Accommodation and Acceptance: An Exploration in Interfaith Relations

As Hans Küng said, "No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions. No dialogue between the religions without investigation of the foundations of the religions." Accommodation and Acceptance is a crucial work in both promoting interreligious dialogue and exploring the turbulent history of Christian faith and identity in Asia down the years. From the reaction to missions, often inextricably linked with the practice of colonialism, to the rise of religious pluralism, Ambrose Mong examines the relationships between the leading faiths of Asia up to the present day. Whether practicing pluralism or exclusivism, the history of Christianity in Asia is long and fascinating. Ambrose Mong delves into the biography of intercultural pioneers like Matteo Ricci and Timothy Richard to understand better the theology - as well as the pragmatism - behind cultural accommodation, and the necessary mutability of an eternal church.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Ursula King Preface Introduction 1. The Gentle Way 2. Chinese in China 3. Towards a Dialogic Community 4. Any Room for Christ in Asia? 5. Plunging into the Ganges 6. The Advaitic Approach 7. Evolutionary Context 8. In Many and Diverse Ways 9. Trinitarian Theology and Multiple Religious Belonging 10. The Miracle of Mindfulness Conclusion Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Ambrose Mong (PhD), a Dominican priest, is a visiting professor at the University of St Joseph, Macau, and a research associate at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Purification of Memory: A Study of Modern Orthodox Theologians from a Catholic Perspective, also available from James Clarke & Co. Ambrose Mong (PhD) is a Research Associate at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His previous publications include Are Non-Christians Saved? (2015) and Purification of Memory ( James Clarke & Co, 2015)

Review :
"With his trademark scholarly rigor and intellectual honesty Ambrose Mong explores one of the most challenging issues facing Christianity in Asia today. For him, accommodation and acceptance of Asian religious pluralism is not an option for Christianity but an imperative for its mission. Ambrose masterfully shows the way how Christian faith needs to be reconceptualized in its encounter with Asian religions, from Christology to ecclesiology to Trinitarian theology. This book is a must-read not only for Asian Christians but also, and one may argue, especially, for Western Christians." Professor Peter C. Phan, Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University "A welcome addition to the existing corpus of scholoarly work on interfaith relations, as [Mong] has not only surveyed in depth various scholars and theologians who have written about the relations between different world religions. ... [H]e has also insightfully engaged in comparative analysis of their ideas which can strike chords with the contemporary religious adherents looking for philosophical frameworks and theological lenses to understand religious differences that have become an unescapable reality in our globalised world." James Ponniah, Exchange, 46, 2017 "In short, this is a very worthy and interesting book that adds a further solid volume to these discussions. In particular, I would recommend it to Western theologians and scholars who may not have given due thought to the Asian context which is so vital for thinking these issues. Scholars in Asia will also no doubt welcome the particular case studies that help us think about specific thinkers in the theology of religions again." Paul Michael Hedges, Christian Study Center on Chinese Religion and Culture Ching Feng