The Emerging Challenges to Christian Mission Today : Revisioning Mission from Religious, Cultural, Historical and Women Perspectives

Contents: Introduction. 1. Emerging Challenges of Mission Today/Emeritus Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil and Archbishop of Jowai. 2. The Emerging Cultural Challenges to Christian Mission Today/S. M. Michael. 3. Religious and Cultural Pluralism/Bishop Thomas Dabre. 4. Part A: Emerging Trends in Christian Mission : A Feminist Perspective/M. Surekha Lobo. 4. Part B: Emerging Challenges to Christian Mission : Women's Response/Melba Lopes. 4. Part C: The Emerging Challenges to Christian Mission and Women's Response/Sahaya Mary. 5. The Emergence of Political Islam and the Persecution of Christians/Khaled B. Akasheh. 6. Contemporary Islamism and Persecution of Christians Minorities : Challenges for Christian Muslim Relations/Victor Edwin. 7. The Changing Political Scenario Towards an Effective Response/Louis D'Silva. 8. The Emerging Challenges to Christian Mission Today : Digital World and the Youth Culture in Christian Mission/Joachim Fernandes. 9. Emerging Biological and Medical Issues at the Beginning and End of Life Confronting the Mission of the Church/Stephen Fernandes. 10. Changing Family and Christian Mission/Shiju Joseph. 11. Ecological Concerns and the Mission of the Church/Mohan Doss. 12. Dynamics of the Conversion Call of St. Paul and its Implications for the Indian Society/Wilson D'Souza. 13. The Renewal of Religious Life in an Age of Increasing Secularism/Philip Pinto. 14. The Vision of Pope Francis to Renew Church and Society/Francis Gonsalves. 15. The Khrist Bhakta Way : A New Way of Being the Church/Prem Antony. 16. The Universal Inclusiveness of the Christian Koinonia : First Moves by the Early Church/Thomas Malipurathu. 17. The Role of Pastoral Centres in the Church's Mission to Evangelize/Paul B. Steffen. Today, in the globalized world, the mission of the Church is challenged by many external and internal forces. It faces the challenges of secularization and the revitalization of faith. In Asia, Christianity remains a minority religion; its members are under pressure from governments and other faiths. In some countries, Christianity, even faces the threat of extinction. Burning, destruction and closure of churches is not uncommon. In order to face these emerging challenges and to be dynamic and achieve its God-given mandate, Christian mission must rediscover its movement character for our contemporary times. For this, Christian leaders must objectively and critically look at the present world and analyze the logic of its predicaments and respond creatively to bring the meaning of Christ to today's world. The researched articles in this book by renowned scholars aim towards responding to contemporary challenges to Christian mission. Christian ethical reflections contained in these articles can contribute to the world of today for the shaping of its future towards a humane world. This book, therefore, is the fruit of this Christian hope towards a better tomorrow. It may be utopian. But the utopian hope is a good antidote against the fear of the present, which paralyzes people to inaction. The signs of the times and the movements of the Spirit need to be embraced by the Christian community since they respond to the challenges of our world. (jacket).…