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Differing Faith Beliefs

ANN Bulletin
Adventist News Network
Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters
December 12, 2000
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Global Mission Studies Effective Communication Between Peoples of Differing
Faith Beliefs
Nicosia, Cyprus ... [ANN] 

Mission experts and directors of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Global
Mission religious study centers met together last week in Nicosia, Cyprus,
to share reports and discuss future directions for Adventist outreach in
various parts of the world.

"Global Mission has established religious study centers for Buddhism,
Secularism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam, to help the church better
understand and more effectively communicate with people of differing
beliefs," says Dr. Mike Ryan, director of Global Mission. "The centers aim
to find mutual areas of agreement, and ways we can more effectively share
with these people." 

Much of the discussion centered on the issue of "contextualization"-how to
make Adventist faith and worship meaningful to people in varying cultures.
Ryan cited the example of Global Mission's contextualized Bible study in one
country, where people are learning to study the Bible by meditating on and
chanting Bible verses. "Although this would be highly unusual in the United
States, for example," he says, "it is culturally meaningful to these people.
It helps them understand the Bible."

The meeting emphasized that contextualization does not mean "watering down"
beliefs. It means translating concepts and ways of doing things so that
people in different countries can identify with, and understand them. 

The meeting also discussed the agenda for the next Global Mission Issues
Committee, a committee formed to address problems and challenges of working
cross-culturally. Next scheduled for April 2001, the committee will discuss
topics such as syncretism, reaching the secular mind, and the role of
spiritualism and animism in certain cultures. [Gary Krause]
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Contact Information: 
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General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600

Phone: 301-680-6300
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