Crosscultural communication and interconnection have never been greater in the history of the world. Yet the potential for intercultural conflict accompanies every advance. And religious belief, which lies at the heart of most cultures, often appears to contribute to such unrest and at times even to violence. In this fascinating and ground-breaking study, Vinoth Ramachandra explores the complex nature of conflict among the major world religions of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, and also between them and the rising tide of secularism. Challenging stereotypes built up on every side, he raises questions about the seemingly inevitable clash of cultures due to their respective religious commitments. He puts to the test the belief that a secular society that rejects universal truth claims can sustain a truly tolerant and pluralistic society. He passionately demonstrates how the distinctive message of Christianity concerning the uniqueness of Jesus Christ actually provides a basis for a truly democratic and multicultural society.

Faiths in Conflict?: Christian Integrity in a Multicultural World

Religion & Spirituality

Ramachandra, Vinoth

Christian Books & Bibles

IVP Academic

In this brilliant book, Vinoth Ramachandra argues that the modern world--secular as well as religious--is awash with pseudogods. Idols such as science, reason, and irrationality enslave their devotees and wreak chaos in lives.

Gods That Fail: Modern Idolatry & Christian Mission

Intervarsity Pr

Mission is not an optional "extra" for those few volunteers who "like that sort of thing." The church is called to be God's agents and representatives, a community shaped by the cross and mandated to reproduce and grow so that Jesus Christ may be more and more glorified. This exposition of fifteen passages of Scripture observes mission from the underside, giving attention to the connections between mission and suffering and even martyrdom, and to the historical importance of the church's conducting mission out of weakness. All Christian mission has its fountainhead in the God revealed in Scripture, who sent his Son for us, sends his Spirit to us and summons all people to himself. In a unique East-West partnership, Howard Peskett and Vinoth Ramachandra explore the missional privilege and responsibility of the church: to testify by its words and deeds to Jesus Christ, God's unique Son, crucified, risen and ascended.

The Message of Mission: The Glory of Christ in All Time and Space

Peskett, Howard

Reference

It is a myth that only the uninformed masses believe in myths and that power brokers, media moguls, leading scientists, financial tycoons, political luminaries and intellectual elites don't. The myths that the ruling classes believe may be more sophisticated, but they are myths nonetheless. These public, large-scale narratives engage our imaginations and shape the way we experience the world. They are the stories that tell us what is important to know and how to live. Subverting Global Myths takes up six areas of contemporary global discourse--terrorism, religious violence, human rights, multiculturalism, science and postcolonialism. Here powerful myths energize and mobilize considerable public funding as well as academic production. This book is not addressed primarily to theological specialists, but to all thoughtful readers who are concerned about the public issues that shape our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. Vinoth Ramachandra draws at length on his own experience working among university students and professors against a backdrop of militant religious and secular ideologies in Sri Lanka, a country that has suffered from "terrorism" and a "war on terror" that has claimed over sixty thousand lives since the late 1970s and shows no signs of abating. Reflected as well is his experience of living and traveling extensively not only in the West but in several of the trouble spots of Asia today. Thoughtful critical readers who care to explore reality rather than flip from one reality show to another will appreciate this invitation to subvert present reality in order to make way for another.

Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues Shaping Our World

Mission is not an optional "extra" for those few volunteers who "like that sort of thing." The church is called to be God's agents and representatives, a community shaped by the cross and mandated to reproduce and grow so that Jesus Christ may be more and more glorified. This exposition of fifteen passages of Scripture observes mission from the underside, giving attention to the connections between mission and suffering and even martyrdom, and to the historical importance of the church's conducting mission out of weakness. All Christian mission has its fountainhead in the God revealed in Scripture, who sent his Son for us, sends his Spirit to us and summons all people to himself. In a unique East-West partnership, Howard Peskett and Vinoth Ramachandra explore the missional privilege and responsibility of the church: to testify by its words and deeds to Jesus Christ, God's unique Son, crucified, risen and ascended.

INTERVARSITY PRESS *

Gods That Fail: Modern Idolatry and Christian Mission

Paternoster Press

There is something about Jesus that from the beginning has been distasteful, even scandalous, says Vinoth Ramachandra. He was tortured and crucified, the most humiliating form of execution in the ancient world. Everything about his life and death catches the world by surprise. Some may try to claim that he was just another prophet or great teacher, but what other prophet or teacher has been more enigmatic or shocking? You can search the religious traditions of humankind and you will not come across one like Jesus, who makes seemingly the most arrogant claims concerning himself and lives in the most humble and selfless manner conceivable. Jesus of Nazareth simply blows the imagination apart. In this booklet you'll join Vinoth Ramachandra in an exploration of this Jesus, exploring what made him so outrageous when he walked on earth, what makes him unique today and why his scandalous claims must be true.

The Scandal of Jesus

IVP Books

The globalizing world of late modernity is heavily awash with pseudo-gods. Gods That Fail provocatively deploys the theological concept of idolatry to explore the ways in which these gods blind their devotees and wreak suffering and dehumanization. Many of these pseudo-gods have infiltrated the life of the Church and compromised its witness. Combining lively social critique with fresh expositions of familiar biblical stories, this book engages with a variety of secular discourses as well as the sub-Christian practices that accompany and undermine Christian involvement in the public square.

Gods That Fail, Revised Edition: Modern Idolatry and Christian Mission

Wipf and Stock

The globalizing world of late modernity is heavily awash with pseudo-gods. Gods That Fail provocatively deploys the theological concept of idolatry to explore the ways in which these gods blind their devotees and wreak suffering and dehumanization. Many of these pseudo-gods have infiltrated the life of the Church and compromised its witness. Combining lively social critique with fresh expositions of familiar biblical stories, this book engages with a variety of secular discourses as well as the sub-Christian practices that accompany and undermine Christian involvement in the public square. ""This revised edition of Gods that Fail is an incredible contribution to understand the ways in which people in the modern world live out their social existence and their expectations, and the deeper issues which underlie these expectations. In his typical lucid and insightful manner, Vinoth reminds his readers of what is really transpiring in our world today. --Glenn Smith, Urban Missiologist; Executive Director, Christian Direction; Montreal Academic Dean, Institut de theologie pour la Francophonie, Laval University ""In Gods that Fail, Ramachandra adroitly describes what worshiping the gods of Scientism, Consumerism, Nationalism, Capitalism, and Marxism (among others) has done to us. Inside and outside the church, we have succumbed to these flawed ideologies and lost our way. But there is hope. In these pages is a lucid description of what it means to be in the world without becoming of the world."" --Scott Bessenecker, Associate Director of Missions for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship; Author ""Gods That Fail bears the hallmarks of Vinoth Ramachandra's exceptional contributions to Christian thought and practice. His writing is incisive and provocative, illuminating and challenging, profound and accessible. Ramachandra's careful logic exposes the deceptive illusions and distortions of our idolatries, and calls us into the life-giving light of God's revelation in Jesus Christ. Gods That Fail offers a compelling analysis of our context and confusion, and a motivating call to clarity and faithfulness."" --Mark Labberton, President, Fuller Theological Seminary; Author Vinoth Ramachandra lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He serves as the international Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement for IFES, a global partnership of over 150 university-level national Christian movements. He holds both a B.S. and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of London. He is a theological consultant to the Micah Network of relief and advocacy agencies, and A Rocha, a biodiversity conservation movement. Among his other books dealing with global public issues are Faiths in Conflict? and Subverting Global Myths.

Gods That Fail, Revised Edition

Wipf & Stock Publishers

In recent years the term religious pluralism" has come to be used not only in a descriptive sociological sense but also as theologically prescriptive. Within this new paradigm, traditional Christian understandings of Christ, conversion, evangelism, and mission have been radically reinterpreted. The Recovery of Mission explores the pluralist paradigm through the work of three of its most influential Asian exponents-Stanley Samartha, Alousius Pieris, and Raimundo Panikkar-subjecting each to a theological and philosophical critique. On the basis of biblical, patristic, and contemporary theological writings Vinoth Ramachandra argues for the uniqueness and decisiveness of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Ramachandra seeks to show that many of the valid concerns of pluralist theologians can best be met by reappropriating the missionary thrust at the heart of the gospel. The book ends with suggestions, challenging to pluralists and conservatives alike, as to how the gospel needs to be communicated in a multifaith world.

The Recovery of Mission: Beyond the Pluralist Paradigm

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ramachandra, Vinoth. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ramachandra, Vinoth

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ramachandra, Vinoth. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Faiths in Conflict?: Christian Integrity in a Multicultural World

Gods That Fail: Modern Idolatry & Christian Mission

The Message of Mission: The Glory of Christ in All Time and Space

Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues Shaping Our World

The Message of Mission: The Glory of Christ in All Time and Space

Gods That Fail: Modern Idolatry and Christian Mission

The Scandal of Jesus

Gods That Fail, Revised Edition: Modern Idolatry and Christian Mission

Gods That Fail, Revised Edition

The Recovery of Mission: Beyond the Pluralist Paradigm