Sustaining the hope for unity : ecumenical dialogue in a postmodern world / Erin M. Brigham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brigham, Erin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ecumenical movement.

Christian union.

Church--Unity.

Church.

Postmodernism--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Postmodernism.

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Physical Description:

vi, 168 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press, [2012]

Summary:

What is unity and how does it serve as a goal for ecumenical dialogue? How can churches, ecumenical organizations, ministers, and theologians effectively approach this goal in the twenty-first century? Sustaining the Hope for Unity offers a methodological reflection on these questions using insights of contemporary critical theory.

With particular attention to the work of Jürgen Habermas, this book develops a framework for exchanging religious narratives in a postmodern context marked by pluralism and ambiguity. Using this framework to address questions that have emerged out of the life of the World Council of Churches, Sustaining the Hope for Unity argues that unity must be imagined eschatologically in order to achieve inclusive and noncoercive dialogue between diverse Christian communities. Looking ahead to ecumenism in the twenty-first century, it makes a case for the role of the WCC as a public space for the exchange of religious narratives. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Communicating Religious Narratives 23

Postmetaphysical Thought and the Possibility of Religion 25

Communicative Rationality, Communicative Action, and Religion 30

Theoretical, Practical, and Religious Discourse 38

A Critical Social Theory and the Public Role of Religion 49

Conclusion 55

Chapter 2 Ecumenical Lessons from History 56

Zeno's Henoticon 58

The Council of Florence 66

Critical Principles for Ecumenical Dialogue 80

Chapter 3 Visions of Unity in the Ecumenical Movement 85

The Question of Unity in the Development and Reception of the Toronto Statement 87

Twentieth-Century Debates on Unity 96

Ecclesiology since BEM 103

Openness to the Eschatological Reality of Unity 110

Chapter 4 The Future of Ecumenism and the World Council of Churches 119

The Toronto Statement and the Formative Years of the WCC 120

Recent Debates on the Toronto Statement 127

Communication and Consensus in the WCC 132

Participation and Collaboration with the WCC 138

The WCC as a Forum for Ecumenical Dialogue 142.

Notes:

"A Michael Glazier book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 154-164) and index.

ISBN:

9780814680223

0814680224

9780814680230

0814680232

OCLC:

759177186