New Lambeth Study Issued
Episcopal News Service. September 18, 1986 [86200]
LONDON, (DPS, Sept. 18) -- The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) has just published a major work on Inter-faith dialogue for Anglican Churches around the world.
The book, Towards a Theology for Inter-Faith Dialogue, is substantially a reprint of a book by the same name, produced in 1984 by the Church of England's Board for Mission and Unity (BMU) Inter-Faith Consultative Group. The revised book takes into account the developments in the debate since 1984 and includes an essay by the Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, until recently the Bishop of Raiwind, Pakistan; a report from the sixth Anglican Consultative Council's meeting in Nigeria (ACC-6) and an updated bibliography. The revised book is intended as a discussion guide for the Anglican Communion in preparation for the Lambeth Conference 1988 and is being printed through the Inter-Anglican Publishing Network.
The book evaluates the principal stances which Christians have taken towards people of other faiths. In the main section, there is an extended reflection on the scriptures, focussing on "Biblical pointers" and key Bible passages which have a bearing upon contemporary Christian approaches to other religions, including detailed interpretation of the texts which have been stumbling blocks for inter-faith dialogue.
The book was not meant to be the final word on the subject, but as the Rt. Rev. Barry Rogerson, chairman of the group, explained "a step along a road towards a fuller understanding." Inter-faith dialogue was on the agenda of the 1984 ACC-6 meeting in Nigeria and will be on the agenda of the 1987 ACC-7 meeting in Singapore and the Lambeth Conference in 1988. ACC-6 discussed the book and felt it needed a greater emphasis on the doctrine of redemption and questioned some of the biblical exegesis. The meeting stressed the importance of dialogue, the need for inter-faith co-operation in areas of poverty and injustice and recommended that the Anglican Communion, with other churches, explore the possibility of establishing a joint international dialogue between Christians and the World Muslim Federation. The Anglican Counsultative Churches also asked Nazir-Ali for his reflections on the issue.
In his essay "That Which Is Not to Be Found but Which Finds Us," Nazir-Ali clearly outlines the necessary conditions and pre-suppositions for inter-faith dialogue.
He maintains that it is not "just swapping accounts of religious experience," nor can it be "isolation from the socio-political and economic conditions" where the dialogue is taking place. Nazir-Ali points out that, though inter-faith dialogue is a new phenomenon in Britain, the worldwide church has centuries of experience of living with people of other faiths to offer the western church, and he urges the British Church to see the issue in historic perspective. Nazir-Ali studies examples of Christian experiences in dialogue around the world and gives a critique of the Anglican understanding of the issue, disagreeing with points in the Board for Mission and Unity report.
Commenting on the publication, Canon Samuel Van Culin the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council said:
"The conflict between Christian and non-Christian communities over the centuries has left us with a history that none of us can be proud of. As a result, there has been an increasing awareness in all Christian Churches -- including the Anglican Communion -- of the need to understand more critically the meaning of the Christian Revelation and the Christian Church for those who live in non-Christian communities of Faith. Theology, Mission, Evangelism, have very practical consequences especially obvious if they contribute to the denial of basic human rights. But they also have very basic consequences if they can contribute to the building of a common hope, a deeper understanding, and a common Bond of Affection. That is what we hope this study can help to bring to life among our churches."