dialogue as mission

1. some people hold it is either dialogue or Mission

2. others claim dialogue and mission
3. again others say dialogue as a means to mission
4. finally the position dialog as mission

mission: God sends. Already in the life of Moses in Exodus 4.30 "oh Lord send someone else";
Exodus 5 .22 "why have you sent me". the prophet Isaiah says "here I am send me" (Isa 6:8),.
God sends Angels Messengers Prophets. By sending these people God leads and guides his
people. The idea of God sending people is found both in the Old and New Testament and also in
the religion of Islam.

In the New Testament we find that Jesus is sent by God that he sends his disciples. Matthew 9 :35
- 38 ; 10.5-8.

Being sent, Jesus preaches the gospel of the kingdom and heals those who are sick . Jesus then
sends the 12 apostles with the same task. (John 20.21).

Christian Mission therefore is being sent by Jesus like Jesus was sendt by God.

Whereto are we sent? to preach the kingdom of God or to witness concerning the kingdom of
God. The kingdom of God has various dimensions depending on the location and the time.

What does it mean today to be sent?

dialogue: can refer to a conversation between two or more persons. It can also more generally
mean an encounter, which does not necessarily have the form of a conversation.

Dialogue can also refer to an attitude of appreciation and is contrasted with a negative towards
the other.

biblical data

In both the Old and New Testament the idea of dialogue foreign. this means the relationship
between Jew and non-jew is not equal. also in the book of Acts where various encounters take
place between Christians and non-christians for example Peter meets Cornelius, Paul in front of
King Agrippa, there is no dialogue. Peter and Paul have a message; they haven't come to speak
and to listen.

God's revelation and relationship with Israel shows that this took place in commonly known
forms through Prophets and Priests, Sages.
Israel's relationship with the surrounding people was not always antithetical. the first period of
inclusion is found during David and Solomon. it was a time that beside Israelites other tribes and
people were included within these kingdoms. A second period was during the Babylonian
captivity. A third period of inclusion was during the reign of Alexander the Great . Hellenism has
had a vast influence the Old Testament.

further, it is remarkable that the other religions or not always depicted in negative terms. we
sometimes see that God is concerned about other people and that his name is praised among those
people. we see this especially when Israel claims exclusive rights on God ( Amos 9:7 Malachi
1:11).

this shows that within Israel other religions are not always depicted in negative terms. Also we
see that the Israelite religion has used forms that we also find in other religions.

It cannot be not denied that Jesus was very critical of the religious leaders of his time. he also
said that he is the only way to God. it while he is critical of the spiritual leaders, at the same time
breaks boundaries: he eats with tax collectors, prostitutes, a Samaritan woman , pagans.

The history of the Christian Church

in the first century there was an ambivalent attitude of the church towards non-christians. Various
leaders had been educated In classical pagan culture. some of them only became a Christian in a
later stage of their life. most Christians rejected non-Christian religions, yet they were not always
rejecting classical philosophy. While Tertullian said "what does Jerusalem have to do with
Athens?", others were open to philosophical ideas from platonism, stoicism, neoplatonism and
Aristotelian ideas. this openness to Greek philosophy has had an impact on the Christian religion
until our time. once the Christian church had assimilated classical culture, it closed itself off from
other cultures. Christian missionaries who went to German Celtic and Slavic people were not
open to their cultures. the Christian attitude towards Islam scribe by Norman Daniel book Islam
and the West, the making of an image. when Christians begin to explore the world in the 15th
century, they meet people and religions from Africa Asia and America. While there was some
respect towards China, Europeans had no respect towards the people living in Africa and in
America.

European Christians had a feeling of superiority towards people in Africa and America.

dialogue as mission in our time

When Paul says to be a Jew with a Jew and a Greek with the Greek, it shows that mission
includes the aspect of dialogue. dialogue can be seen as an expression of love towards God and
towards one neighbor. Dialogue can be seen as a way to foster peaceful and righteous
communion between people and groups.

Is dialogue a means towards witness or is it a form of witness. in this time Europe and North
America need to take a humble attitude towards natvie people from Africa, Asia and America. In
missionary endeavors this means that an attitude of dialog should be adopted.