Comparing Faithfully
Insights for Systematic Theological Reflection
Published on 1. September 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-8232-7467-3 (ISBN)
Description
Every generation of theologians must respond to its context by rearticulating the central tenets of the faith. Interreligious comparison has been integral to this process from the start of the Christian tradition and is especially salient today. The emerging field of comparative theology, in which close study of another religious tradition yields new questions and categories for theological reflection in the scholar's home tradition, embodies the ecumenical spirit of this moment. This discipline has the potential to enrich systematic theology and, by extension, theological education, at its foundations.
The essays in Comparing Faithfully demonstrate that engagement with religious diversity need not be an afterthought in the study of Christian systematic theology; rather, it can be a way into systematic theological thinking. Each section invites students to test theological categories, to consider Christian doctrine in relation to specific comparisons, and to take up comparative study in their own contexts.
This resource for pastors and theology students reconsiders five central doctrines of the Christian faith in light of focused interreligious investigations. The dialogical format of the book builds conversation about the doctrine of God, theodicy, humanity, Christology, and soteriology. Its comparative essays span examples from Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Jain, and Confucian traditions as well as indigenous Aztec theology, and contemporary "spiritual but not religious" thought to offer exciting new perspectives on Christian doctrine.
The essays in Comparing Faithfully demonstrate that engagement with religious diversity need not be an afterthought in the study of Christian systematic theology; rather, it can be a way into systematic theological thinking. Each section invites students to test theological categories, to consider Christian doctrine in relation to specific comparisons, and to take up comparative study in their own contexts.
This resource for pastors and theology students reconsiders five central doctrines of the Christian faith in light of focused interreligious investigations. The dialogical format of the book builds conversation about the doctrine of God, theodicy, humanity, Christology, and soteriology. Its comparative essays span examples from Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Jain, and Confucian traditions as well as indigenous Aztec theology, and contemporary "spiritual but not religious" thought to offer exciting new perspectives on Christian doctrine.
Reviews / Votes
"Advances the burgeoning field of comparative theology. Voss Roberts hones in on how theologians read closely and respectfully the texts and ideas of other traditions, making themselves vulnerable to their insights; and consider whether rational accounts of their own faith could be substantively enriched by encounters with those others, without cannibalizing or appropriating them." -- -James W. Farwell Virginia Theological SeminaryMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
471 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8232-7467-3 (9780823274673)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Michelle Voss is Professor of Theology at Emmanuel College in the Toronto School of Theology. She is a scholar of comparative theology, with a particular focus on Christian and Hindu contexts, and has also written widely about aesthetics, gender, and embodiment. Recent works include Body Parts: A Theological Anthropology (Fortress, 2017) and The Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations, which she edited with Chad Bauman (Routledge, 2020).
Content
Introduction: A Place for Comparative Theology in Christian Systematic Reflection Michelle Voss Roberts I Divinity 1 The Dance of Emptiness: A Constructive Comparative Theology of the Social Trinity Jon Paul Sydnor 2 Flower and Song: A Comparative Study on Teotlizing in Aztec Theology and Karl Rahner's View of Divine Self- Disclosure Elaine Padilla 3 Comparative Theology and the Postmodern God of "Perhaps": A Response to Sydnor and Padilla Kristin Beise Kiblinger II Theodicy 4 Developing Christian Theodicy in Conversation with Navid Kermani Klaus von Stosch 5 Like a Dog's Curly Tail: Finding Perfection in a World of Imperfection: A Hindu Theodicy in the Tradition of Sri Ramakrishna Jeffery D. Long 6 "Only Goodness Matters": Reflections on Theodicy with Klaus von Stosch and Jeffery Long Wendy Farley III Humanity 7 Longing and Letting Go: Lessons in Being Human from Hadewijch and Mirabai Holly Hillgardner 8 Women's Virtue, Church Leadership, and the Problem of Gender Complementarity Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier 9 Longing and Gender: A Response to Holly Hillgardner and Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier Amir Hussain IV Christology 10 What Child Is Th is? Jesus, Lord Lao, and Divine Identity Bede Benjamin Bidlack 11 Who Is the Suffering Servant? A Comparative Theological Reading of Isaiah 53 after the Shoah Marianne Moyaert 12 Response: Christology in Comparative Perspective Hugh Nicholson V Soteriology 13 The Way(s) of Salvation: The Function of the Law in John Calvin and Abu Hamid al- Ghazali Joshua Ralston 14 Sleeper, Awake: Considering the Soteriological Promise of Popular Spiritual Gurus Sharon V. Betcher 15 Salvation in the After- Living: Reflections on Salvation with Joshua Ralston and Sharon Betcher Shelly Rambo List of Contributors Index