Studia Missionalia Upsaliensia

This volume comprises case studies of five centuries of European encounters with and imaginations of Africa encompassing her triple religious heritage: African Traditional Religions, Christianity and Islam. The introductory chapters outline the challenges and present overviews; some of them also analyze the early accounts of European travelers and missionaries. The following contributions examine the lasting legacy of the European Enlightenment in employing an ambivalent language of human equality and universalism, while in actual fact consigning Africa to an inferior position. It has been difficult for western scholars to divorce themselves wholly from the perceptions thus established. However, there have been quite different approaches. This is indicated in the papers discussing the role and impact of influential European academics (scholars of religion, theologians, historians and social scientists) during the colonial and postcolonial period. Other contributions examine specific institutional centers of African religious studies in Europe. The concluding chapters critically assess European approaches and their use for the study of religion in Africa from an African perspective.

This study is the first comprehensive history of the impact of the modern missionary movement on the understanding of and work toward Christian unity. It tells stories from all branches of the church: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant in its many types (conciliar, evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent). Part 1, "Historical," highlights the contribution of modern missions to Christian unity, from William Carey and his antecedents and peers to present-day missions. Part 2, "Ten Models of Unity," takes an inductive approach to history, asking not "how should Christians cooperate?" but "how has the missionary movement helped Christians to work together at the local, national, regional, and global level?" Part 3, "Wider Ecumenism," broadens the evidence to include how the missions movement has helped not only institutional churches but also broader society to have concern for the unity of the entire human family. Included here is the story of how the Protestant missionary movement influenced the forming of the United Nations as well as the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The study also covers the movement's impact on Christian attitudes toward, and relations with, persons of other faiths. Mission and Unity is the standard reference work in the field for persons studying modern history, modern church history, missions, and ecumenics.

Surrounded by steep escarpments to the north, south and east, Ethiopia has always been geographically and culturally set apart. It has the longest archaeological record of any country in the world. Indeed, this precipitous mountain land was where the human race began. It is also home to an ancient church with a remarkable legacy. The Ethiopian Church forms the southern branch of historic Christianity. It is the only pre-colonial church in sub-Saharan Africa, originating in one of the earliest Christian kingdoms-with its king Ezana (supposedly descended from the biblical Solomon) converting around 340 CE. Since then it has maintained its long Christian witness in a region dominated by Islam; today it has a membership of around forty million and is rapidly growing. Yet despite its importance, there has been no comprehensive study available in English of its theology and history. This is a large gap which this authoritative and engagingly written book seeks to fill. The Church of Ethiopia (or formally, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church) has a recognized place in worldwide Christianity as one of five non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches.As Dr Binns shows, it has developed a distinctive approach which makes it different from all other churches. His book explains why this happened and how these special features have shaped the life of the Christian people of Ethiopia. He discusses the famous rock-hewn churches; the Ark of the Covenant (claimed by the Church and housed in Aksum); the medieval monastic tradition; relations with the Coptic Church; co-existence with Islam; missionary activity; and the Church's venerable oral traditions, especially the discipline of qene-a kind of theological reflection couched in a unique style of improvised allegorical poetry. There is also a sustained exploration of how the Church has been forced to re-think its identity and mission as a result of political changes and upheaval following the overthrow of Haile Selassie (who ruled as Regent, 1916-1930, and then as Emperor, 1930-74) and beyond.

Overcomers bears witness in a time of discrimination and persecution to how God delivers His people. Both from leaders under severe pressure and from ordinary believers caught in the vortex of Marxist re-education and cultural upheaval, these testimonies primarily from the Kale Heywet Church community recount experiences during the Ethiopian Revolution (1974–1991).

Bengt Sundkler's long-awaited book on African Christian churches will become the standard reference for the subject.

Erstmals wird hier die Fulle der englischsprachigen Athiopienliteratur geordnet dargeboten. In 100 Sections fuhrt der Autor alle fur die wissenschaftliche Beschaftigung mit Athiopien wichtigen Buch- und Zeitschriftenbeitrage zum Beispiel zur "Historyof Research", "Archaeology", "Religion", aber auch Fragen der "Sociology", "Agriculture", "Zoology" und "Medical Sciences" auf. Wie im Falle der deutschsprachigen Literatur ("Bibliographia Aethiopica: Die athiopienkundliche Literatur des deutschsprachigenRaumes" = Aethiopistische Forschungen 9 [1982]) berucksichtigt der Autor auch alle ihm zuganglichen Besprechungen, womit bei einer Aufnahme von mehr als 24.000 Titeln eine Art "Bibliographic Enzyclopedia" entstanden ist.