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WCC Assembly plenary on Christian identity and religious plurality

"Changing international and political context" : From the prophet Isaiah to the pastor Bonhoeffer, from Esther in ancient Israel to the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina of our day, prophets are real and inspiring. They are raised up in honour at regular intervals in the Bible. God's promise of a new heaven and a new earth owes something to their labors. Yet most believers—no matter how committed to God's justice—would not call themselves prophets or think of themselves as prophetic people.

"Religious plurality and Christian self-understanding" : The question of the theological approach to religious plurality had been on the agenda of the WCC many times, reaching a certain consensus in 1989 and 1990.1 In recent years, it was felt that this difficult and controversial issue needed to be revisited. The present document is the result of a study process in response to suggestions made in 2002 at the WCC central committee to the three staff teams on Faith and Order, Inter-religious Relations, and Mission and Evangelism, and their respective commissions or advisory bodies.

Address by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, WCC general secretary, at the international conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews, Chicago, 24-27 July 2005

These questions and answers explain the background of the Minute on Economic Measures for Peace in Israel/Palestine adopted by the WCC Central Committee in February 2005.

As part of the WCC's work on the Decade , this theological consultation, organized by WCC Faith and Order in Kigali, Rwanda (4-9 December 2004), was an attempt to discern what human dignity, rights of peoples and the integrity of creation mean for churches and the ecumenical movement as they attempt to counter the reality of massive abuse and destruction of life and its legitimization in the world today. It was also an attempt to do theology informed by the perspectives and experiences of the victims of violence.

The present document is the result of a study process started in response to strong suggestions made during the 2002 meeting of the WCC Central Committee to the three staff teams on Faith & Order, Interreligious Relations, Mission & Evangelism and their respective commissions or advisory bodies. The question of the theological approach to religious plurality had been on the agenda of the WCC many times, reaching some consensus in 1989 and in 1990. In recent years, it was felt that a new approach to this difficult and controversial issue was needed.