This book is a collection of scholarly articles, structured into six different parties and topics such as Reflections on Obiora Ike, Ethics and Christian Faith, Ethics and Environment, War, Ethics, Value, Culture and the Media in Africa, Ethics and the Media in Nigeria, Ethics and Administration. These parties are aiming at understanding and highlighting thoughts and areas of scholarly interest of Msgr Prof. Obiora Ike on theology, ethics and development issues. By showing several serious ethical issues observed on the African continent the book aims to be a resource material for theology scholars, applied ethicists, media scholars and professionals, development planners, technological entrepreneurs, policymakers, curriculum developers, society leaders, and administrators in general.

This second issue is focusing on different ways in which language or what we could call the semantic level of the reality is relevant for thinking, and in particular for knowledge acquisition at the university or in education institutions. 1) Language could be understood as an obstacle if a person needs to learn a new language to go to school, but cannot have a generous access to his/her own culture: this is the case in the so-called the 'bilateral lingual' experiences, during the colonial eras, for many people living in Africa, but also in many countries where borders have been shifting over the 20th century. 2) As 'interpersonal phenomenon', or 3) as musical universal medium for peace and compassion, one language could represent 4) a space open for 'hospitality', as when speaking our mother tongue, we take the language of the speaker's dominant and home language. Of course, instrumentalisation remains not only a welcoming mastering of grammar, as language is necessary for the transmission or exchange of information, it plays a role in the control of the behaviour of others. 5) The Word of God, in particular through the written form of the language and the interpretation of sacred texts of great religious traditions shows how from an humble speech we may discover not only sincerity, authenticity and the power of communication but also the majesty of words, which symbolically inspire us and transmit faith. 6) The deep challenges of translation of concepts are related to the double side of each exercise of translation: the first is a purely linguistic phenomenon, captured by the obvious differences in the languages themselves, the second is more complex, it has to do with the difference between cultures. 7) The development of emerging technologies have made not only a 'society of communication' almost a kind of tautology, it is generating unexpected ethical problems, as when artificial intelligence becomes difficult to detect in learning assignments.

 

 

This volume is celebrating the Bridging Gaps programme’s 25th anniversary at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Contributors are people who have been engaging with the programme as students, staff or representatives of partner organisations. This volume is divided into two: ‘Contextual theology and contextual biblical interpretation as catalysts for academic theology’ and ‘A catalyst for community: contextual theology and churches.’ The first part covers issues as LGBTQI+ acceptance, economy and impoverishment, gender-based violence and the position of women in biblical texts and churches. The second part of the volume concerns how local communities respond to a migration and climate crisis.

Beaucoup de dangers menacent l’avenir de l’humanité : le réchauffement climatique, la course aux armes nucléaires, le trafic d’êtres humains, le terrorisme etc. Tout cela fait peur et me pousse à conclure que si nous ne faisons rien, nous risquons de disparaître avec notre planète. Hans Jonas dit souvent que la technique moderne est devenue une menace pour la nature; je pense cependant qu’en réalité, c’est l’homme qui est devenu une menace pour lui-même et pour tout le reste de l’univers. Mais malgré tous les dangers, j’ai l’intime conviction que nous ne sommes pas condamnés à disparaître. Il faut cependant que nous changions de voie ; nous sommes responsables de notre destin, et celui de la planète dépend aussi de nous. L’avenir de l’humanité est entre nos mains. Il nous faut une éthique, parce que la crise écologique et le maintien de la paix mondiale sont aussi un problème moral.

Within the framework of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, this publication is a reflection on the lived experiences of the pilgrimage from the perspective of the people and churches from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Korean Peninsula, Palestine and Israel, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Colombia. It consists of an overview of the peace-building process in each country since the 10th Assembly and practical steps churches can take together toward the 12th Assembly.

During the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, initiated in 2013 at the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, the issue of racism has emerged as one of the pilgrimage’s four common themes.

The chapters that make up this publication represent a selection of the papers presented at a series of webinars organized in late 2020 by the Theological Study Group of the Pilgrimage.

Organized around three major themes — whiteness, including its relationship to slavery; racism; and hate speech — the contributions represent an invitation to the ecumenical fellowship to engage in self-critical examination of how practices, orders, configurations, methodologies, and structures of the church(es) have perpetuated the discrimination, xenophobia, and racism that counter unity in Christ.

The Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace is intended to be an expression of international solidarity with people, particularly those in difficult circumstances.

This publication looks at work done directly within the context of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace in Europe, as well as justice and peace issues promoted by churches that complement the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace agenda.

In the first section, the publication provides an overview of Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace events in Europe, offering reflections on some of the ways in which churches and ecumenical organizations were challenged and inspired and sharing stories and insights about the pilgrimage in Europe.

Section 2 does not necessarily represent official parts of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace but contains essays on issues of justice and peace in Europe from individuals working with churches and ecumenical partners across Europe, intended to stimulate debate, interest, and international comparison.

The Appendix includes additional resources, including statements from the WCC on the use of armed force to resolve disputes that could be resolved by dialogue.

Given renewed conflicts and widening divisions, and with human rights having all too frequently been misused for political purposes or applied unequally, international human rights law—and its foundational principles—has come under increasing attack. At the same time, different perspectives on the relationship between Christian ethics and international human rights law have become increasingly evident in the ecumenical movement.

 

The World Council of Churches, together with the Protestant Church in Germany and the United Evangelical Mission, recognized the need for a process of ecumenical study and reflection on the relationship between human dignity and human rights from biblical, theological, and victims’ perspectives. This two-year process culminated in a Conference on Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Humans Rights held in Wuppertal (Germany) and online from 9–12 April 2022.

 

The rich contributions of papers received from theologians, people with different academic backgrounds, experts in ethics and human rights, and human rights defenders—together with the joint message of the participants of the Wuppertal Conference—are made available in this publication.