Call to Mission and Perceptions of Proselytism

A Reader for a Global Conversation

John Baxter-Brown

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781532658778, 9781532658785
• eBook ISBN: 9781532658792
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Proselytism remains one of the most divisive issues in global Christianity, jeopardizing many ecumenical initiatives and projects. Almost all traditions accuse others of proselytism, but none readily confess to it, as one tradition's mission and evangelism is another's proselytism. This work brings together, for the first time, significant formal statements from Christian bodies and churches alongside articles from leading commentators in this hotly contested issue. It gives clergy, academics, and students a vital resource in understanding the perspectives of different traditions, and therefore the opportunity to study and understand viewpoints and opinions from competing perspectives.The volume originates in a process of work commissioned by the World Pentecostal Fellowship, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance, and the Roman Catholic Church, under the auspices of the Global Christian Forum. We discovered that there are no easy answers that resolve the tensions and debates about proselytism, but through listening and understanding different voices, new opportunities for establishing constructive relationships can and do emerge.

Part 1

SETTING THE SCENE

1.1

Mission and Proselytism

Themes and Issues

John Baxter-Brown

Evangelism is the queen of all Christian ministries. It is the one dedicated to making the Triune God’s Good News known to all the world through the words, deeds and character of God’s people.1 It is an outward-looking ministry, facing into the world that is loved by God and yet wounded and broken by sin.

The Church’s very existence is both a result of evangelism and God’s chosen tool for evangelism. She is called to be salt and light in the world if she is to be faithful to her calling of love and obedience towards God. There is an urgency and necessity for the Church to embrace her responsibility before God such that the whole world is invited to participate in the life and love of God.

Throughout Christian history, the Church has endeavored to find how best to be faithful to her calling to mission and evangelism. Not always has she been successful and too often even the best of intentions led to hurt and pain, and caused disrepute to the gospel. In the twentieth century there were many expressions of concern and growth in the ways the Christian traditions thought about mission. In 1910 was the famous Edinburgh World Missions Conference. It produced two “messages” calling the Church to mission and evangelism, as well as leading to the founding of the International Missionary Council (IMC, now known as CWME, and part of the World Council of Churches). The Anglican Church produced a report on “the Evangelistic work of the Church” in 1919. There followed a series of IMC world missionary conferences; the rise of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements; the formation of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (now called the Lausanne Movement); Papal encyclicals and other documents, and in 2016, the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church produced The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World. During the twentieth century, there was a rapid demographic shift in world Christianity, from the North Atlantic (Europe and North America) to the developing countries of the majority world.

And yet . . . even “while leadership of all participant bodies [of the Global Christian Forum] agree that the church is called to mission and evangelism, powerful emotions and deep wounds rooted in experiences, perceptions, or accusations of proselytism between churches—understood popularly as the ‘stealing of sheep’ from one Christian body by another Christian body—are widely manifest.”2

This book, which is primarily concerned with proselytism from a theological perspective, is itself part of the initiative of the Four Pillars of the GCF to explore the issue of proselytism.3 It is a multi-layered issue within the global Christian community, with complex inter-connecting themes which can play out differently in varying contexts. However, the subject is of significant interest beyond the boundaries of the Christian community as it raises legal, ethical, and political concerns as well as theological and methodological ones. Thus, both Christian and secular bodies have addressed the issue from within their areas of competence. For example, this book includes an edited version of a long article from the Emory International Law Review, as well as theological and ethical reflections drawn from the main Christian traditions.

The legal and political intersection

There are several reasons why the intersection with law and politics is important.

Firstly, and most obviously, we all live in societies that are governed by law (however it is formulated and administered). As such governments have the power to shape and change the cultural and legal framework of their societies (for good or ill), and this includes creating, defining and imposing boundaries around the religious life of its citizens. Thus, when governments enact such legislation, or act in such a way as to enforce policies on religious practice, there will usually be direct implications for adherents of religion. These may be beneficial—or detrimental.

Secondly, religious belief and behaviour are often closely associated with national and cultural identity. National Churches, for example, can be custodians of national culture (to varying degrees). The national Churches from the former Soviet-bloc countries of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, subjected to many years of oppressive, foreign rule, make this claim with some justification. The religious tradition, as cultural guardian, may therefore be deeply valued and the boundaries between religious and cultural institution may be difficult to define. Changing one’s religious affiliation and loyalty can be perceived as a denunciation of one’s national citizenship.4 This is a sociological aspect, but intersects with the legal one as well.

Thirdly, human rights, especially those rights connected to religious freedoms and expressions, create an international framework in which the issue of proselytism comes into sharp focus. For example, Stahnke notes that “all major international human rights documents recognize the right to freedom of religion, which includes not only the freedom to hold religious beliefs but also the freedom to manifest those beliefs.”5 However, “while the freedom to hold beliefs is considered to be absolute, i.e., not subject to limitation by the State, the freedom to manifest beliefs is subject to valid limitations.”6 The State, therefore, can impose restrictions upon the practice of faith which is especially relevant when so-called “anti-conversion” laws are applied.7 In theory, the development of national legal frameworks should protect the rights all interested parties; in practice, it is questionable if this is achieved.

Fourthly, and closely connected to the previous point, there are competing “rights” within the issue of proselytism. Variables exist within this “rights” context. Stahnke expresses it well: “The problem l...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Part 1: Setting the Scene
• Part 2: Statements and Reports From Christian Bodies
• Part 3: Articles by Individual Commentators
• Bibliography