Faiths and Faithfulness: (Paternoster Theological Monographs)

How are people of faith to be faithful to their various traditions in today's diverse society? How may we live together as neighbors and yet remain true to our differing religious convictions? How is it possible for the contemporary Christian to confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths? These are some of the fundamental questions which this volume seeks to explore. It offers a critical account of two key twentieth-century missionary-theologians who attempted to address the issue of pluralism within a confessional framework: Bishop Kenneth Cragg and Bishop Lesslie Newbigin. This study argues for a reconsideration of the biblical themes of fullness and fulfillment which may offer a way of holding together the traditions of continuity, which Cragg shows can never be total, and of discontinuity, which Newbigin argues can never be absolute. In this way the book addresses some of the implications for the development of an appropriate missiological approach to inter-faith issues in the twenty-first century which requires us to take people of faith seriously but also allows faithfulness to the Christian gospel.

About the Author :
Nicholas J. Wood, a Baptist minister, is Fellow in Religion and Culture, and Director of the Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture at Regent's Park College, University of Oxford. He is a member of the Faculty in the University of Oxford and a President of the National Christian Muslim Forum. Timothy J. Gorringe is Emeritus Professor of Theology at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. He is the author of many books including Karl Barth: Against Hegemony (1999), A Theology of the Built Environment (2004), and The Common Good and the Global Emergency (2011).

Review :
'Wood's book is important for its critical survey of key twentieth-century theologians dealing with the theology of religions. Wood constructively develops a Baptist theology of mission by balancing together the contributions of Kenneth Cragg and Lesslie Newbigin, fusing a theology of continuity with a Christological missiological approach. Bringing back mission to the center of theology of religions is Wood's special achievement.' -- Gavin D'Costa, Professor of Catholic Theology, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol 'Dr. Wood deals with one of the major problems of Christian thought today, the place of Christian mission in a pluralistic world. This is a major contribution to thinking about Christian mission in the modern world, and argues for a committed Christiological approach which is also sensitive to and appreciative of non-Christian faiths. It is an impressive and important book.' -- Keith Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy