Michael Amaladoss is one of the most important Indian-born theologians in twentieth-century Roman Catholicism, yet no scholarly monograph has been devoted to his work. This book is a contribution to an ongoing assessment of his thought and an investigation of his main theological concerns.

With rare exceptions, serious intentional, reflective and sustained interfaith encounter is a novel and recent enterprise. This book looks in detail at one such encounter--the intentional recent Hindu-Christian dialog in India--and asks why and how the practice of dialog came to replace previous attitudes of confrontation and monologue (especially on the part of Christians). Part I sets the encounter in its global context. Part II offers a comprehensive and critical analysis of the actual encounter. Part III draws on aspects of the Christian tradition as it critically examines the ways in which the dialog has been justified in Christological categories. A final chapter discusses the future of the encounter. Unlike many other works in the area of interfaith studies, this work combines both descriptive detail of the actual encounter and critical theological analysis of the strengths and weakness of the dialog model.

This volume brings together the prestigious speakers at the inaugural Church in Our Times Lecture Series at Liverpool Hope, throughout the first 4 months of 2006, and invited contributors from and addressing wider international contexts - Africa, Sri Lanka, India and the United States. The volume explores themes such as questions of ecclesial and religious identity in these post-modern times, the advent of neo-exclusivism, divisions within the contemporary Roman Catholic and Anglicans churches, inter-faith relations and dialogue, questions of sexuality and Christian ministry, contemporary understandings of ecclesial authority, teaching and tradition, the inter-relation between the church and the kingdom of God today, an Asian appraisal of Pope Benedict's first sermon, inculturation and the rhetoric and reality of the notion of Church as Christianity's most distinctive and defining feature and constructive proposals for ecumenical ways forward in the future. The commonality and coherence of the papers, along with the manner in which a number of them together contribute towards making a cumulative case upon similar issues of concern for the 'church in our times', constitute a major strength of this collection. This volume will interest faculty and students engaged in the study of the contemporary church, ecumenism, global Christianity, secularity and inter-religious dialogue, as well as appealing to ministers and pastors as well as the general reader excited by the most pressing debates pertaining to the church in these times.

This book provides a comprehensive exploration of Asian Christianity and Theology, with emphasis on how it has developed in different parts of the continent and in the different eras, especially since the end of colonialism in Asia. Asian Theology refers to a unique way of theological reflection characterized by specific methodologies that evolved in postcolonial Asia. Premised on the thinking of Asian Church leaders and scholars, its focus is on the dialogue with the many cultures (inculturation), many religions (interreligious dialogue), and many poor (integral liberation) of Asia. The book looks at each of these ministries in detail, foregrounding Asian biblical hermeneutics, Christianity’s engagement with Hinduism, Confucianism, and Islam, Asian Women’s Theology, and the rise of Pentecostalism. The volume is valuable reading for scholars of religious studies, theology, world Christianity, Asian religions, and Asian studies.

After the birth of the Protestant ecumenical movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and following the first great wave of universal Christian ecumenism in the 1960s and 1970s after the Second Vatican Council, prominent theologians of nearly every ecclesial tradition charted new territory in the last decades of the twentieth century. They crossed boundaries within their own ecclesial traditions and built bridges to other Christian churches--churches that were once excluded from fellowship. In the development of these new programs of ecumenical theology, the theologians redefined their own confessional identities and, in many cases, crossed the liberal-conservative divide within their own traditions. This volume introduces this fascinating dynamic of theological mediation, redefinition, and generosity. It shows how the ecumenical impulses, which were directed outwardly to other traditions, had reflexive effects inwardly. Working in the realms of both historical and systematic theology, the essays in this volume provide a critical analysis of the history of this general theological sentiment and offer an outlook for its future. Contributors Brian D. McLaren, Foreword Paul Silas Peterson, Introduction Part One: Ecumenical reform theologies Andrew Meszaros, Yves Congar: The Birth of "Catholic Ecumenism" Matthew L. Becker, Edmund Schlink: Ecumenical Theology Dorothea Sattler, Otto Hermann Pesch: Ecumenical Scholasticism Ronald T. Michener, George Lindbeck: Ecumenical Unity through Ecclesial Particularity Nikolaos Asproulis, John D. Zizioulas: A Pioneer of Ecumenical Dialogue and Christian Unity Part Two: Overcoming liberal-conservative polarities Ben Fulford, Hans Frei: Beyond Liberal and Conservative Friederike Nussel, Wolfhart Pannenberg: Liberal Orthodoxy Jay T. Smith, Stanley J. Grenz: The Evangelical Turn to Postliberal Theological Method Part Three: Boundary crossings in philosophical, systematic and ethical theology William E. Myatt, David Tracy: Difference, Unity, and the Analogical Imagination Christophe Chalamet, Robert Jenson: God's Way and the Ways of the Church Victoria Lorrimar, Stanley Hauerwas: Witnessing Communities of Character Christine M. Helmer, Marilyn McCord Adams: Philosophy, Theology, and Prayer Part Four: Ecumenical theology today Wolfgang Vonday, Pentecostalism and Christian Orthodoxy: Revision, Revival, and Renewal Johanna Rahner, Shifting Paradigms - Future Ecumenical Challenges Michael Amaladoss, Theology today in India: Ecumenical or interreligious? Bernd Oberdorfer, Next Steps - and Visions? Lutheran Perspectives on Doctrinal Ecumenism

With reference to India.

Freedom: Christian and Muslim Perspectives considers how these two faith communities have historically addressed freedom. Through a series of essays, historical and scriptural texts, and reflections, this unique interreligious dialogue provides needed context for deeper understanding of interfaith relations, from ancient to modern times.

Drawing together international and Indian sources, and new research on the ground in South India, this book presents a unique examination of the inculturation of Christian Worship in India. Paul M. Collins examines the imperatives underlying the processes of inculturation - the dynamic relationship between the Christian message and cultures - and then explores the outcomes of those processes in terms of architecture, liturgy and ritual, and the critique offered of these outcomes, especially by Dalit theologians. This book highlights how the Indian context has informed global discussions, and how the decisions of the World Council of Churches, Vatican II and Lambeth Conferences have impacted upon the Indian context.

Papers presented at a seminar conducted at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth in November 1990.