Overview
Much is said these days among Christians both about "evangelization" and "ecumenism," but it is not clear how the two can be reconciled. Evangelization is directed to the conversion of those who do not believe (or do not think they believe) in Jesus Christ as their Savior, leaving open the question of their salvation through implicit faith in Him. Ecumenism requires that we place ourselves "in the other person's shoes," open to the good we find in their world-views and value-systems, without judging them or trying to coerce them into seeing things from our point of view. The present work attempts to consider the chief apparent differences between a variety of world-views and value-systems to determine how real these differences are and where they can be shown to have much in common on which to build a culture worthy of humankind. Thus the Humanistic Philosophies of Life prevalent in the West today, the Mythological Religions largely found in isolated parts of Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Siberia and the Americas, the Emanation Religions of the East (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism), and the Creation Religions of the West (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are all dealt with at some length in these pages. Since it is the task of Christian apologetics to disclose Jesus Christ as the Truth in which all truth, from whatever source it comes, can be honestly acknowledged and reconciled, this work is designed to help all those who seek a world-view and value system by which they can live their lives to find everything they are looking for in Christ and in the Church which He founded.Synopsis
Much is said these days among Christians both about "evangelization" and "ecumenism," but it is not clear how the two can be reconciled. Evangelization is directed to the conversion of those who do not believe (or do not think they believe) in Jesus Christ as their Savior, leaving open the question of their salvation through implicit faith in Him. Ecumenism requires that we place ourselves "in the other person's shoes," open to the good we find in their world-views and value-systems, without judging them or trying to coerce them into seeing things from our point of view. The present work attempts to consider the chief apparent differences between a variety of world-views and value-systems to determine how real these differences are and where they can be shown to have much in common on which to build a culture worthy of humankind. Thus the Humanistic Philosophies of Life prevalent in the West today, the Mythological Religions largely found in isolated parts of Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Siberia and the Americas, the Emanation Religions of the East (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism), and the Creation Religions of the West (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are all dealt with at some length in these pages. Since it is the task of Christian apologetics to disclose Jesus Christ as the Truth in which all truth, from whatever source it comes, can be honestly acknowledged and reconciled, this work is designed to help all those who seek a world-view and value system by which they can live their lives to find everything they are looking for in Christ and in the Church which He founded.