Dare to engage radically and envision creatively

by CWM Communications Team

Discernment and radical engagement are at the heart of the mission that makes CWM what it is. Attentive to the signs of the time and in response to imperial powers and powerholders that exploit, divide, despoil and threaten the world, CWM’s DARE program is a voice of counter-imperial consciousness.

This year’s DARE Global Forum was held from 20-21 June in Taiwan, a location we chose in solidarity with the Taiwanese people and especially with our member church Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) for their continuous struggle for democracy. During the opening service at Lo-Tong Presbyterian Church, CWM General Secretary delivered the keynote address and launched “Scripture and Resistance” – the second book in the “Theology in the Age of Empire” series.

The DARE Forum was a platform where theological and biblical scholars, activists and interested peoples engaged creatively to critique mainline scholarships, confidently rooted their views upon on the ground struggles and concerns and shared their radical engagements with global readership.

At the gathering, each presenter presented an academic paper, attended and engaged with the presentations by other participants of their stream, and submitted the revised paper for publication. There were six streams – earth, class, race, gender, occupation, and artificial intelligence (AI) – this year, and presenters were encouraged to discern and engage radically, creatively and justly.

The event, while fruitful, was not all about academia. Participants better grasped the struggles of Taiwanese people, and how PCT is engaged in prophetic vocation when they met jointly with the Taiwan Ecumenical Forum (TEF) Steering Committee on 19 June. They also visited Chilin Foundation and Museum of Taiwan’s Democratic Development, which displays the history of Taiwan’s democratic movement and archives records of the past 100 years of the movement. The Museum aims to deepen and strengthen democratic values through education, while the Foundation aims to expand worldviews and enrich souls through experience and reflection.

 

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