Ecumenism

was one of the biggest contributors to the tension amongst denominations and was a factor to family breakdowns. As a result of denominational switching and the presence of New Age religions it later drove Australians in the decision to approach ecumenism. The New Age religion was very significant and was increasingly popular because despite general dissatisfaction at mainstream religions there is still a longing for a spiritual dimension to life.The New Age is a term applied to a range of…

The Second Vatican Council urged us to do precisely this in its 1964 degree Unitatis redintegratio, “On ecumenism.” There are areas where Catholic and Lutheran theology is not congruent. However, the Catholic Church and Lutherans have been working for many years on the important task of understanding and, if possible overcoming, differences. And there has been…

patronage, the setting of the “school” takes place under the central dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, creating a realm in which the humanism of the Greeks and Romans could co-exist with Catholic Church ideology in a display of intellectual ecumenism. The building is in the shape of a Greek cross, further intended to show harmony between pagan philosophy and Christian theology. The brooding figure of Michelangelo awaiting divine inspiration in the foreground highlights the Sistine Chapel…

Nicholas Sarullo Short Story 300+ Words On a stormy evening in April of 76’, one man, Brent Jackson, discovered just how drastic of a downward spiral his life had taken in recent years. Cold, alone, hungry, and tried, he sat in longing desperation on the streets of New York. He prayed for hope, for a brighter future, and for a better tomorrow. He dreamed of money, a home, a family, and people that once loved him. Simply put, Brent wanted a place to belong. As he gripped his worn blue overcoat…

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born on the 25th of November in 1881 in Sotto il Monte, Bergamo, Kingdom of Italy to his two parents Giovanni Battista Roncalli and Marianna Giulia Mazzolla. He was the fourth out of thirteen in his family. His family were sharecroppers in which that meant a tenant would grant the use of a farm to the Roncalli family, in return for a share of their crops that they harvest. He was born into a reasonably poor family that did not have many resources. He attended…

Much can be learned from a cursory online search of the writings of Lesslie Newbigin. Many well known outlets feature his works, and give tidbits of biographical information. A prolific author, most of his literature revolving around the construction, operation, mandate, message and mission of the Christian church. He is touted as being instrumental to the foundation of the contemporary missional church movement. Newbigin does not consider our selected reading, The Open Secret: An…

supremacy. Black Liberation Theology is built on a foundation of bitterness and victimhood, with social justice as its chief cornerstone. In James Cone’s theology, Black liberation from White oppression is the gospel. In his book, Speaking the Truth: Ecumenism, Liberation, and Black Theology, James Cone said: What else can the crucifixion mean except that God, the Holy One of Israel, became identified with the victims of oppression? What else can the resurrection mean except that God’s…

Uppsala acknowledged secular world as locus and context of mission, “to a humanity that cries passionately and articulately for a fully human life.” This shift of focus from individual conversion towards world foreshadowed the crisis in mission as found in Donald McGavran’s question “Will Uppsala Betray the Two Billion?” According to McGavran the document “Renewal in Mission” did not give an authentic proposal for personal proclamation of the gospel, necessity of faith, the unevangelized…

- The process of reconciliation between Aboriginal Spirituality and religious traditions has been a long and slow one. This is especially so as various Christian denominations such as the Uniting Church, Catholics and Anglicans have only in the last twenty five years tried to pursue justice as Aboriginal culture was disregarded and silenced over the years. Consequently several Christian churches have played a major role in closing the gap that had prevented indigenous Australians from having an…

liberation at every level of being (Disdar, 2014, 11). Putney (2008, p.9) argues that “we are to be concerned about the world. We need to address the problems of our current world. Engage in dialogue with world religions, working for justice and peace, ecumenism, the protection of the environment, are the work of the coming kingdom of God. The virtues…