Turning to the Foreigner

Building good relationships between people of different religions does not mean setting aside essential elements of what we believe to be true, but rather living out clearly and explicitly God's special regard for outsiders and foreigners, proclaimed Lawrence Yoder, missiology professor at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, VA and a member of Park View Mennonite Church. Basing his remarks on the Gospel story as found in Matt. 15:21-28 where the Canaanite woman taught Jesus to look beyond the "lost sheep of Israel" as his mission, Yoder exclaimed: "Just imagine, what will happen when more and more Christians get into the flow of what God is doing and saying!" Yoder, spending time in Indonesia bringing people together for mutual understanding and respect, gave a personal account of consultations and teaching experiences at the Sunan Kaligaga Islamic State University.