Ethics · Society · Theology · Mission · Sociology of Religions
At this landmark event with more than a thousand listeners the questions posed were, is religion an instigator or a peacemaker in conflicts and pisions in society? To address such issues, religious leaders from various faiths and scholars joined to explore the depths of history, theology and politics.
Thomas Schirrmacher, Director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF), testified in the British House of Lords in a meeting between Parliamentarians from the UK and from all over Latin America.
According to the opinion of the evangelical theologian and mission scholar Christof Sauer, the new Apostolic Letter of Pope St. Francis with the title “There is no greater love (maiorem hac dilectionem) – on the offer of life” is to be welcomed, as far as it concerns the definition of a martyr.
The Associate Secretary General of World Evangelical Alliance, being among other things responsible for interreligious dialogue of this network of 600 million Protestants, calls upon top religious leaders worldwide to sign the UNHCHR’s “Beirut Declaration on ‘Faith for Rights’ (FAR)” and to help to fulfill UN’s Rabat Plan of Action.
The Chairman of the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance, during an address in Osnabrueck entitled “Christ Alone” and held upon the anniversary of the Reformation, has defended the thesis that the age of global dialog where religions are made out to be the same is coming to an end.
Much of what I have stand for or defend, e.g. in my book ‘Missio Dei’, has increasingly been labeled “missional” over the past ten years or so in place of the older term “missionary.” That is not completely coincidental, since in the case of almost all advocates of the expression “missional church” the names Lesslie Newbigin and David Bosch are mentioned as the sources of inspiration and the representatives of the term’s use. Both individuals were closely allied with the term missio Dei.
In the German and the Englisch Festschrift of the EMW in Hamburg you can find my contribution: “Taking the Chance to Get Closer”.