For almost 200 years Protestant missionaries have endeavoured to communicate the gospel to Burmese Buddhists in Myanmar. However, Christianity among this people group is still regarded as a ‘potted plant’ with former Buddhists being separated from both their community and culture. In this publication Peter Thein Nyunt, a former Buddhist monk, examines past and current approaches of the Protestant church among Burmese Buddhists. Based on his findings the author develops a contextual missiological strategy, with a relevant christological message and ecclesiological structure.

As the boundaries between cultures and religions blur in an increasingly globalized world, the church finds itself in need of new approaches to understanding and embracing otherness – both inside and outside of its established communities. Southeast Asia has long been one of the world’s most diverse regions, with over a hundred ethnicities represented and members of every major religion living as neighbors. In this rich and complex environment, the church has an equally rich and complex history, at times flourishing, at times floundering, but inexorably taking root. In this collection of essays, contributors from throughout the region reflect on the history and future of Christianity in Southeast Asia, providing an overview of missions in the region, and exploring how local churches are defining a uniquely Southeast Asian approach to interreligious engagement. Combining missiological research with contextual theology, this volume offers profound insight into the challenges accompanying missions in a multireligious environment. From ethnic and religious conflict resolution to navigating hybrid identities, this collection of essays makes an excellent contribution to global conversations surrounding the future of missions in a globalized world.

Christianity has long been associated with the West, often creating a disjunction affecting the understanding of the essence of the gospel. The Asianization of Christianity is a clarion call by Asian Christian leaders for the gospel to be indigenized by encouraging practitioners to seriously engage with both the Bible and the cultures of Asia. The book demonstrates that both the theology and the presentation of the gospel need to be framed according to the mindset of the respective Asian cultures so that the message of the Bible can be understood and accepted. Case studies on evangelism, church, and training models from several Asian nations are explored. Core issues such as culture, communication, and contextualization underpin the practical cases to give depth and clarity for the effective communication of the gospel.

Benno van den Toren and Kang-San Tan provide a global, intercultural model of apologetics as crosscultural dialogue and accountable witness. Filled with Scriptural examples and real-world experiences, this is a conversational, patient, holistic, and embodied guide to creating true dialogue in our multicultural, multifaith world.

Forces of division, conflict, and fear threaten to separate us from the neighbor who does not look, act, or pray like us. However, followers of Christ are charged with embodying a unity that celebrates difference rather than fleeing from it. Ethnic Diversity and Reconciliation explores the implications of the church’s radical call to inclusive community in the context of Myanmar’s long history of ethnic conflict. Dr. Arend van Dorp outlines the theological foundations for understanding the church’s mandate as a diverse and unified missional body, while also engaging the very real challenges posed to this mandate by the cultural, religious, and historical realities faced by Christians in Myanmar. He demonstrates that while the challenges are vast, so is the potential for transformation and reconciliation when the church takes up its mantle and bears faithful witness to God’s love in a fractured world.

Is the Christian concept of grace anathema to the social structure of merit-making found in Buddhist karmic communities? Are all Buddhist forms of merit-making purely for religious purposes to assuage cosmic consequences or are there other reasons? Are there not Christian churches who operate under a legalistic view of God's divine wrath and are in essence living as karmic communities of the Christian type? The result of discussions about these and other questions is the volume you now hold in your hand. SEANET proudly presents what is number 14 in its series of missiological reference texts, Gift and Duty: Where Grace and Merit Meet. Each of the ten authors presented here represent a particular perspective, both Christian and Buddhist, that can inform the other. The goal of this volume is to lead to a deeper understanding of the significance of diverse religious and cultural perspectives.

Faith-based organisations (FBOs) have long been recognised as having an advantage in delivering programs and interventions amongst communities of the same faith. However, many FBOs today work across a variety of contexts, including with local partners and communities of different faiths. Likewise, secular NGOs and donors are increasingly partnering with faith-based organisations to work in highly-religious communities. Development Across Faith Boundaries explores the dynamics of activities by local or international FBOs that cross faith boundaries, whether with their partners, donors or recipient communities. The book investigates the dynamics of cross-faith partnerships in a range of development contexts, from India, Cambodia and Myanmar, to Melanesia, Bosnia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. The book demonstrates how far FBOs extend their activities beyond their own faith communities and how far NGOs partner with religious actors. It also considers the impacts of these cross-faith partnerships, including their work on conflict and sectarian or ethnic tension in the relevant communities. This book is an invaluable guide for graduates, researchers and students with an interest in development and religious studies, as well as practitioners within the aid sector.