Introduction

"Is marginalization a real word?" the proof-reader asked. "Of course it is," I replied. "Not only that, it's required ecumenical English. You've got to have at least one marginalization in every text."

It was, admittedly, a dated response. Nowadays the required word is globalization.

The world has moved on and the jargon with it, but the underlying concern remains the same. Injustice. Exclusion. What we are doing to each other and to our planet. And what we as Christians should do about all that.

This issue of Reformed World is inspired by two symposia on globalization organized by Warc in November 1999, in partnership with the World Council of Churches. The first symposium, on the consequences of economic globalization, took place in Bangkok and was hosted by the Church of Christ in Thailand; also involved were the Christian Conference of Asia and the Asian Cultural Forum on Development. The second, on globalization and the Asian crisis, was held in Seoul, with the participation of the Korean Council of Churches.

The longest piece in the issue is the report of the organizing committee for the two symposia, slightly shortened and reorganized.¹ We also print two articles by economists from Thailand and Korea on the impact of the Asian crisis on their countries.

Scattered through the report is the sketch of a Christian theological perspective - even, perhaps, a Reformed theological perspective - on economic globalization and its impact on both people and planet. Our final text, however, is something of a departure for us. For the first time, so far as I know, we publish a piece of Buddhist theological reflection.

It is interesting and, if I may borrow the word, enlightening to watch someone from the Buddhist tradition use the resources of that tradition to grapple with realities with which we as Christians must also grapple. And including this text is, I hope, more than merely a gesture towards our commitment to promote dialogue, not just with other Christian communions, but also with other religions.

Páraic Réamonn

Notes