The Barmen Declaration

"....We reject the false doctrine that the Church could have permission to hand over the form of its message and of its order to whatever it itself might wish or to the vicissitudes of the prevailing ideological and political convictions of the day...."

The Barmen Declaration

  The South African Kairos Document

"THE MOMENT OF TRUTH HAS ARRIVED"

The South African Kairos Document articulates "a challenge to decisive action" at a critical moment in the history of South Africa and of the wider world. In a way that few modern documents do, it compels the reader to forbear from doing evil, to do good and to know the difference at a moment when action is required and words are not enough.

South African Kairos Document

Central American Kairos Document

Released in April of 1988, by the Central American Kairos Document Commission, Documento «Kairós Centroamericano» is an eloquent call to recognize widespread suffering caused by neocolonial oppression of Central America by the United States, and for North and South to act in solidarity to end this oppression and establish an order more supportive of life. A special role for Christians in this process is also well articulated here. The Commission has made this historic document available to us in its original language so that we may distribute it here. We are also working to obtain an English translation.

This historic document is hosted on this site, in its original language in several document formats:

Documento «Kairós Centroamericano»  .doc

Documento «Kairós Centroamericano»  .html

Documento «Kairós Centroamericano»  .odt

Documento «Kairós Centroamericano»  .pdf

Documento «Kairós Centroamericano»  .txt

European Kairos Document

A call to, "all movements and individuals that are working for social, political and economic change, to build coalitions to work for the liberation of society from the stranglehold of the deregulated globalized economy and its competitive culture."

This document is hosted on this site, in the English language, in several formats:

European Kairos Document  .doc

European Kairos Document  .html

European Kairos Document  .odt

European Kairos Document  .pdf 

European Kairos Document  .txt

Kairos India 2000

.. move from ambulance ministry to a ministry of involvement and participation in the struggle ... for their liberation ..., so that a just society may get established, in which peace will reign with justice, and all will live with fuller redeemed dignity and recovered humanity.

reflection on Kairos India 2000

The Oikos Journey

A Theological Reflection
on the Economic Crisis
in South Africa

South African history is marked with social and economic injustices
and inequalities. In 1985, as the apartheid regime imposed a State of
Emergency in response to rising resistance, people in the churches
recognized a moment of crisis and opportunity – a kairos moment –
resulting in the Kairos Document published in September 1985,
challenging injustice in the apartheid system as well as in the church.
The inspiration of the Kairos Document has led us twenty years later to
embark on the Oikos Journey arising out of our present context. We
believe we are at another kairos moment. The present economic system is
a challenge to us all.

Since 1994 we have had a democratic government in place, which has
brought with it expectations of a better life. We have celebrated the
establishment of a constitutional democracy with its stress on freedom
from injustice, more equal opportunities and a better quality of life for
all. However the majority of people continue to live in poverty.

We present this Oikos Journey as a challenge to the church, the state
and society. It uses the image of oikos to express our thinking. Oikos
means a home or household. From this we get the two words ‘economy’
and ‘ecology’. A concern for economics – oikos-nomos – has often been
disconnected from a concern for ecology – oikos-logos – or the
environment. In fact the two are closely linked and both relate to the
establishment and undergirding of a society reflecting God’s will.

The following link is to the full text, in English. 

The Oikos Journey  (.pdf)

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