Witnessing to Christ in a Pluralistic World Christian Mission among Other Faiths

The relationship of Christian faith and mission to other living faiths is a core issue in contemporary mission. In a world where plurality of faiths is increasingly becoming a norm of life, insights on the theology of religious plurality are needed to strengthen our understanding of our own faith and the faith of others ... As part of the study process, position papers and case studies were invited from a wide range of contributors representing various theological positions, confessional traditions and denominational bodies. The position papers are reflections on the theme by scholars belonging to Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Protestant-Conciliar, Protestant-Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Seventh-Day Adventist Churches. Among the case studies are articles on Christian mission among Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, new religious movements and folk or primal religions.https://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1024/thumbnail.jp

Mission as Ministry of Reconciliation

The primary reason is that we view “reconciliation” as a new paradigm of mission. Related to this is a second reason, namely, that some of our major Christian traditions in recent years have dealt with and lifted up this focus on reconciliation.https://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1015/thumbnail.jp

Called to Unity For the Sake of Mission

The purpose of a volume on Mission and Unity – Ecclesiology and Mission is to bring to public attention a broad overview of the history, development and perspectives on the role of mission in the pursuit of unity, and the central Biblical focus on unity as a prerequisite for an authentic witness in mission.https://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1003/thumbnail.jp

The Lausanne Movement: A Range of Perspectives

This book follows the Lausanne Movement from its creation through Cape Town and beyond.https://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1022/thumbnail.jp

Bible in Mission

While the essays in this volume contribute individually to collective reflection on the Bible in mission, the larger significance of the book is greater than the sum of its parts. First it must be noted that the volume is part of the larger 2010 process, a collection of essays that grew from a “transversal” theme identified for the centennial of the World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh. As such, it joins a rich collection of contemporary missiological reflection generated by the series of 2010 meetings.https://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1002/thumbnail.jp

Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission

The book includes both scholarly and practical input on various aspects of the topic and from different parts of the world. There is, as far as we know, no other conceptual treatment of this issue from such a broad ecumenical perspective.https://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1020/thumbnail.jp

A Learning Missional Church Reflections from Young Missiologists

This book is compiled by contributions from young missiologists from different parts of the world. It is written from the persepective of youth to be a fresh breath of air into more traditional mission thinking and mission paradigmshttps://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1001/thumbnail.jp

Gluten-Free Diet Only during Pregnancy Efficiently Prevents Diabetes in NOD Mouse Offspring

Studies have documented that the pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes is influenced by the intake of gluten. Aims. To investigate the importance of gluten exposure during pregnancy and the subsequent development of autoimmune diabetes in offspring. Methods. Nonobese diabetic mice were divided into 7 groups to receive combinations of gluten-free and standard diet before, during, or after pregnancy. Diabetes incidence in offspring was followed in each group (n=16–27) for 310 days. Insulitis score and intestinal expression of T-cell transcription factors (RT-QPCR) were evaluated in animals from the different diet groups. Results. If mothers were fed a gluten-free diet only during pregnancy, the development of autoimmune diabetes in offspring was almost completely prevented with an incidence reduction from 62.5% in gluten-consuming mice to 8.3% (p<0.0001) in the gluten-free group. The islets of Langerhans were less infiltrated (p<0.001) and the intestinal expression of RORγt (Th17) (p<0.0001) reduced in mice whose mothers were Gluten-free during pregnancy. Conclusion. A gluten-free diet exclusively during pregnancy efficiently prevents autoimmune diabetes development in offspring and reduces insulitis and intestinal expression of RORγt (Th17)

Large Gliadin Peptides Detected in the Pancreas of NOD and Healthy Mice following Oral Administration

Gluten promotes type 1 diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice and likely also in humans. In NOD mice and in non-diabetes-prone mice, it induces inflammation in the pancreatic lymph nodes, suggesting that gluten can initiate inflammation locally. Further, gliadin fragments stimulate insulin secretion from beta cells directly. We hypothesized that gluten fragments may cross the intestinal barrier to be distributed to organs other than the gut. If present in pancreas, gliadin could interact directly with the immune system and the beta cells to initiate diabetes development. We orally and intravenously administered 33-mer and 19-mer gliadin peptide to NOD, BALB/c, and C57BL/6 mice and found that the peptides readily crossed the intestinal barrier in all strains. Several degradation products were found in the pancreas by mass spectroscopy. Notably, the exocrine pancreas incorporated large amounts of radioactive label shortly after administration of the peptides. The study demonstrates that, even in normal animals, large gliadin fragments can reach the pancreas. If applicable to humans, the increased gut permeability in prediabetes and type 1 diabetes patients could expose beta cells directly to gliadin fragments. Here they could initiate inflammation and induce beta cell stress and thus contribute to the development of type 1 diabetes