Theology and Mission in World Christianity – serie

Mission and Money; Christian Mission in the Context of Global Inequalities offers academic discussion about the mission of the Church in the context of contemporary economic inequalities globally, challenging the reader to reconsider mission in the light of existing poverty, and investigating how economic structures could be challenged in the light of ethical and spiritual considerations. The book includes contributions on the subjects of poverty and inequality from the theologians, economists and anthropologists who gave keynote presentations at the European Missiological Conference (IAMS Europe) that took place in April 2014 in Helsinki, Finland. This conference was a major step forward in terms of discussion between missiologists and economists on global economic structures and their influence on human dignity.Contributors are: Mari-Anna Auvinen-Pöntinen, Stephen B. Bevans, Jonathan J. Bonk, Ulrich Duchrow, Jonas Adelin Jørgensen, Vesa Kanniainen, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Tinyiko Sam Maluleke, Gerrie Ter Haar, Evi Voulgaraki-Pissina, Mika Vähäkangas, Felix Wilfred.

Existing scholarship on World Christianities tends to privilege the local and the regional. In addition to offering an explanation for this tendency, the editors and contributors of this volume also offer a new perspective. An Introduction, Afterword and case-studies argue for the importance of transregional connections in the study of Christianity worldwide. Returning to an older post-war conception of ‘World Christianity’ as an international, ecumenical fellowship, the present volume aims to highlight the universalist, globalising aspirations of many Christians worldwide. While we do not neglect the importance of the local, our aim is to give due weight to the significant transregional networks and exchanges that have constituted Christian communities, both historically and in the present day. Contributors are: J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Naures Atto, Joel Cabrita, Pedro Feitoza, David C. Kirkpatrick, Chandra Mallampalli, David Maxwell, Dorottya Nagy, Peter C. Phan, Andrew Preston, Joel Robbins, Chloe Starr, Charlotte Walker-Said, Emma Wild-Wood.

The Mission of Development interrogates the complex relationships between Christian mission and international development in Asia from the 19th century to the new millennium. Through historically and ethnographically grounded case studies, contributors examine how missionaries have adapted to and shaped the age of development and processes of ‘technocratisation’, as well as how mission and development have sometimes come to be cast in opposition. The volume takes up an increasingly prominent strand in contemporary research that reverses the prior occlusion of the entanglements between religion and development. It breaks new ground through its analysis of the techno-politics of both development and mission, and by focusing on the importance of engagements and encounters in the field in Asia.

Studying Christianity in China introduces an emerging academic trend in contemporary Chinese scholarship. Through qualitative interviews with leading experts in Chinese Christian studies, Naomi Thurston has investigated the ongoing conversation between China and Christianity. Since the 1980s, this conversation has given rise to an interdisciplinary academic field that is quickly gaining traction as a cutting-edge, cross-cultural discourse. The Chinese intellectuals driving this field are encountered as unique transmitters of cultural knowledge: they are cultural mediators working in a range of humanities and social science disciplines who are not only re-interpreting Western theology, but are also lending a new voice to Chinese expressions of the Christian faith. As such, they are at the forefront of a novel force in World Christianity.

In A Dialogue between Haizi’s Poetry and the Gospel of Luke Xiaoli Yang offers a conversation between the Chinese soul-searching found in Haizi’s (1964–1989) poetry and the gospel of Jesus Christ through Luke’s testimony. It creates a unique contextual poetic lens that appreciates a generation of the Chinese homecoming journey through Haizi’s poetry, and explores its relationship with Jesus Christ. As the dialogical journey, it names four stages of homecoming—roots, vision, journey and arrival. By taking an interdisciplinary approach—literary study, inter-cultural dialogue and comparative theology, Xiaoli Yang convincingly demonstrates that the common language between the poet Haizi and the Lukan Jesus provides a crucial and rich source of data for an ongoing table conversation between culture and faith.

Essays in Contextual Theology is a collection of essays that reflect on the doing of contextual theology from several perspectives. After a general introductory essay, subsequent essays reflect on topics such as contextual theology and prophetic dialogue, criteria for orthodoxy, the nature of tradition, the role of culture, the dynamics of conversion, and the way theology is being done in World Christianity. The collection closes with an autobiographical essay tracing the author’s journey to becoming a “global theologian.”

The situation of religious institutional diminishment in many Western countries requires new approaches to the proclamation of Christian faith. As a response to these complexities, Karl Rahner suggested a “mystagogic” approach as a future pathway for theology. A mystagogical approach seeks modes of spiritual and theological conversation which engage the religious imagination and draws upon personal experiences of transcendence and religious sensibility. In Karl Rahner, Culture and Evangelization: New Approaches in an Australian Setting, Anthony Mellor develops a reflective process of contemporary “mystagogia”, describing how different fields of engagement require different patterns of mystagogical conversation. While focussing on the Australian setting, these differentiate arenas of engagement are also applicable to other cultural settings and offer fresh perspectives for evangelization today.

For years the fact that the debate on science and religion was not related to cultural diversity was considered only a minor issue. However, lately, there is a growing concern that the dominance of ‘Western’ perspectives in this field do not allow for new understandings. This book testifies to the growing interest in the different cultural embeddings of the science and religion interface and proposes a framework that makes an intercultural debate possible. This proposal is based on a thorough study of the ‘lived theology’ of Christian students and university professors in Abidjan, Kinshasa and Yaoundé. The outcomes of the field research are related to a worldwide perspective of doing theology and a broader scope of scholarly discussions.

Theology and the Political: Theo-political Reflections on Contemporary Politics in Ecumenical Conversation, edited by Alexei Bodrov and Stephen M. Garrett, is the fruit of Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant conversations from East and West concerning the retrieval of theological discourse for political praxis, theo-political structural analysis of secularity/post-secularity, and distinct political engagement from varying Christian traditions that not only offer political critique but criticism of its particular tradition.This edited volume is animated by the motif of political action as witness in a missional key and makes a unique interdisciplinary contribution to the field of political theology that invites further reflection on the gospel instantiated in various cultural contexts in light of the boundary-crossing nature of mission and theological discourse.

‘Ecumenism’ and ‘independency’ suggest two distinct impulses in the history of Christianity: the desire for unity, co-operation, connectivity, and shared belief and practice, and the impulse for distinction, plurality, and contextual translation. Yet ecumenism and independency are better understood as existing in critical tension with one another. They provide a way of examining changes in World Christianity. Taking their lead from the internationally acclaimed research of Brian Stanley, in whose honour this book is published, contributors examine the entangled nature of ecumenism and independency in the modern global history of Christianity. They show how the scrutiny afforded by the attention to local, contextual approaches to Christianity outside the western world, may inform and enrich the attention to transnational connectivity.

World Christianity publications proliferate but the issue of methodology has received little attention. World Christianity: Methodological Considerations addresses this lacuna and explores the methodological ramifications of the World Christianity turn. In twelve chapters scholars from various academic backgrounds (anthropology, religious studies, history, missiology, intercultural studies, theology, and patristics) as well as of multiple cultural and national belongings investigate methodological issues (e.g. methods, use of sources, choosing a unit of analysis, terminology, conceptual categories,) relevant to World Christianity debates. In a closing chapter the editors Frederiks and Nagy converge the findings and sketch the outlines of what they coin as a ‘World Christianity approach’, a multidisciplinary and multiple perspective approach to study Christianity/ies’ plurality and diversity in past and present.

In Christianity and Conversion among Migrants, Darren Carlson explores the faith, beliefs, and practices of migrants and refugees as well as the Christian organizations serving them between 2014–2018 in Athens, Greece. This is the first major study of migrant faith communities and refugee centers conducted in Athens. The study traces the travel stories of participants as they leave their home countries and migrate to Athens.Darren Carlson discusses the ways evangelical and Pentecostal Christians served migrants along their journey, how churches and specific refugee centers served and proclaimed the gospel, and the impact Christian witness had on migrants, particularly Muslims, who were converting to evangelical Christian faith.

After-Mission touches on on three questions.The first question is about self-perception and identity-formation strategies, and the various views that we have on the Protestants’ relation to their Arab Muslim Middle Eastern context. This will furnish the basis for the ensuing parts, as it will provide the study with coherent and analytical readings of the cultural situation and intellectual views of the Arab Eastern Protestants in their Sitz im Leben from the perspective of the hermeneutic tripod of ‘identity–othering–relationality’.The second question, about the theological dimension, asks what kind of a theological discourse do the Protestants need to develop, and how do they need to re-form their own theological heritage, in such a manner that will allow them to heal the historical enmity and suspicion towards them from the Eastern Orthodox Christian community in the region? How should they re-think their traditional view on theological subjects common to them and the Eastern Christian tradition? Traditional Protestant attitudes towards Eastern Christianity, which have been viewed through the lens of evangelicalism and mission, have failed to grant the Protestants an influential and truly indigenous presence in the region and have led to them being constantly accused of being a foreign transplant and alien entity. In the light of this, it is clear that going beyond missiology and traditional evangelicalism demands re-thinking certain mutually shared but contentious theological subjects from a new perspective with the focus on more constructive attempts to build fellowship through dialogue.Finally, the third question touches on the Protestants’ future in the Arab Muslim Middle East by viewing this inquiry from a broader perspective that is related to all the Middle Eastern Christian communities’ presence and role in the Muslim-majority context. It will discuss questions about the kind of presence and role that Christians, Protestants included, should hope to play in order to guarantee survival and a continuing presence in the region. The question of identity formation, and the managing of difference without trapping it in the mud of ‘otherizing and self-otherizing’, will also be tackled, so that the theological dimension is integrated with the broader, multifaceted contextual one.

In Intimate Diversity Paul Smith explores theological implications of interreligious marriage. Taking a practical theology approach which begins with lived experience and works through a pastoral cycle involving interpretation, normative discussion and a pragmatic outcome, the book challenges the Church of England (or other denominations) fulfil three tasks: theological, pastoral and missional.Paul Smith accepts the reality of marriage that involves couples from different religious traditions and proposes ways of justifying such marriage based on normative Christian traditions. He takes a broadly missional approach, advocating the positive role that the Church of England can play in fostering good interreligious relations in society whilst offering sympathetic pastoral support of couples who marry across religious divides.

This volume explores the important legacy of Scottish missions to China, with a focus on the missionary-scholar and Protestant sinologist par excellence James Legge (1815–1897). It challenges the simplistic caricature of Protestant missionaries as Orientalizing imperialists, but also shows how the Chinese context and Chinese persons “converted” Scottish missionaries in their understandings of China and the broader world.Scottish Missions to China brings together essays by leading Chinese, European, and North American scholars in mission history, sinology, theology, cultural and literary studies, and psychology. It calls attention to how the historic enterprise of Scottish missions to China presents new insights into Scottish-Chinese and British-Chinese relations.Contributors are: Joanna Baradziej, Marilyn L. Bowman, Alexander Chow, Gao Zhiqiang, Joachim Gentz, David Jasper, Christopher Legge, Lauren F. Pfister, David J. Reimer, Brian Stanley, Yang Huilin, Zheng Shuhong.

“The future of the Church is in Asia.” (Pope Francis to the Philippine Cardinal Tagle.) Asian Catholic bishops have taken up this challenge since 1970; they show how the Asian Church navigates itself in the midst of Asian religious and cultural plurality. An image of a harmonious, dialogical and inclusive church with its wayfarer’s theology emerges in the theological thought of Asian bishops. This book also shows that the Asian Catholic Church is a lively and vibrant communion of local Churches, whose fresh and inspiring theological thought should be studied and welcomed outside of Asia as well.

The East African Revival is a fascinating historical example of the significant role indigenous agency can play in creating a new Christian spirituality. African revivalists initiated the spread of the movement, employing creative practices such as public testimony and fellowship meetings to sustain the effects of conversion experiences. Daewon Moon integrates theological and sociological analyses of conversion with interviews and personal narratives that express insiders’ perspectives. As active agents in the multiethnic and multicultural movement, African revivalists articulate through their words and changed lives what it means to be 'saved'.

In Theology, Empowerment, and Prison Ministry Meins G.S. Coetsier offers a new scholarly account of Karl Rahner’s theological anthropology and the prison pastorate with a contemporary expansion for meaning, seeking an antidote to the suffering and isolation of those incarcerated with a “theology of empowerment.” Drawing on prison ministry theorists and practitioners, and on the experiences of Viktor Frankl, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Etty Hillesum, the book argues that Rahner’s views on prison ministry are significant and encouraging but limited regarding the needs and demands of 21st-century prison ministry. In a convincing, perceptive, and groundbreaking study, Coetsier goes beyond Rahner with ecumenical and interreligious perspectives, reminding us all of our human dignity, of meaning and transformation, of our liberation, creativity, hope and community.

In 1982, David B. Barrett released his 1,000-page World Christian Encyclopedia, which presented a comprehensive quantitative assessment of World Christianity for the first time. This book is the first historical project to analyze Barrett’s archival materials, which shed light not only on the production of the Encyclopedia, but more importantly, on the development of World Christianity as a discipline and the importance of both African Christianity and quantitative perspectives in its history. This book captures innovations at the intersection of World Christianity, mission studies, and the sociology of religion – the kind of interdisciplinary research that makes World Christianity studies unique.

In this volume, Lam and Thurston present a series of important theological debates between Jürgen Moltmann, the contemporary German Reformed theologian, and humanities scholars based in Chinese metropolises from Hong Kong to Beijing between 2014 and 2018. Featured, along with original essays and newly edited contributions by Moltmann, are the voices of such renowned Chinese scholars of religion as He Guanghu, Lai Pan-chiu, Zhuo Xinping and the contemporary comparativist Yang Huilin. These debates matter because they shed light on themes rarely explored in cross-cultural theological dialogue as it unfolds, showcasing the ongoing relevance of theological critique in and with the contemporary humanities.Contributors to the volume are: Hong Liang, Kwok Wai-luen, Lai Pan-chiu, Jason Lam, Jürgen Moltmann, Naomi Thurston, Yang Huaming, Yang Huilin.

This book integrates history, theology, and art and analyzes the Jesuits’ cross-cultural mission in late imperial China. Readers will find a rich collection of resources from historical sites, museums, manuscripts, and archival materials, including previous unpublished works of art. The production and circulation of art from different historical periods and categories show the artistic, theological, and missional values of Christian art. It highlights European Jesuits, Asian Christians, transnationalism, and gives voice to Chinese Christian women and their patronage of art in the seventeenth century. It offers a rare systematic study of the relation between art and mission history.

Few churches today can trace their lineage as far back as the Copts. Their ancient traditions and rituals go back as far as the very beginnings of Christianity. For centuries, they have withstood many trials and martyrdoms. But in the twentieth century, many Copts left their homeland and scattered all over the Earth, seeking prosperity and security. Many went to the West, but many others went to the heart of the Islamic world: the Arabian Gulf. They took their faith with them into this new and challenging environment. In this context, hybrid forms of spirituality emerged, anchored in the ancient practices but sharpened by contact with globalisation. This migrant spirituality characterises their stories and touches the heart of what it means to be a Christian sojourner today.

Transforming Work offers a radical re-orientation of the nature and future of work and implications for mission. In conversation with David Bosch’s Transforming Mission and other global and ecumenical voices, 21 leaders offer their vision for transforming the world of work and revisioning work to offer a transforming gift to the world. Writing from biblical and historical perspectives, with case studies and cultural exegesis, they explore work and leisure, ethics and economics, technologies and Artificial Intelligence. It is time to discern where God is transforming work in our cities and farms, shops and classrooms, politics and agencies.

**Recognized as IBMR Outstanding Book 2024**Today, the majority of the world's Christian population lives in the Global South. Knowledge of their history is therefore indispensable. This textbook offers a compact and vivid overview of the history of Christianity in Asia, Africa and Latin America since 1450, focussing on diversity and interdependence, local actors and global effects. Maps, illustrations and numerous photos as well as continuous references to easily accessible source texts support the reader's own reading and its use in various forms of academic teaching.Special bonus material including 250 photos taken by the author can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27623484.v2

In this study, N.T. Wright’s exceptional work on the resurrection is shown to form the centre of his eschatology and mission theology. Wright’s emphasis on the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection for the gospel’s missional encounter with the West is highlighted. By drawing out the significance of the resurrection for Wright’s eschatological narrative, the author sets the stage for Wright’s mission theology, focusing on the church, evangelism, political theology, and eschatological ethics. Wright’s emphasis on doing history is explained in terms of the theological conviction that, since God acted in history, historical study has become a sphere of missional engagement.

Jacob Joseph's book, The Christ who Embraces: An Orthodox Theology of Margins, explores the intersection of Orthodox Christian mission and caste dynamics among St. Thomas/Syrian/Orthodox Christians in India. It defines a liturgical touch or embrace in the context of 'untouchability,' where people identify as equal without discrimination, reflecting the inseparable unity of Christ's transcendental (divine) and immanent (human) nature.

This book explores how and why global Protestant movements have been foundational for studies of internationalism. During the early twentieth century, hopes for the peaceful coexistence of nations animated emerging international Protestant cooperation. Despite national hostilities including world war, commitment to global Christian fellowship became an urgent public agenda. In this volume, essays by European, Asian, and North American scholars locate the essence of the “young ecumenical movement" in the dynamic tension between nationalism and internationalism during the early twentieth century. Political crises, crushing disappointments, and imperialist ambitions notwithstanding, transnational Protestant leaders, networks, and movements envisioned Christianity as a contemporary multi-cultural, worldwide community.

This volume is a global, multidisciplinary exploration of the church’s mission of creating healthy individuals, families, communities and societies. Following the healing ministry of Jesus, Christians have assumed the availability of divine healing and spiritual well-being, internally and interpersonally. Contributors analyze diverse ministries of health and healing, from around the world and throughout the ages, through historical, theological, and practical lenses. These include desert monasteries; medieval hospices, and shrines; modern “medical missions”; “Christian health services”; contemporary psychological therapies; and Christian healers, who may use traditional medicines and reject biomedical intervention. This research shows how healing is integral to Christian faith and mission.

In recent years, Kimbanguism has developed from an ecumenically oriented African-instituted church into a new religion. Accordingly, their membership with the World Council of Churches was discontinued in 2021. This process of theological change and reorientation is clearly traced and illustrated on the basis of previously unseen WCC archive materials. The six chapters also show the six phases how the process of disengagement from a religious belief is progressing to start a new religion.