Pneumatology and the Christian-Buddhist dialogue : does the Spirit blow through the middle way? /
:
Recent thinking in Christian theology of religions has taken a "pneumatological turn" which asks how the doctrine of the Holy Spirit can contribute to the interreligious dialogue and to the emerging discourse of comparative theology. Pneumatology and the Christian-Buddhist Dialogue. Does the Spirit Blow through the Middle Way? tests the viability of this approach as applied to the Christian-Buddhist dialogue. Various Christian and Buddhist traditions are compared and contrasted within a pneumatological framework. Is the Holy Spirit to be found along the Buddha's middle way? Some Christians say yes, while others demur. The thesis of this volume is that such a pneumatological perspective opens up possibilities for the deepening and transformation of Christian theology in the religiously plural world of the twenty-first century.
:
1 online resource (xx, 301 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004231245 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christianity and the notion of nothingness : contributions to Buddhist-Christian dialogue from the Kyoto school /
:
This publication by Muto Kazuo is a significant Christian contribution to the predominantly Buddhist "Kyoto School of Philosophy." Muto proposes a philosophy of religion in order to overcome the claim for Christian exclusivity, as proposed by Karl Barth and others. On such a foundation, he investigates the possibilities for mutual understanding between Buddhism and Christianity. Thereby he engages in a critical exchange with the Kyoto School philosophers Nishida, Tanabe, and Nishitani. Throughout his discourse, Muto applies their method of logical argument (the "dialectic" of soku ) to the dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism. He thus opens up new perceptions of Christian faith in the Asian context and, together with his Buddhist teachers, challenges the modern Western dialectical method of reasoning.
:
1 online resource (244 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004228429 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Interpreting Proverbs 11:18-31, Psalm 73, and Ecclesiastes 9:1-12 in light of, and as a response to, Thai Buddhist interpretations : a contribution to Christian-Buddhist dialogue /
:
This book discusses how three Old Testament wisdom texts can be interpreted in light of, and as a response to Thai Buddhist interpretations. Its central aim is to explore a new method in Buddhist-Christian dialogue that has three steps. First, Buddhists are asked to reflect on biblical texts, second, the texts are analyzed by placing Christian and Buddhist perspectives side by side, and finally points of convergence and difference are established in order to provide a platform for further dialogue. The study succeeds in demonstrating that the method explored is a fruitful approach to interreligious dialogue which takes interpretations of biblical texts by the religious 'other' seriously, and manages to both affirm commonalities and face religious difference.
:
1 online resource (vii, 345 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004227125 :
1876-1518 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Buddha and Christ, Nativity Stories and Indian Traditions.
:
The infancy narratives of the gospels of Matthew and Luke appear as a magnificent mosaic of allusions not only to the Hebrew Bible but also to Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions. Professor Thundy argues that many details of the infancy gospels as well as the rest of the gospels can be clarified by the Buddhist and Hindu scriptures. In this sense, the gospels are Eastern religious texts. Buddha and Christ covers the following topics in order: methodology of study, priority of Indian texts vis-à-vis Christian gospels, parallels of the birth narratives of Buddha and Jesus, uniqueness of Indian parallels, the Gnostic context of the Christian gospels, and contacts between India and the West in antiquity. Multicultural studies such as this encourage ecumenism and mutual understanding in East-West dialogues as well as reinforcing the view that the gospels should be taken seriously as Eastern religious texts.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004378827
Texts from the Buddhist Canon, Commonly Known as Dhammapada with Accompanying Narratives /
:
Buddha's Dhammapada is a widely read scripture among the Buddhist followers. It plays a similar role as the Bible to Christianity, Gita to Hindus, Guru Granth Sahib to Sikhs, Torah to the Jews, and the Quran to the Muslims. The original version is contained in Khuddaka Nikaya, which is part of the Pali Theravada Buddhist Canons. Though Dhammapada was composed around the third century BCE, its traditions date back to the first century CE. It contains the sayings of Buddha in different situations, both to the monastic orders and others. Originally composed in Pali, there are different Dhammapadas , which were composed in Kharosthi, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese. The Texts from the Buddhist Canon is the English translation of the Chinese version of Dhammapada , Fa Ju Jing.
:
1 online resource (188 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004751989
Crossroad discourses between Christianity and culture /
:
Christianity exists in relation to and interacts with its cultural environment in a number of ways. In this volume authors from a wide variety of backgrounds explore various facets of the relationship and interaction of Christianity with its cultural environment: politics, society, esthetics, religion and spirituality, and with itself. Divided into three main sections, Crossroad Discourses between Christianity and Culture looks at the interaction of Christianity with culture in the first section, with other religions and spiritualities in the second, and finally with itself in the third. The contributions engage in a critical examination of not only the culture in which Christianity finds itself but also in a critical examination of Christianity itself and its interaction with that culture. The editors hope that teachers, students, and readers in general will profit greatly from the critical articles contained in this book.
:
1 online resource (641 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789042028647 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Church as safe haven : Christian governance in China /
:
The Church as Safe Haven conceptualizes the rise of Chinese Christianity as a new civilizational paradigm that encouraged individuals and communities to construct a sacred order for empowerment in modern China. Once Christianity enrooted itself in Chinese society as an indigenous religion, local congregations acquired much autonomy which enabled new religious institutions to take charge of community governance. Our contributors draw on newly-released archival sources, as well as on fieldwork observations investigating what Christianity meant to Chinese believers, how native actors built their churches and faith-based associations within the pre-existing social networks, and how they appropriated Christian resources in response to the fast-changing world. This book reconstructs the narratives of ordinary Christians, and places everyday faith experience at the center. Contributors are: Christie Chui-Shan Chow, Lydia Gerber, Melissa Inouye, Diana Junio, David Jong Hyuk Kang, Lars Peter Laamann, Joseph Tse-Hei Lee, George Kam Wah Mak, John R. Stanley, R. G. Tiedemann, Man-Shun Yeung.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004383722 :
0924-9389 ;
The cosmic breath : spirit and nature in the Christianity-Buddhism-science trialogue /
:
Recent thinking in the interfaith dialogue and in the theology-science dialogue have taken a "pneumatological turn." The Cosmic Breath explores this pneumatological theology as unfolded in the Christian-Buddhist dialogue alongside critical interaction with the theology-and-science conversation. As an attempt in comparative and constructive Christian philosophical theology, its central thesis is that a pneumatological approach to Buddhist traditions in further dialogue with modern science generates new philosophical resources that invigorate Christian thinking about the natural world and humanity's place in it. The result is a transformation of the Buddhist-Christian dialogue from insights generated in the theology-and-science interface and a contribution to the religion-and-science dialogue from a comparative theological and philosophical perspective.
:
1 online resource (xv, 282 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004230491 :
1877-8542 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The European image of God and man : a contribution to the debate on human rights /
:
The present volumes unites papers which explore the European image of god and man as the unquestioned basis of the concept which determines what western society defines as human rights and puts it in an intercultural context by comparative essays on chinese, islamic and buddhist thinking. The volume covers issues which range from classical antiquity until contemporary philosophy and science.
:
Proceedings of a conference held in July 2009 at the Accademia di studi italodeschi, Meran, Italy. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004193789 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Chán Buddhism in Dūnhuáng and Beyond : A Study of Manuscripts, Texts, and Contexts in Memory of John R. McRae /
:
Chán Buddhism in Dūnhuáng and Beyond: A Study of Manuscripts, Texts, and Contexts in Memory of John R. McRae is dedicated to the memory of the eminent Chán scholar John McRae and investigates the spread of early Chán in a historical, multi-lingual, and interreligious context. Combining the expertise of scholars of Chinese, Tibetan, Uighur, and Tangut Buddhism, the edited volume is based on a thorough study of manuscripts from Dūnhuáng, Turfan, and Karakhoto, tracing the particular features of Chán in the Northwestern and Northern regions of late medieval China.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004439245
9789004431911
Constructing irregular theology : bamboo and Minjung in East Asian perspective /
:
The project of constructing Asian irregular theology in East Asian perspective, based on life-word of Bamboo and social political reality of minjung, embraces Dr. Chung's cross-cultural existence as he develops his long-standing interest and expertise in Christian minjung theology in new ways with the image of bamboo as a symbol for the theological perspective of grass roots marginality. Using the ancient Chinese story "The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," Dr. Chung engages with Christian eschatological discourse to support an aesthetical-utopian theological ethics that is opposed to an ethics concerned with legitimation of a socio-economic status quo. In addition, Dr. Chung's develops his deep commitment to the Lutheran theology of the cross and the suffering Christ through the Buddhist concept of dukkha (suffering) to create, in the end, a genuinely East Asian contextual theology
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [217]-223) and index. :
9789047444497 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Naming and thinking God in Europe today : theology in global dialogue /
:
Is there a new need and place for God-talk in Europe? The present volume both confirms this and opens up new questions for discussion. It shows how different traditions of naming and thinking God in Europe draw on various theoretical and philosophical foundations that are in competition with one another in many ways. Due to socio-cultural, historical and political divides between Eastern and Western Europe, these theological traditions often suffer from isolation and mutual misunderstanding. Can the inherent tensions and conflicts be understood more adequately? While exploring a variety of approaches in Europe on the topic, several authors also ask: How can God be named and thought in Europe, which finds itself in the midst of complex crosscultural and interreligious processes - particularly as immigration increases and peoples of non-Christian faith traditions name and think God in ways that differ from and sometimes conflict with Europe's dominant religion(s) and secular culture? What function and impact will traditional God-talk have in a globalizing Europe as religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism move into the foreground? This volume not only reveals the broad spectrum of its topic but also documents the vivid seeking undertaken by a new generation of European theologians and scholars of religion who openly engage the question of how to live and believe in Europe today, facing complex global challenges.
:
"This volume is the first publication of a three-year-long European Socrates Intensive program entitled "The concept of God in Europe's global religious dialogue," compare pages [11]. The program comprised three conference seminars that met in 2003, 2004, and 2005. The papers in this volume were presented at the meeting held in May, 2003, in Vienna. :
1 online resource (536 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004358225 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Thinking the divine in interreligious encounter.
:
Thinking the Divine in Interreligious Encounter seeks to take seriously our questions of cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue on God or the Divine: How can the Divine be named and thought as Europe finds itself in midst of cross-cultural processes of a global nature and as religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism come into the foreground in the West? What are some of the major shifts in Christian theology, as it recognizes that peoples of non-Christian faith traditions name and think the Divine in ways that differ from and sometimes conflict with Europe's dominant religion(s) and secular culture? Together with "Naming and Thinking God in Europe Today" and "Post-colonial Europe in the Crucible of Cultures" (Rodopi 2007), this volume allows us to discover opportunities for a multivalenced reflection on God or the Divine that achieves mutual intelligibility without surrendering to a dogmatic untranslatability or a crude relativism.
:
1 online resource (321 pages : illustrations) :
9789401207577 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Handbook of contemporary Japanese religions /
:
Representing work by some of the leading scholars in the field, the chapters of this handbook survey the transformation and innovation of religious traditions and practices in contemporary Japan. Readers will find lively scholarly studies about changes in the traditional institutions of Buddhism and Shinto, vivid examples of social activism as well as the so-called "new religions," examination of the relationship between religion and the state, and analysis of the religiosity of individuals encompassed by "spirituality," pilgrimage and tourism, and the marketing of religions. This groundbreaking collection of scholarly papers helps to map out the fascinating complexity and dynamism of religion in contemporary Japanese society and culture.
:
1 online resource (xxii, 652 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004234369 :
1874-6691 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Religion and society : an agenda for the 21st century /
:
Religion is set to be a major force in the twenty-first century. Here is a book that tells us what the world's leading scholars have to say about this. Issues of conflict and peace, ethical questions concerning the use of advanced technology, explanations of the global religious revival, and the role of women in religious leadership, as well as questions about how to study religion, are all discussed. It is a volume that ranges exceptionally widely, in terms of the themes discussed, the variety of disciplines, and the participation of international scholars debating with each other. One section of the book is devoted to Japanese scholarship concerning the world's major religions. Contributors include: Talal Asad, Chin Hong Chung, Armin Geertz, Gerrie ter Haar, Rosalind Hackett, Eiko Hanaoka, Shōtō Hase, Mark Juergensmeyer, Noriko Kawahashi, Kiyotaka Kimura, Ursula King, Pratap Kumar, William Lafleur, Sylvia Marcos, Tomoko Masuzawa, Ebrahim Moosa, Kōjirō Nakamura, Vasudha Narayanan, Haruko Okano, Suwanna Satha-Anand, Susumu Shimazono, Noriyoshi Tamaru, Masakazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Tsuchiya, Yoshio Tsuruoka, Manabu Watanabe, Pablo Wright.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [283]-297) and index. :
9789047422464 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The question of theological truth : philosophical and interreligious perspectives /
:
In today's world, the boundaries within which Christian theologians operate are becoming ever more permeable, and Christian theology is increasingly influenced and challenged by multiple "outside" factors. In Western Europe, two such factors stand out in particular: the so-called "turn to religion" in continental philosophy and religious diversity. Theologians working with contemporary continental philosophers and theologians engaging the multireligious world tend to work quite separately from one another. The aim of the present book is therefore to initiate a conversation between these two groups of theologians. The question of truth was chosen because it is both a key issue in contemporary-philosophical debates (in the continental and analytic traditions) and one that arises in complex and problematic ways in the praxis of, and theoretical reflection on, interreligious dialogue. Some of the pressing questions that are addressed by the contributors to this volume are: What is truth? What is theological truth? How does the issue of truth arise from interreligious encounter? To what extent can or should the nature of truth be discussed explicitly during interreligious dialogue? Or should the question of truth be rather postponed in the interest of successful interreligious encounter? Is there a hermeneutical concept of truth and, if so, how can it be of help for theological reflection on the question of truth and on the role and place of truth in the context of dialogue between religions?
:
International conference proceedings. :
1 online resource (319 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401208284 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Theological and philosophical responses to syncretism : beyond the mirage of pure religion /
:
Theological and Philosophical Responses to Syncretism: Beyond the Mirage of Pure Religion by Patrik Fridlund and Mika Vähäkangas (editions.) starts from the observation that there is a substantial gap between religions' self-understanding and the empirical results of religious studies concerning religious blending. Even in theology of religion, one often portrays religions as if they were entities fundamentally separate from each other. The aims of this book are to elaborate theologically the consequences of syncretism to Christian faith and of syncretism to philosophy. By creating a critical interchange between theological, philosophical and empirical approaches to religion, this book challenges the conventional views of purity of religions prevailing in theology and philosophy as well as proposes theological and philosophical ways forward. Contributors are: Jonas Adelin, Stephen Bevans, Gavin d'Costa, Patrik Fridlund, Lotta Gammelin, Elizabeth Harris, Jerker Karlsson, Paul Linjamaa, Kang-San Tan, Mika Vähäkangas.
:
1 online resource (vii, 230 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004336599 :
2210-481X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Annual review of the sociology of religion.
:
In contrast with the growing belief in society that traditional religious institutions are losing credibility, there has been renewed interest in monasteries going beyond what is strictly defined as religious. There are, for example, increasingly numerous requests for cooking and gardening courses as well as guided tours in monasteries, the appeal of monastic products and media interest in the subject. In parallel with a strong crisis in its recruitment, monasticism in the Western world is experiencing a period of innovation and experiments accompanied by unexpected popularity, as is evidenced by numerous films and publications. We hope that this book will deepen the understanding of the specificity of monastic life in the in the contemporary world, in a religious area, and from a sociological point of view.
:
1 online resource (xviii, 322 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004283503 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.