Christians should seek to draw those of other religious traditions to faith in Christ, a new Church of England report says.
The report, Sharing the Gospel of Salvation (GS Misc 956, £9, from Church House Bookshop), states that there is nothing new or abnormal about the Church of England’s witnessing to other faiths, and offers examples of how this can be done sensitively in a multifaith society.
The report was commissioned by the Bishops after they were asked by the Synod to set out their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in a multifaith society, and to offer examples of good practice in sharing the gospel. This followed the debate in February 2009 of a private member’s motion from Paul Eddy about evangelism among people of other faiths.
The report, drafted by a small group led by the Bishop of WillesÂden, the Rt Revd Pete Broadbent, the Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, and the Bishop of Birmingham’s adviser on interfaith relations, the Revd Dr Toby Howarth, was commended by the House of Bishops’ meeting in May.
The full report is here:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/july2010/gsmisc/gsmisc956.pdf
Thanks, driver8 (#1).
This very positive write-up whetted my appetite.
David Handy+
I’ve been offline most of the past week, and so am just now seeing this. I’ve only read the article and skimmed the introduction to the report, but I find this very encouraging.
I am pleased that from what I’ve seen so far, there is a clear call to bold proclamation of the Gospel and a commitment to the uniqueness of Christ, and the Gospel as truly good news for all people which we should not shirk from declaring. Also +Cantaur and +York in the preface encourage us to not shrink from calling for conversion – the proclamation of the Gospel is not merely a matter of nice words, but a call to changed lives, while recognizing that it is God who works to save and change people, not us.
I hope and pray that some in the Episcopal church will carefully read this report and challenge others here in the U.S. to greater boldness in proclaiming Christ in a pluralistic culture, rather than just merely practicing and calling for “tolerance.”