The Centrality Of Christ And Inter Religious Dialogue In The Theology Of Lesslie Newbigin Microform

This is a joint publication with the Board of Mission which includes an essay by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali on interfaith dialogue in Pakistan.

A challenging controversial discussion of the current state of the debate about Christianity and other world faiths.

Publisher Description

This book contains fresh insights into ecumenism and, notwithstanding claims of an “ecumenical winter,” affirms the view that we are actually moving into a “new ecumenical spring.” It offers new theological insights in the areas of Christology, Pneumatology and Trinitarian theology, and discusses developments in ecumenism in the USA, UK, Australia, India, and Africa, as well as in ecumenical institutions such as the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Anglican Roman Catholic Commission (ARCIC).

This book investigates the coming-to-be, principal features and theological outcomes of interreligious dialogue as an activity of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic Church (Vatican). The embrace of dialogical engagement represents a dramatic departure from almost two millennia of hostile Christian regard toward other faiths. The development of this phenomenon is outlined and explored, with research focussed on the work of relevant offices of the WCC and the Vatican during the final four decades of the 20th century. A principal task has been to construct a comparative narrative that provides the basis for a close analysis and assessment of policy and practice, together with theological reflection and critique. A hypothesis of three dimensions, or theological 'moments', that constitute a theology of dialogue has both informed and been tested by the undergirding research. The conclusion suggests that the more inclusive term 'interfaith engagement' today better encapsulates the ongoing field of concern, action, and theological reflection with respect to Christian relations to other religions, and that a model of transcendental dialogue is now requisite for the future of this engagement.

Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) was one of the seminal theologians of mission in the twentieth century, and perhaps the most important in the English-speaking world. His thinking was anchored in the practice of mission: he was a missionary in India, a bishop of the Indian church, and a leader in emerging international mission structures. In his late years, he pioneered research on how the gospel could engage with Western culture. For many he is the founding father of the missional church movement. This book is the first to address the crucial role Newbigin played in shaping ecumenical thinking on mission during the twentieth century, filling an important gap in our knowledge of the development of twentieth-century missional theology. It does so by seeking to answer a central question in Newbigin's thinking: How does "mission" relate to "church"? Taking the integration of the International Missionary Council with the World Council of Churches as its central focus, this book provides a unique history of crucial events in the ecumenical movement. But more importantly, through a study of Newbigin's role in the theological debate, this book demonstrates how missional theology evolved during the postwar period when there was a "sea change" in understandings both of mission and church.