ABSTRACT

The concept of mission has a bad reputation in the Western world today. Many Christians in mainline churches regard mission as offensive to non-Christians, and think that it precludes any possibility of appreciating the otherness of other religions. Drawing on insights from my work in comparative theology, this chapter aims to address this issue and reconcile a universalistic and classical understanding of missionary work with a positive attitude towards other religions. On the one hand, I argue that Christianity without a commitment to missionary work is not possible. On the other hand, I try to show how mission can be understood so as to permit an appreciation of religious diversity. Focusing on the relationship between the three Abrahamic religions in particular, the main question that arises is whether Christians are committed to hoping that, at the end of history, everybody accepts Christ and, if so, how such a claim can be reconciled with the permanent acceptance of Judaism and Islam.