Volume 2 (1948-1968) first appeared in 1970. It covers the history of the World Council of Churches from its first assembly at Amsterdam to its fourth assembly at Uppsala, Sweden; analyzes the development of regional ecumenical organizations; and recounts the impact of the Second Vatican Council on the ecumenical witness of the Roman Catholic Church.
No less than two decades were needed for the composition of the ecumenical convergence document The Church: Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV) which was published by the World Council of Churches in 2013. The document was intended to reflect a common vision of churches and ecumenical stakeholders on a myriad of ecclesiological themes. The book investigates whether the convergence document TCTCV delivers on its promises. The book focuses on the formation and the reception of TCTCV along with the two draft versions, The Nature and Purpose of the Church (1998) and The Nature and Mission of the Church (2005) and uncovers whether the responses by the churches to TCTCV hold an affirmation of the convergences registered in the document. Furthermore, it seeks to establish whether the responses point towards a "common vision" concerning various ecclesiological themes that are still contested by the churches today. The book also explores whether the responses to TCTCV reveal an advancement in the conversation surrounding several debated issues, and examines to what extent the churches are willing to creatively engage with the ecclesial other.
This book tells how a group of Protestant theologians forged a theology of international engagement for America in the 1930s and 40s, and how in doing so they informed the public rationale for the United States' participation in World War II and stimulated American leadership in establishing both secular and international organizations for the promotion of world order. This remarkable group included Henry P. Van Dusen, Reinhold Niebuhr, John Bennett, Francis P. Miller, Georgia Harkness, and Samual McCrea Cavert. Warren show how, in creating a coherent, theologically-derived position and bringing it to bear on contemporary international issues, this group combined ideas with public action in a way that set the standard for American theologians' social activism in the years to come.
What is Ecumenism? How and when did it start? What are its goals and how will they affect the future of the Christian churches? This book answers these questions and examines the remarkable story of new encounters between Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Old Catholic, and most Protestant churches. Most of these churches have been divided for centuries over issues of theology, faith, and practice. Ecumenism seeks to reconcile these differences and to bring the churches together into a new unity based on their commonalities and their understanding of Christian faith. Here, FitzGerald traces the history of the churches and their divisions and focuses on the ways in which the Ecumenical movement began and the efforts that have been made to assist the churches in overcoming age-old strife, animosity, and misunderstanding. For centuries, Christian churches have remained divided over their doctrinal differences, but beginning in the late nineteenth century, churches and their members slowly began to emerge from their isolation. They began to abandon competition, mistrust, and misunderstanding in an effort to seek out their common interests and faith through meetings and organizations meant to bring them together. The encounters between the churches led to proposals for common prayers for unity, and for common witness in society. While not without difficulty, these encounters have fostered a renewal in Christian theology, worship, and witness, affecting all levels of church life. The process has touched Christians all over the world in various ways. FitzGerald carefully traces the history of the movement and its impact on the churches themselves, as well as the believers who attend them, making this important reading for all Christians and anyone interested in learning more about church division and efforts to restore unity.
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.
In a clear, nontechnical way, this noted Reformation historian tells the story of how the nascent reforming and confessional movement sparked and led by Martin Luther survived its first battles with religious and political authorities to become institutionalized in its religious practices and teachings. Gritsch then traces the emergence of genuine consensus at the end of the sixteenth century, followed by the age of Lutheran Orthodoxy, the great Pietist reaction, Lutheranisms growing diversification during the Industrial Revolution, its North American expansion, and its increasingly global and ecumenical ventures in the last century.
Since its first publication in 1988, the New Dictionary of Theology has been widely appreciated by students and readers as a trustworthy and informative guide. After almost thirty years, however, there are many new writers, issues and themes on the agenda, for theology does not stand still. Hence, this completely revised second edition includes over 400 new articles in the full set of over 800. Many of the original articles have been expanded and updated, and almost all have additional bibliographical references. Since material on biblical theology is now covered at length in IVP's New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, this volume is therefore more specifically a dictionary of historical and systematic theology. The New Dictionary of Theology: Historical and Systematic has an international team of contributors, and many are acknowledged experts in their fields. The Dictionary combines excellence in scholarship with a high standard of clarity and insight into current theological issues, yet it avoids being unduly technical. Students, teachers and ministers, as well as scholars and everyone seeking a better understanding of theology, will value it as an indispensable reference work. The volume is enhanced by a spacious and clear design, an extensive and easy-to-use cross-reference system and bibliographies which feature the best and most readily available works in English.
This volume, dedicated to the memory of Gerard Mannion (1970-2019), former Joseph and Winifred Amaturo Chair in Catholic Studies at Georgetown University, explores the topic of changing the church from a range of different theological perspectives. The volume contributors offer answers to questions such as: What needs to be changed in the universal church and in the particular denominations? How has change influenced the life of the church? What are the dangers that change brings with it? What awaits the church if it refuses to change? Many of the essays focus on people who have changed the church significantly and on events that have catalyzed change, for the better or for the worse. Some also present visions of change for particular Christian denominations, whether over the ordination of the women, different approaches to sexuality, reform of the magisterium, and many other issues related to change.
Tracing its origins back to 1822 in Whampoa, the Mariners’ Club in Hong Kong was established to meet a specific need for an Anglo-Chinese society defined by that most dubious of activities, seafaring. Its creation was anything but straightforward, and in this can be seen the mutable and often tortuous relations between the various religious bodies, the local population, the transient sailors, the emerging captains of industry, and the growing regulatory reach of the colonial government. The club evolved through many embodiments and witnessed the growth of Hong Kong from a collection of mat-sheds on the foreshore, through colony to its current status. Throughout its turbulent past it has been occasionally marginalized but has always served as an important base for the key actors in the main commercial activity in Hong Kong: seafarers. This is a history of one of the most enduring institutions of Hong Kong, and the first of its kind. Using the Club’s own records as well as a wide range of sources both from within Hong Kong and from the seafaring world at large, this is a comprehensive account of the life of the Missions, the tenancy of the different chaplains, managers, and stewards, the changes in seafaring practices and shipping, and the transformation of Hong Kong itself.
