"Flawless . . . [Makdisi] reminds us of the critical declarations of secularism which existed in the history of the Middle East."-Robert Fisk, The Independent Today's headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage. Ussama Makdisi's Age of Coexistence reveals a hidden and hopeful story that counters this cliched portrayal. It shows how a region rich with ethnic and religious diversity created a modern culture of coexistence amid Ottoman reformation, European colonialism, and the emergence of nationalism. Moving from the nineteenth century to the present, this groundbreaking book explores, without denial or equivocation, the politics of pluralism during the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world. Rather than judging the Arab world as a place of age-old sectarian animosities, Age of Coexistence describes the forging of a complex system of coexistence, what Makdisi calls the "ecumenical frame." He argues that new forms of antisectarian politics, and some of the most important examples of Muslim-Christian political collaboration, crystallized to make and define the modern Arab world. Despite massive challenges and setbacks, and despite the persistence of colonialism and authoritarianism, this framework for coexistence has endured for nearly a century. It is a reminder that religious diversity does not automatically lead to sectarianism. Instead, as Makdisi demonstrates, people of different faiths, but not necessarily of different political outlooks, have consistently tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences.

"Contesting Ecumenical Theology" is a major contribution to the study of the Church. It provides clear and authoritative orientation for the student, while probing deep into a range of key issues in ecclesiology and ecumenical dialogue from a critical standpoint that will stimulate discussion among scholars and ecumenists. It reclaims some old orthodoxies, while challenging some new ones, and points to a deeper and more personal engagement with the major traditions of the Christian Church as the way to fuller unity and more effective mission. "Contesting Ecumenical Theology" argues that the values of difference and diversity and the priority of mission and evangelisation must shape our picture of unity. It transcends old arguments about 'establishment', by showing that all churches are compelled to develop a constructive relationship to the modern state, wherever possible, if they are to be effective in mission. The central ecumenical notion of 'reception' is re-interpreted, not as the faithful unquestioningly receiving the teaching of church authorities, but as the process whereby the whole Church discerns the truth of new developments. The mantra 'baptism is complete sacramental initiation' is challenged, and the place of confirmation is secured within a total process of initiation. The ministry of the episcopate is affirmed, but only by being related to the gospel on which the Church is founded. The nature of communion is examined and the imperative of maintaining it against divisive tendencies is affirmed. 'The hermeneutics of unity' shows that we are shaped by each other through the conflict or rivalry of traditions: 'We are what we are because you are what you are'.

In this book, Brother David Steindl-Rast, who has been a monk for more than 50 years, argues that every sensual experience--whether the joy of walking barefoot or the fragrance of the season--should be recognized as a spiritual one.

Fur diese Arbeit ist der Autor mit dem Johann-Peter-Hebel-Preis 2002 der Evangelischen Landeskirche Baden ausgezeichnet worden. Das Spannungsverhaltnis von Mission und interreligioesem Dialog ist Gegenstand dieser Arbeit. Der Autor untersucht die wichtigsten oekumenischen und evangelikalen (Welt-)Missionskonferenzen des 20. Jahrhunderts und das II. Vatikanische Konzil nach dem Selbst- und Missionsverstandnis, die Sicht auf die nichtchristlichen Religionen sowie die missiologischen Neuansatze. Der systematische Teil entfaltet das Missions- und Dialogverstandnis der gangigen religionstheologischen Modelle Exklusivismus, Inklusivismus und Pluralismus. Dabei werden Moeglichkeiten aufgezeigt, das Dreierschema zu uberwinden. Zuletzt wird eine theologische Begrundung fur Mission und den interreligioesen Dialog sowie die konkrete Umsetzung eines interreligioesen Dialogs im Klassenzimmer vorgestellt. Dabei werden die Bedeutung der Konvivenz, des Dialogs und des Zeugnisses fur den Religionsunterricht aufgezeigt.

How has Christianity engaged with democracy? In this authoritative new treatment of a sometimes troubled relationship, Donald Norwood reflects on the way that democracy has become, especially under the auspices of the United Nations and the World Council of Churches, not just an ideal but a universally applicable moral principle. Yet, as the author demonstrates, faith and democracy have not always sat comfortably together. For example, the Vatican has dealt harshly with radical theologians such as Leonardo Boff and Hans Kung; while churches with a dictatorial style have all too often shown a willingness to accommodate authoritarian regimes and even dictators. Norwood argues that if democracy is a universal norm, a basic right, it is not possible for the Church to be indifferent to its claims. Offering a sustained exposition - from Marsilius of Padua to Christian Democracy and Christian Socialism - of the often uneasy interaction between Christianity and democratic politics as both idea and ideal, this is a major contribution to church history and to wider topical debates in politics and religious studies.

Frankfurt/M., Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien. Studies in the Intercultural History of Christianity. Vol. 125. Edited by Richard Friedli, Jan A. B. Jongeneel, Klaus Koschorke, Theo Sundermeier and Werner Ustorf When German missiologists started to re-import their dream of a dominant Christianity to central Europe, there were more similarities between the missionary and the national socialist utopias than the post-war consensus would like to admit. Fascism to many missiologists became the desired breaking point of modernity, a revival of the Volk's deep emotions and a breakthrough of the archaic spirituality they had long been waiting for. Upon this tide they wanted to sail and conquer new territories for Christ. This study, therefore, will address the issue of mission and Nazism primarily in the light of the struggle of Christianity for a place or a home within and vis-a-vis the culture of the West as it was approaching the end of modernity. Contents: Christian missionary thinking in its broad historical context - Explicitly missionary but non-Christian movements in Germany at the time (Hitler's missiology and Hauer's neopaganism) - Attempts in the US, in Britain and the wider ecumenical movement (William Hocking, Joe Oldham, the Oxford conference of 1937) at rethinking Christianity.