For churches and for their international ecumenical fellowship in the Word Council of Churches, responding to political issues often creates tension, disagreement, and misunderstanding. In this book, the author draws on his years of experience as director of the WCC's Commission of the Churches on International Affairs to explore how political involvement is part of the church's mission and how the moral and ethical insights that emerge from the Bible and Christian tradition bear on the word of power politics. Among the issues he addresses are church-state relations, the links between church and national or ethnic identity, the possibilities of "ecumenical diplomacy" and the value and limitations of public statements by churches and church-related bodies. The book concludes with a look at some elements of the world situation after the cold war and what theses imply for churches and the ecumenical movement.
U15029