‘Christendom ideology’ hampers Christian-Muslim relations, says think tank

-22/09/06


‘Christendom ideology’ hampers Christian-Muslim relations, says think tank

-22/09/06

The continuing confusion of Christianity with the dominant assumptions and institutions of Western society is the chief barrier to the renewal of the churches and better relations with Muslims and others, says the UK think tank Ekklesia.

Its call for a conscious reversal of ëthe Christendom settlementí, which links the interests of the church with the preservation of the status quo, includes a rejection of arguments against Turkeyís accession to the EU and a call to respond to the Muslim ëDay of Angerí against the Pope with a ìdialogue of loveî.

In an article published yesterday, Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow says that senior Christian leaders have become ìaccustomed to operating from a position of power, prestige and protectionî, and that this makes the Popeís recent miscalculation over quoting a Christian Emperor in his recent German university speech ìnatural, if unintentionalî.

The think tank says churches are ìurgently challenged to deconstruct the colonial and military symbols which have become part of their faithî, pointing out that the central Christian image for God is a wounded healer, not a crusading warrior.

A post-Christendom church should reject violence and coercion, make the distinction between church and state clear, and argue against any attempts by politicians to have ëGod on our sideí, says Ekklesia.

The think tankís call comes at the same time as the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor, has told the BBC that Europeís ìChristian identityî should be preserved and that Turkeyís admission to the European Union might risk ìmixing culturesî.

Ekklesia says that such an approach is ìprofoundly mistakenî. The church should seek ìdifficult exchange not convenient isolationî with people of other convictions, it argues. It should also stop treating Christianity and Western culture as if they were the same thing, and should commend the Gospel through the peaceful witness of ìcommunities of exampleî, not by attempts to impose Christian labels or rules on plural societies.

Today aggrieved Muslim leaders from Qatar to Qom and Gaza have called a ëDay of Angerí against the Pope. They say his apology for the impact of quoting an ancient attack on Muhammad is insufficient and that he should be ìhumbledî.

Ekklesia says that the best response to bitterness is ìa dialogue of loveî. It commends a Muslim initiative to help rebuild churches recently attacked in the West Bank and Gaza, and points to the recent exchange between US Mennonite theologian David Shank and Iranian President Ahmadinejad as ìsmall signs of hope in a climate of bitterness and fearî.

Barrow argues that ìChristendom is in retreat. But it is also in denial.î He cites the Catholic maintenance of a powerful City State, the Church of Englandís ìjealous guarding of Establishmentî, and attempts by the US religious right to impose its views through money and power.

Continues the Ekklesia co-director: ìIt is these realities, together with the flag-waving and military chaplaincy that sometimes accompanies them, which makes it difficult for many Muslims (not just ëradicalsí) to understand the true difference between Christianity and Western interests. This remains the case even though the majority of Christians are poor, black and located in the global South; and even though a clear majority of the worldís churches have been highly critical of US-led military adventurism and the ëwar on terrorí.î

Ekklesia commends the Popeís view that linking violence to God is both wrong and incoherent, but says that if constructive conversations are to be had about distortions in Islam, they must proceed from practical repentance about the way Christendom was spread by the sword.

Adds Barrow: ìWeíre not being soft-headed about the very serious problem of religious violence. What weíre saying is that the calling of the church is to wage peace, and to refuse identification with policies based on the idea that might begets right ñ in whoeverís name they come.î

The full article by Simon Barrow is entitled Christendom remains the Pope’s real fallibility.

[See also: Redeeming Religion in the Public Square, by Simon Barrow; and Faith and Politics After Christendom: The church as a movement for anarchy , by Jonathan Bartley]


‘Christendom ideology’ hampers Christian-Muslim relations, says think tank

-22/09/06

The continuing confusion of Christianity with the dominant assumptions and institutions of Western society is the chief barrier to the renewal of the churches and better relations with Muslims and others, says the UK think tank Ekklesia.

Its call for a conscious reversal of ëthe Christendom settlementí, which links the interests of the church with the preservation of the status quo, includes a rejection of arguments against Turkeyís accession to the EU and a call to respond to the Muslim ëDay of Angerí against the Pope with a ìdialogue of loveî.

In an article published yesterday, Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow says that senior Christian leaders have become ìaccustomed to operating from a position of power, prestige and protectionî, and that this makes the Popeís recent miscalculation over quoting a Christian Emperor in his recent German university speech ìnatural, if unintentionalî.

The think tank says churches are ìurgently challenged to deconstruct the colonial and military symbols which have become part of their faithî, pointing out that the central Christian image for God is a wounded healer, not a crusading warrior.

A post-Christendom church should reject violence and coercion, make the distinction between church and state clear, and argue against any attempts by politicians to have ëGod on our sideí, says Ekklesia.

The think tankís call comes at the same time as the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor, has told the BBC that Europeís ìChristian identityî should be preserved and that Turkeyís admission to the European Union might risk ìmixing culturesî.

Ekklesia says that such an approach is ìprofoundly mistakenî. The church should seek ìdifficult exchange not convenient isolationî with people of other convictions, it argues. It should also stop treating Christianity and Western culture as if they were the same thing, and should commend the Gospel through the peaceful witness of ìcommunities of exampleî, not by attempts to impose Christian labels or rules on plural societies.

Today aggrieved Muslim leaders from Qatar to Qom and Gaza have called a ëDay of Angerí against the Pope. They say his apology for the impact of quoting an ancient attack on Muhammad is insufficient and that he should be ìhumbledî.

Ekklesia says that the best response to bitterness is ìa dialogue of loveî. It commends a Muslim initiative to help rebuild churches recently attacked in the West Bank and Gaza, and points to the recent exchange between US Mennonite theologian David Shank and Iranian President Ahmadinejad as ìsmall signs of hope in a climate of bitterness and fearî.

Barrow argues that ìChristendom is in retreat. But it is also in denial.î He cites the Catholic maintenance of a powerful City State, the Church of Englandís ìjealous guarding of Establishmentî, and attempts by the US religious right to impose its views through money and power.

Continues the Ekklesia co-director: ìIt is these realities, together with the flag-waving and military chaplaincy that sometimes accompanies them, which makes it difficult for many Muslims (not just ëradicalsí) to understand the true difference between Christianity and Western interests. This remains the case even though the majority of Christians are poor, black and located in the global South; and even though a clear majority of the worldís churches have been highly critical of US-led military adventurism and the ëwar on terrorí.î

Ekklesia commends the Popeís view that linking violence to God is both wrong and incoherent, but says that if constructive conversations are to be had about distortions in Islam, they must proceed from practical repentance about the way Christendom was spread by the sword.

Adds Barrow: ìWeíre not being soft-headed about the very serious problem of religious violence. What weíre saying is that the calling of the church is to wage peace, and to refuse identification with policies based on the idea that might begets right ñ in whoeverís name they come.î

The full article by Simon Barrow is entitled Christendom remains the Pope’s real fallibility.

[See also: Redeeming Religion in the Public Square, by Simon Barrow; and Faith and Politics After Christendom: The church as a movement for anarchy , by Jonathan Bartley]