Imagining the Ecumenical: A Personal Journey

MayImagining the Ecumenical: A Personal Journey

John D'Arcy May

Starting from the observation that theology is essentially narrative, and assuming that biography is a fundamental theological genre, the book presents a biography of the ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue movements in the form of the autobiography of an 'accidental ecumenist', whose life took him to religious contexts as diverse as Rome, Germany, Papua New Guinea and Ireland. At its centre is the encounter with Theravada and later Mahayana Buddhism and the indigenous traditions of Australia and the Pacific.

Beginning and ending at home in Australia, John May tells the story of his journey from unquestioning Catholicism through Christian ecumenism to the developing relations between the world's religions. He brings into sharp focus the questions raised for theology by interreligious relations and the challenge such questions raise: are we capable of truly imagining the ecumenical in all its implications for our religious convictions and the future of the world?

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