Revisiting the Antecedents of Interreligious Dialogue

This article looks critically at the trend to connect contemporary interreligious dialogue with certain events and developments that took place in Europe and India during the 19th and early 20th centuries: (i) the comparative study of religion, (ii) the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, (iii) three World Missionary Conferences in the first half of the 20th century, (iv) renascent Hinduism in India, and (v) Indian Christian efforts for inculturation. These events/developments are often perceived as the formative factors of dialogue. But this essay argues that they had their own complexities, agendas, and targets and rarely had interreligious dialogue as their objective or focus. Uncritical reading of the history of interreligious dialogue ignores how colonialism and imperialism have shaped these “antecedents.”     

Born from lament: The theology and politics of hope in Africa. Emmanuel Katongole. Grand Rapids,MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2017. 294 pp.

It is acknowledged and well documented that Christianity is rapidly changing from being the religion of Europe and North America to a religion of South America, Africa, and Asia. Of the three regions, Africa is experiencing the fastest Christian growth. This paper examines one of the many Christian denominations and movements that are participating in that growth in Africa, namely Lutheranism. Reasons behind the steady expansion, challenges faced, and the implications of the rise of Lutheranism in Africa will be highlighted.     

Our Lady of Guadalupe: model of inculturation

This article discusses the significance of the Our Lady of Guadalupe phenomenon, with an examination of the historical context in which the apparition took place, the various interpretations of this event and the controversies surrounding it. It also attempts to demonstrate that the conquest of Mexico was just as tragic and brutal because the conquistadors not only tried to destroy the Aztec Empire physically, but its cultural and spiritual heritage as well. As a model of inculturation, devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe symbolises a religious triumph of the indigenous people as they responded and adopted the conquistadors’ faith as their own, but with native characteristics. The name ‘Guadalupe’ was appropriated from a place in Extremadura, Spain, and though not part of the natives’ vocabulary, Guadalupe became an emblem that brought together the various disparate groups in Mexican society, forging a national identity that is cohesive and enduring.     

The Search for a Current Mission Model in Cambodia

This paper is a contribution to the debate on the current mission model of the church in Southeast Asia. Scholars from St Elizabeth University in Bratislava, Slovakia, have performed qualitative research to examine the present mission model in Cambodia. Research was conducted on a sample of Catholic missionaries who have worked in Cambodia for a longer period of time. On the basis of this qualitative study, we have outlined and proposed some characteristics for today’s mission model in that country. Features included and emphasized dialogue with Buddhism, formation of spiritually mature people, social promotion and social inclusion, community development, the shift in inculturation regarding value systems, working in small groups, and reconciliation between ethnic communities.