Historic consensus on proselytizing
Christian missionaries should renounce all "deception and coercive
means" of winning converts, according to a final document from a
coalition of evangelicals, the World Council of Churches and the
Vatican that is unprecedented in its breadth.
"Christian Witness
in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct" is the latest
attempt to assuage sometimes violent tensions over proselytizing in
non-Christian societies. The agreement was released June 28 in Geneva,
Switzerland.
The WCC, the Vatican's Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue and the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)
together "represent over 90 percent of the world's total Christian
population," according to a WEA statement, which hailed the accord as
the "first document of its kind in the history of the church."
