Receptive Ecumenism asks not what other churches can learn from us, but 'what can we learn and receive with integrity from our ecclesial others?' Since the publication of Receptive Ecumenism and the Call to Catholic Learning: Exploring a Way for Contemporary Ecumenism (OUP, 2008), this fresh ecumenical strategy has been adopted, critiqued, and developed in different Christian traditions, and in local, national, and international settings, including the most recent bilateral dialogue of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III). The thirty-eight chapters in this new volume, by academics, church leaders, and ecumenical practitioners who have adopted and adapted Receptive Ecumenism in various ecclesial and cultural contexts, show how Receptive Ecumenism has grown and matured. Part One demonstrates how Receptive Ecumenism itself is capable of being received with integrity into very different ecclesiologies and ecclesial traditions. In Part Two, this approach to transformative ecumenical learning is applied to some recurrent ecclesial problems, such as the understanding and practice of ministry, revealing new insights and practical opportunities. Part Three examines the potential and challenges for Receptive Ecumenism in different international settings. Part Four draws on scripture, hermeneutics, and pneumatology to offer critical reflection on how Receptive Ecumenism itself implements transformative ecclesial learning. Addressing the 70th Anniversary of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Justin Welby, said that 'One of the most important of recent ecumenical developments has been the concept of "Receptive Ecumenism"'. This volume provides an indispensable point of reference for understanding and applying that concept in the life of the Christian churches today.

Catholics without Rome examines the dawn of the modern, ecumenical age, when "Old Catholics," unable to abide Rome's new doctrine of papal infallibility, sought unity with other "catholics" in the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox churches. In 1870, the First Vatican Council formally embraced and defined the dogma of papal infallibility. A small and vocal minority, comprised in large part of theologians from Germany and Switzerland, judged it uncatholic and unconscionable, and they abandoned the Roman Catholic Church, calling themselves "Old Catholics." This study examines the Old Catholic Church's efforts to create a new ecclesiastical structure, separate from Rome, while simultaneously seeking unity with other Christian confessions. Many who joined the Old Catholic movement had long argued for interconfessional dialogue, contemplating the possibility of uniting with Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox. The reunion negotiations initiated by Old Catholics marked the beginning of the ecumenical age that continued well into the twentieth century. Bryn Geffert and LeRoy Boerneke focus on the Bonn Reunion Conferences of 1874 and 1875, including the complex run-up to those meetings and the events that transpired thereafter. Geffert and Boerneke masterfully situate the theological conversation in its wider historical and political context, including the religious leaders involved with the conferences, such as Doellinger, Newman, Pusey, Liddon, Wordsworth, Ianyshev, Alekseev, and Bolotov, among others. The book demonstrates that the Bonn Conferences and the Old Catholic movement, though unsuccessful in their day, broke important theological ground still relevant to contemporary interchurch and ecumenical affairs. Catholics without Rome makes an original contribution to the study of ecumenism, the history of Christian doctrine, modern church history, and the political science of confessional fellowships. The book will interest students and scholars of Christian theology and history, and general readers in Anglican and Eastern Orthodox churches interested in the history of their respective confessions.

Der uberwiegende Teil der Evangelischen und Katholischen Kirche ist in Formen der Tradition gefangen. Diese ruckwartsgewandte kirchliche Verkundigung erreicht viele Menschen des 21. Jahrhunderts mit ihren Erfahrungen nicht mehr. Auf Religionskritik der Aufklarung hat die Kirche ebenso halbherzig reagiert wie auf Initiativgruppen, die seit Jahrzehnten fur eine Veranderung eintreten. Die Institution Kirche muss ihre Funktion als Teil der Gesellschaft annehmen. Diese Themenstellungen greift das Buch auf. Es drangt auf die Umsetzung aktueller Forderungen der Aufklarung und tritt dafur ein, dass Aufklarung zu einem Bestandteil kirchlicher Arbeit wird. Kirche muss prufen, inwieweit Entwurfe zur gesellschaftlichen Erneuerung und Weiterentwicklung auch von ihr umzusetzen sind.

The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies is an unparalleled compendium of ecumenical history, information and reflection. With essay contributions by nearly fifty experts in their various fields, and edited by two leading international scholars, the Handbook is a major resource for all who are involved or interested in ecumenical work for reconciliation between Christians and for the unity of the Church. Its six main sections consider, respectively, the different phases of the history of the ecumenical movement from the mid-nineteenth century to the present; the ways in which leading Christian churches and traditions, Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal, have engaged with and contributed to the movement; the achievements of ecumenical dialogue in key areas of Christian doctrine, such as Christology and ecclesiology, baptism, Eucharist and ministry, morals and mission, and the issues that remain outstanding; various ecumenical agencies and instruments, such as covenants and dialogues, the World Council of Churches, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Global Christian Forum; the progress and difficulties of ecumenism in different countries, areas and continents of the world, the UK and the USA, Africa, Asia, South America, Europe, and the Middle East, ; and finally two all-important questions are considered by scholars from various traditions: what would Christian unity look like and what is the best method for seeking it? This is a remarkably comprehensive account and assessment of one of the most outstanding features of Christian history, namely the modern ecumenical movement.

Jung's correspondence with one of the twentieth century's leading theologians and ecumenicists On Theology and Psychology brings together C. G. Jung's correspondence with Adolf Keller, a celebrated Protestant theologian who was one of the pioneers of the modern ecumenical movement and one of the first religious leaders to become interested in analytical psychology. Their relationship spanned half a century, and for many years Keller was the only major religious leader to align himself with Jung and his ideas. Both men shared a lifelong engagement with questions of faith, and each grappled with God in his own distinctive way. Presented here in English for the first time are letters that provide a rare look at Jung in dialogue with a theologian. Spanning some fifty years, these letters reveal an extended intellectual and spiritual discourse between two very different men as they exchange views on the nature of the divine, the compatibility of Jungian psychology and Christianity, the interpretation of the Bible and figures such as Jesus and Job, and the phenomenon of National Socialism. Although Keller was powerfully attracted to Jung's ideas, his correspondence with the famed psychiatrist demonstrates that he avoided discipleship. Both men struggled with essential questions about human existence, spirituality, and well-being, and both sought common ground where the concerns of psychologists and theologians converge. Featuring an illuminating introduction by Marianne Jehle-Wildberger, On Theology and Psychology offers incomparable insights into the development of Jung's views on theology and religion, and a unique window into a spiritual and intellectual friendship unlike any other.

A comprehensive collection provides guidance and deep insight from a variety of experts in this emerging field The rapidly developing field of interreligious studies fosters scholarship engaging two or more religious traditions at a time. Inherently multidisciplinary, the field brings the academic consideration of religions into conversation with the humanities and social sciences, employing relational, intersectional, experiential, and dialogical methodologies as it examines the interrelationship of individuals and groups with differing alignments toward religion. Edited by Lucinda Mosher, The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies features an international roster of practitioners of or experts on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Ruism, Humanism, and African, North American, and South American Indigenous lifeways. Each author offers a unique perspective on the nature of this emerging discipline. This companion provides fifty thought-provoking chapters on the history, priorities, challenges, distinguishing pedagogies, and practical applications of interreligious studies. Anyone who seeks a deeper appreciation of this relatively new academic field will find it useful as a textbook or research resource.

The first intellectual history of interreligious dialogue, a relatively new and significant dimension of human religiosity "[A] fast-paced history of interreligious dialogue . . . For those new to the field or interested in looking at where we've been and how we came to be here, this book is a very good place to start."-Emily Soloff, Christian Century In recent decades, organizations committed to interreligious or interfaith dialogue have proliferated, both in the Western and non-Western worlds. Why? How so? And what exactly is interreligious dialogue? These are the touchstone questions of this book, the first major history of interreligious dialogue in the modern age. Thomas Albert Howard narrates and analyzes several key turning points in the history of interfaith dialogue before examining, in the conclusion, the contemporary landscape. While many have theorized about and practiced interreligious dialogue, few have attended carefully to its past, connecting its emergence and spread with broader developments in modern history. Interreligious dialogue-grasped in light of careful, critical attention to its past-holds promise for helping people of diverse faith backgrounds to foster cooperation and knowledge of one another while contributing insight into contemporary, global religious pluralism.

There are those who say that the Reverend Sydney Smith ought to be made a saint of the Church of England. There are those who say that he jested away his chances of a mitre. There are those who simply read him and laugh. Sydney Smith was not only a humorist. He was a respected clergyman who worked steadily for Roman Catholic emancipation despite his own staunch Anglicanism. In 1802 he helped to found The Edinburgh Review, which became one of the most powerful journals in Britain. Lord Macaulay referred to him as The Smith of Smiths. Jane Austen is thought to have based Henry Tilner in Northanger Abbey on him. G. K. Chesterton was another of his admirers. This book gathers together a selection of Smith's own writings together with extracts from his daughter's biography of him. Arranged thematically, the passages deal with Home and Abroad, Politics, Social Evils, Education, Religion, and Health and Happiness. As well as Sydney's renowned wit, the collection enshrines the wisdom of a man of enormous common sense and the preaching of an eloquent orator. We discover the sloth, who 'moves suspended, rests suspended, sleeps suspended, and passes his life in suspense - like a young clergyman distantly related to a bishop'. We meet the bishop who deserved to be preached to death by wild curates. But most of all, we enjoy the company of a man determined that as long as I can possibly avoid it I will never be unhappy. The amusing defender of our faith described a friend's idea of heaven as eating pate de foie gras to the sound of trumpets. His present-day admirers may disagree, finding their ideal of heaven in reading this wonderfully entertaining book.

" ... denn wenn du mit deinem Mund bekennst: "Jesus ist der Herr" und in deinem Herzen glaubst: "Gott hat ihn von den Toten auferweckt", so wirst du gerettet werden." (Roem 10,9) So lautet eines der altesten Glaubensbekenntnisse des Neuen Testaments, das der Apostel Paulus in seinem Roemerbrief uberliefert hat. Es benennt den Kern des christlichen Bekenntnisses: Gott ist in Jesus Christus ein Mensch geworden, der gestorben und auferstanden ist. Aber wer war Jesus, wie sehen und verstehen ihn das Neue Testament, die Leben-Jesu-Forschung, die OEkumenischen Konzilien, moderne Theologen wie Karl Rahner und Hans Urs von Balthasar sowie populare Schriftsteller wie Gilbert Keith Chesterton und Clive Staples Lewis? Dieser Spur folgt das Buch. Es geht davon aus, dass die Person Jesus Christus eine Herausforderung fur Glaube und Verstand ist, und moechte die Argumente christlicher Denker fur die Plausibilitat des christlichen Bekenntnisses darstellen.

This book discusses the different understandings of 'catholicity' that emerged in the interactions between the Church of England and other churches - particularly the Roman Catholic Church and later the Old Catholic Churches - from the early 1830s to the early 1880s. It presents a pre-history of ecumenism, which isolates some of the most distinctive features of the ecclesiological positions of the different churches as these developed through the turmoil of the nineteenth century. It explores the historical imagination of a range of churchmen and theologians, who sought to reconstruct their churches through an encounter with the past whose relevance for the construction of identity in the present went unquestioned. The past was no foreign country but instead provided solutions to the perceived dangers facing the church of the present. Key protagonists are John Henry Newman and Edward Bouverie Pusey, the leaders of the Oxford Movement, as well as a number of other less well-known figures who made their distinctive mark on the relations between the churches. The key event in reshaping the terms of the debates between the churches was the Vatican Council of 1870, which put an end to serious dialogue for a very long period, but which opened up new avenues for the Church of England and other non-Roman European churches including the Orthodox. In the end, however, ecumenism was halted in the 1880s by an increasingly complex European situation and an energetic expansion of the British Empire, which saw the rise of Pan-Anglicanism at the expense of ecumenism.

The Oxford Bible Commentary is a Bible study and reference work for 21st century students and readers that can be read with any modern translation of the Bible. It offers verse-by-verse explanation of every book of the Bible by the world's leading biblical scholars. From its inception, OBC has been designed as a completely non-denominational commentary, carefully written and edited to provide the best scholarship in a readable style for readers from all different faith backgrounds. It uses the traditional historical-critical method to search for the original meaning of the texts, but also brings in new perspectives and insights - literary, sociological, and cultural - to bring out the expanding meanings of these ancient writings and stimulate new discussion and further enquiry.
Newly issued in a series of part volumes, the OBC is now available in an affordable and portable format for the study of specific sections of the Bible. The Pentateuch, or Torah ('the law'), comprises the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Commentaries are preceeded by introductions to the Old Testament and to the Pentateuch as a whole.

1828 unterzeichneten 23 Professoren aus Freiburg i. Br. Petitionen zur Abschaffung des Zoelibates und verteidigten diese mit einer erlauternden "Denkschrift". Hierauf antwortete Johann Adam Moehler (1796-1838) mit der "Beleuchtung der Denkschrift". Die Autorin analysiert den geschichtlichen und literarischen Hintergrund sowie die Grundlinien und Rezeptionsgeschichte dieses bisher in der Forschung noch sehr wenig beachteten Werkes. Eine Auswertung von Moehlers Methodik, ein Schriftenvergleich sowie die vorgenommene Systematisierung der Kernaussagen zeigen, dass die "Beleuchtung" uber eine reine Rezensionsschrift hinausreicht. Die Untersuchung belegt eindrucksvoll, dass der Tubinger (und spatere Munchener) Theologe hier eine im echten Sinne fundamentaltheologische Schrift vorgelegt hat, die einen Massstab fur sein folgendes systematisches Schaffen setzt.

Explores the relationship among the German confessional divide, collective memories of religion, and the construction of German national identity and difference.

As a multi-faceted introduction to sacramental theology, the purposes of this Handbook are threefold: historical, ecumenical, and missional. The forty-four chapters are organized into the following parts five parts: Sacramental Roots in Scripture, Patristic Sacramental Theology, Medieval Sacramental Theology, From the Reformation through Today, and Philosophical and Theological Issues in Sacramental Doctrine. Contributors to this Handbook explain the diverse ways that believers have construed the sacraments, both in inspired Scripture and in the history of the Church's practice. In Scripture and the early Church, Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics all find evidence that the first Christian communities celebrated and taught about the sacraments in a manner that Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics today affirm as the foundation of their own faith and practice. Thus, for those who want to understand what has been taught about the sacraments in Scripture and across the generations by the major thinkers of the various Christian traditions, this Handbook provides an introduction. As the divisions in Christian sacramental understanding and practice are certainly evident in this Handbook, it is not thereby without ecumenical and missional value. This book evidences that the story of the Christian sacraments is, despite divisions in interpretation and practice, one of tremendous hope.

The Vietnam War and its polarizing era challenged, splintered, and changed The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC), which was motivated by its ecumenical Christian vision to oppose that war and unify people. The NCC's efforts on the war exposed its strengths and imploded its weaknesses in ways instructive for religious institutions that bring their faith into politics. "Embattled Ecumenism "explores the ecumenical vision, anti-Vietnam War efforts, and legacy of the NCC. Gill's monumental study serves as a window into the mainline Protestant
manner of engaging political issues at a unique time of national crisis and religious transformation. In vibrant prose, Gill illuminates an ecumenical institution, vision, and movement that has been largely misrepresented by the religious right, dismissed by the secular left, misunderstood by
laity, and ignored by scholars outside of ecumenical circles.

At a time when the majority of scholarly work is committed to looking at the religious right, Gill's groundbreaking study of the Protestant Left is a welcome addition. Embattled Ecumenism will appeal to scholars of U.S. religion, politics, and culture, as well as historians of evangelicalism and general readers interested in U.S. history and religion.

Das metaphysisch-theistische Weltbild hat seine Plausibilitat verloren: Gott ist tot. Diese neuzeitliche Erfahrung zwingt und befreit Menschen, ohne Ruckgriff auf einen jenseitigen Gott von Gottes-Widerfahrnissen zu reden. In Philosophie, Soziologie und Literatur finden sich vergleichbare Versuche, atheistisch von Heiligem zu sprechen. Methodisch ist die Hermeneutik fur dieses interdisziplinare Projekt nur bedingt tauglich. Leitend ist ein dekonstruktivistisches Verfahren im Sinne einer kritischen Wahrnehmungslehre, in der sich allgemein verstandliche und fachtheologische, generalisierbare und kontingente Zu- und Umgange mischen. Das unaufloesbare Paradox menschlichen Lebens, ungefragt ins Leben gerufen zu sein und zugleich sein Leben in der unerfullbaren Orientierung am Nachsten zu gestalten, ist im Ergebnis heute auch politisch und kulturell-gesellschaftlich gegen Fundamentalismus und neoliberalen Positivismus offen zu halten. Gottes Abwesenheit als neuzeitliche Weise seiner Anwesenheit steht doppelt auf dem Spiel: gegen Ruckfall in theistischen Fundamentalismus und gegen das Vergessen auf Kosten mediatisierter Selbstinszenierung - eine Gratwanderung.