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[German Version] Malaysia comprises West Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia) and the states of Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo (Indonesia). Indigenous bumiputras (“sons of the soil”) total some 65% of the population (28 million in 2008), comprising Malay and aboriginal peoples in West Malaysia, and Iban and other tribal groups in East Malaysia. Approximately 26% are of Chinese descent and 8% Indian. The coming of Islam is associated with South Indian traders and the sultanate of Melaka in the 14th century. The ¶ Portuguese conquest in 1511 further dispersed Islam in the region. British rule in Penang (1786), Melaka (1795), and Singapore (1819), and later in the Malay states, facilitated Chinese and Indian migration, bringing Chinese folk religion (China: IV), Hinduism, and also Christianity. The 1874 Treaty of Pangkor confirmed the Malay sultans' responsibility for customary law. At independence (Merdeka) in 1957, Islam was declared the official religion, though other faiths were granted freedom of wor…

[German Version] (Jun 29, 1796, London, UK – Nov 20, 1839, Erromanga, Vanuatu), London Missionary Society missionary to the Pacific. Williams and his wife Mary arrived in Tahiti in 1817. Based in Raiatea (Tahiti), the Cook Islands, and later Samoa, Williams built and sailed ships to transport Polynesian Christians as teachers and missionaries across the Pacific. On a successful visit to England (1834–1838) he oversaw the printing of the Rarotongan New Testament. After returning to the Pacific he w…

[German Version] I. History 1. Middle Ages and Reformation. The university, the most important academic institution devoted to teach-¶ ing (Education/Formation) and research today, is a creation of the medieval West. Its appearance marked a deep caesura in the history of Western science, especially in the history of theology (Theology, History/Historiography of). The multiplicity of institutions involved in acquiring and transmitting knowledge (monasteries, cathedral schools, monastery schools, schools run by inde…

[German Version] I. Christianity 1. Europe a. Concept. Christian theological education is a qualification process that involves many different stages; in general its goal is a paid or volunteer position (Voluntary work and associations) in a church that proclaims the gospel and engages in social service (Diakonia) in various fields. Like the churches’ official ministries (Office), institutional training courses vary regionally and denominationally. Determinants include each church’s understanding of the…

[German Version] I. Dogmatics – II. Ethics – III. Philisophy – V. History – VI. Mission I. Dogmatics Freedom of religion, as generally understood, combines freedom of belief, of conscience, and creed, as well as freedom to practice one's religion (cf. German Basic Law, art. 4, §§1, 2), in one fundamental right. Dogmatics needs to clarify the relat…

[German Version] I. Terminology The word syncretism in its broadest sense denotes any blend or combination of diverse cultural phenomena. This usage derives from an apparently reasonable but false etymology: syncretism is commonly derived from the Greek verb συνκεράννυμι/ synkeránnymi, “mix.” In fact, however, it is a neologism coined by Plutarch ( Mor. 490b), who called the way Cretans came together in the face of external enemies synkretismos. Erasmus of Rotterdam than borrowed the term and introduced it into the language of Christian theology. In theology th…