{"id":1725,"date":"2012-12-01T23:03:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-01T23:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/theologian-says-china-to-have-largest-christian-population\/"},"modified":"2012-12-01T23:03:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-01T23:03:00","slug":"theologian-says-china-to-have-largest-christian-population","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/12\/theologian-says-china-to-have-largest-christian-population\/","title":{"rendered":"Theologian says China to have largest Christian population"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Rome, Italy, Dec 1, 2012 \/ 04:03 pm (CNA<\/a>).- During a recent book launch in Rome, a noted theologian said that China will be home to the majority of the world's Christians within the next two decades.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cInterfaith dialogue is something that China, which will have the world's largest Christian population in 20 years, lives with every day,\u201d said Harvey Cox during the presentation at the city's Jesuit Gregorian University.<\/p>\n

\tCox presented the book \u201cCatholic Engagement with World Religions: A Comprehensive Study, in dialogue with its two editors\u201d on Nov. 30 with Cardinal Karl Josef Becker, a German theologian of the Vatican's the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.<\/p>\n

\tThe editors include Ilaria Morali of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who also presented the book, and Cardinal Becker.<\/p>\n

\tCox, who teaches at the Harvard Divinity School in Massachusetts, said the new book \u201cwill play an invaluable role\u201d\u00a0 in determining \u201cwhere we've been in the past, where we are now, and where we're headed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere are two world phenomena happening right now,\u201d he added. \u201cThe first is that we can't recognize Christianity as a western religion anymore and the second is that countries with the fastest growing number of Christians don't have a Christian culture or traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIlaria Morali,\u00a0a Harvard professor who teaches theology at the university and specializes in dialogue with Islam, noted that the \u201cstarting point of the book was the experience we had in different contexts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI've been seven times to Turkey where I met a Muslim professor and we discussed many topics concerning our religions,\u201d Morali said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI told him about the need for young students to have an instrument to help them understand and deepen their theological knowledge and the Catholic theology's attitude toward non-Christian religions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAccording to her, it's fundamental that people keep their identity.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe have to acknowledge that we have different ways of considering the Divine and we can't avoid these differences, but I believe our identity is many times the instrument necessary to enter into a deeper dialogue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\tMorali reflected that interreligious dialogue is important because \u201cit's the unique way today to overcome some tensions and to know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe book launch was part of a two-day session of talks at the Gregorian University on missiology to mark it's 80th anniversary of the faculty of missiology, the study of missionary work.<\/p>\n

\tMexico native Father Fernando Vel\u00e1zquez, who also attended the book presentation, told CNA he believes interreligious dialogue to be \u201cone of the most important issues\u201d that the Church faces today.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cDialogue has a great future and the Church is heading it being extremely opened to it because it's not afraid,\u201d he noted. \u201cProf. Cox has refreshed our minds and we need to go back to Jesus Christ's main message and what he did when he would meet someone different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cJesus always met with people who were different to him,\u201d\u00a0 Fr. Vel\u00e1zquez said, adding that fear and misunderstanding often comes from the media, \u201cwhich only portrays a tiny part of what other religions are and, unfortunately, people don't inform themselves better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe solution,\u201d he emphasized, \u201cis to meet with people of that other religion and share your faith from a personal experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rome, Italy, Dec 1, 2012 \/ 04:03 pm (CNA).- During a recent book launch in Rome, a noted theologian said that China will be home to the majority of the world's Christians within the next two decades.<\/p>\n

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