Saturday, July 14, 2012

Proclaiming The PeaceMaker

Proclaiming the Peacemaker

Peter Rowan's research Proclaiming the Peacemaker: The Malaysian church as agent of reconciliation in a multicultural society is now published by Regnum. Available at OMF at RM 90. His work has been a major influence in my own thinking and preaching on this theme. Here are some interesting comments from Dr Tony Lim (MBS) and Bishop Hwa Yung (Methodist Church):

Rowan throws down the gauntlet to the church in Malaysia to be an Agent of Reconciliation. I find persuasive his argument that reconciliation is a central and integrative theme in the theology of mission. Malaysian Christians need to respond to this challenge.
Dr Tony Lim, Dean, Malaysia Bible Seminary
This book may not be too welcomed by Malaysian Christians, not because it is wrong-headed, but because it so right and prophetic!
Bishop Hwa Yung, Methodist Church in Malaysia
With a history of racial violence and in recent years, low-level ethnic tensions, the themes of peaceful coexistence and social harmony are recurring ones in the discourse of Malaysian society. In such a context, this book looks at the role of the church as a reconciling agent, arguing that a reconciling presence within a divided society necessitates an ethos of peacemaking. With a combination of theological, historical and sociological perspectives, Rowan sets out to demonstrate that being an agent of reconciliation is linked to our effectiveness in bearing witness to an identity given by Christ.
This volume is persuasive in content, faithful in spirit both to Scripture and the needs of the hour and succeeds in being readable while sustaining a high academic standard in the service of a practical objective. I warmly commend this volume and its author.
Professor Stephen N  Williams, Union Theological College, Belfast
In this original and well-researched book, Dr Peter Rowan convincingly argues that the implementation of reconciliation is a key aspect of mission since it is central to theology of mission, and due to the socio-historical context  of Malaysia.
Professor Sebastian Kim,  York St John University

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