What is the meaning of the cross today for the suffering millions - victims of hunger, war, and racism - and for Christians who seek to understand their faith? For the last four years, members of the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg have explored the theology of the cross, working with theologians from various countries and confessional backgrounds. Their study was ecumenical and included traditional Western interpretations as well as those from so-called third world countries and traditionally underrepresented groups.
In The Scandal of a Crucified World editor Yacob Tesfai (Eritrea) first provides an overview of how theology comes to terms with the cross of Jesus throughout the world. Jean-Marc Ela (Cameroon) reflects on Christ's life and passion, while Simon Maimela outlines Martin Luther's theology of the cross and its relevance for present-day struggles in South Africa. James H. Cone reflects passionately on the suffering that characterizes African-American life in the United States.
From Asia, Andreas A. Yewangoe (Indonesia) provides an overview on attitudes toward suffering in the variety of Asian religions. C. S. Song (Taiwan) reviews the role of the cross in the history of Christian missions, struggling with the image of the cross as means of conquest. From Latin America, Walter Altmann (Brazil) highlights the images of Jesus Christ that accompanied the domination of indigenous peoples. Winston D. Persaud (Guyana) explores the place of the cross in the lives of individual Christians as well as in the life of the church. From Europe Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel (Germany) lifts up feminist images of the cross as solidarity in suffering and as struggle against structural sin. Theo Sundermeier (Germany) uses Martin Luther's theology of the cross to explore non-Western thought on the meaning of the cross.