Dialoguing with children on liturgy and worship

Originally published in: Svensk missionstidskrift = Swedish missiological themes, vol. 94(2006) p. 561-569, see http://www.teol.uu.se/digitalAssets/6/6175_SMT3_04.pdfThrough evidence from Scripture, the church’s understanding of baptism and the ecumenical creeds is argued that the church recognizes baptized children as Christians, and hence as full members of the church – equal to youth and adults. In this capacity they cannot be treated as mere objects but must be considered as contributors in the life of the church. This means that children are also equal partners both in the celebration of the church’s worship and in developing its liturgies. Without them Christian worship will suffer, since the church, as the adults and youth, need the children as much as they need them. Without children as partners and contributors, the church’s worship will not be theologically legitimate and will also lose its relevance. If partnership is to function adequately, children must be engaged by the church through dialogue on worship and liturgy together with youth and adults. Twelve guidelines for such dialogue are proposed, albeit these are not in any way to be understood as exhaustive or complete. The guidelines are based on ecumenical dialogue experience and on the insights from international work with children’s rights. The guidelines aim at securing a good and fruitful atmosphere for such dialogue. When churches engage in local dialogues, new insights are certain to follow which may supplement the twelve listed in the article. The author also briefly outlines the expected outcome of dialogue with children on worship and liturgy, basing his predictions on five pairs of general characteristics or qualities of childhood. Only by trying the dialogue itself will the church and its local parishes discover the rich treasure which dwells in its children. Although the church needs a theological motivation for engaging in this kind of dialogue, it can equally draw inspiration from ecumenical incentives and the international human rights of children. Fortunately churches have already embarked on this new way. Such dialogue will certainly enrich and renew the church’s worship, as well as make it more holistic and secure in its theological accountability

Contextualising the commitments and concerns of Dr. Karl Ludvig Reichelt in the 21st century

Guest editorial. - Originally published in: Svensk missionstidskrift = Swedish missiological themes, vol. 97(2009) p. 127-140, see http://www.teol.uu.se/SIM/Svensk_Missionstidskrift

Missiology at the School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger

Originally published in: Svensk missionstidskrift = Swedish missiological themes, vol. 94(2006) p. 469-492, see http://www.teol.uu.se/digitalAssets/6/6193_smt4_06.pd

Toward an ecumenical understanding of the ministry of the missionary

Originally published in: Svensk missionstidskrift = Swedish missiological themes, vol. 94(2006) p. 561-569, see http://www.teol.uu.se/digitalAssets/6/6169_SMT4_03.pd

Two giants in modern Chinese Bible translation : the result of successful cooperation within two church families – protestant and catholic

The present article shows some of the major factors that led to the success of two bible translations in modern Han Chinese and their continuous influence in the Chinese Protestant Church and the Chinese Catholic Church. The Protestant version is the Chinese Union Version (CUV) from 1919, and its successor, the Revised Chinese Union Version (RCUV) from 2010. Whereas Western missionaries dominated work on the CUV, the revision committee which prepared the RCUV consisted only of native Chinese, from the outside and inside of the People’s Republic of China. One of the reasons why the Studium Biblicum Sinense version of the Bible (SB) could retain its popularity until today is that it was the first entire Chinese Catholic version of the Bible, when it was first published in 1968, and the result of 23 years’ work. Although it was an overseas missionary, Father Gabriel Maria Allegra who led the entire translation process, the rest of his team were Chinese and could ascertain proper diction in the version. SB soon replaced other Chinese Catholic versions of the New Testament and is still the only catholic Chinese version of the entire Old Testament. Revisions on the SB have begun. This means both a modernization of the Chinese text, and an adaptation of the readings of the originals to contemporary critical editions of the biblical texts. The Catholic churches both within and outside the People’s Republic now read the biblical text in their liturgies from the SB version. The SB has become the Catholic Chinese version par excellence both within the People’s Republic and outside, and unites Chinese Catholics worldwide.publishedVersio

Misjon i det offentlige rom i Hong Kong : kirkens selvpresentasjon på bygningsfasader

For the photos see printed edition

Negotiating Christianity in the People’s Republic of China : the impact of the Chinese Bible on the Han Chinese language, as represented by dictionaries

Originally published in: Svensk missionstidskrift = Swedish missiological themes, vol. 97(2009) p. 165-195, see http://www.teol.uu.se/SIM/Svensk_Missionstidskrift