to Martha Grace Reese in Her Popular Book Unbinding
    Mark R. Teasdale United Methodist Scholarship on Evangelism 1 According to Martha Grace Reese in her popular book Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism, evangelism is the “'E' word...[that] seems to have replaced sex and money as That Which Must Not Be Named in our mainline churches.”1 Notwithstanding this taboo, the theological academy has not been shy on the topic of evangelism, especially since the late 1980s when the changing cultural landscape in North America and Western Europe coupled with declining mainline denominational membership created a fresh urgency for evangelism to be considered in a scholarly way. This essay will specifically focus on the contributions of United Methodist scholars to this undertaking. The reason for focusing on United Methodist scholars is twofold. First, while it is still a matter of debate as to whether evangelism can be declared a field in its own right, The United Methodist Church has expended significant resources in helping evangelism come into its own as a credible area for academic work. The denomination has done this first through the Foundation for Evangelism (FFE), a lay organization that works in conjunction with The United Methodist Church's General Board of Discipleship. The FFE funds doctoral fellows in the work of evangelism as well as providing for endowed chairs of evangelism in thirteen of the sixteen United Methodist schools of theology worldwide (http://foundationforevangelism.org/grants/e-stanley-jones-professors/). This has provided a set of scholars who can focus on evangelism as a specific field of inquiry. Second, Abingdon Press, the United Methodist publishing house, has committed itself to the publication of numerous books and monographs about evangelism.
    [Show full text]
  • Res 2 2016 Versitas.Indd
    Unity to the Greater Glory of God. Promising Paradigms in Current Ecumenism1 CHRISTOPH RAEDEL* Rather than lamenting a crisis of the Ecumenical movement the author suggests that the reader look at promising paradigms that become apparent within the present changes and challenges of World Christianity. He identifies six promising trends, as Christians of different traditions recognize partners in common witness beyond their own church traditions (1), evangelical and Pentecostal churches rise in significance (2), ecumenism becomes increasingly shaped by biographical experience and personal encounter (3), a spiritual ecumenism for the witness in the world emerges (4), the reality of martyrdom deepens the sense of Christian unity (5) and the search for the truth of the Gospel is not given up (6). In their overlapping and sometimes contradictory evidence these paradigms prove Ecumenism to be alive and, therefore, changing its face. Keywords: ecumenism; future; evangelicalism; Pentecostalism; witness; martyrdom; truth Introduction It has become more or less common to speak of a crisis of the Ecu- menical movement, at least to argue that the movement has seen better days and acted in a more effective and promising way in the past. The current state is, as it were, measured by a point somewhere back in history and peo- ple’s laments rise. Is there an “Ice age” in the Ecumenical movement? What- ever one may think about this, I am not going to join the lamentations, nor do I intend to take a look into the rear-view mirror. I prefer to look ahead, by following the trajectories of a number of developments that can be realized today.
    [Show full text]