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Article: Defining syncretism: an interim report.
- Article from:
- International Bulletin of Missionary Research
- Article date:
- April 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Overseas Ministries Study Center. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the twentieth century, syncretism has been understood as a negative force in Christianity in general and in missiology in particular. Starting with Adolf von Harnack and continuing on with Barth, Kraemer, and others, syncretism has been viewed as a distorted form of the Christian faith, skewed by cultural and religious forces in the environment into which Christianity has come. The roots of this negative attitude go deep into Christian history and its early encounter with the variform map of religiosity in the Mediterranean basin. Theological assertions of the uniqueness of Christianity among the world's faith traditions have served to sustain a negative view of ...