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A comparative theological and philosophical analysis of the concept of spirit in the West and the concept of qi (ch'i) in East Asia in regard to their respective and mutually illuminating potentials for sustaining a pluralistic and democratic metaphysical vision of the cosmos.

This book develops a theology of aesthetics and emotion that holds transcendent religious experiences of peace and love accountable to the embodied demands of justice. Through engagement with Indian rasa theory, the book offers a wide range of emotions as "tastes of the divine."

In comparative theology, an adherent of one religious tradition reflects on faith through deep and focused conversation with another tradition. This volume equips students of Christian theology for leadership in a pluralistic world through conversations about God, theodicy, humanity, Christology, and soteriology that take seriously the wisdom of religious neighbors.

Literary analysis and theological interpretation of Catholic, University of Paris chancellor Jean Gerson's (d. 1429) Donatus moralizatus and Muslim, Sufi scholar 'Abd al-Karim al-Qushayri's (d. 1072) Nahw al-qulub. Argues that the genre of these two religious texts aims to engender saintly readers and uses grammar as metaphor for spiritual realities.

In comparative theology, an adherent of one religious tradition reflects on faith through deep and focused conversation with another tradition. This volume equips students of Christian theology for leadership in a pluralistic world through conversations about God, theodicy, humanity, Christology, and soteriology that take seriously the wisdom of religious neighbors.

For a generation and more, the contribution of Christian theology to interreligious understanding has been a subject of debate. Some think of theological perspectives are of themselves inherently too narrow to support interreligious learning, and argue for an approach that is neutral or, on a more popular level, grounded simply open-minded direct experience. In response, comparative theology argues that theology, as faith seeking understanding, offers a vital perspective and a way of advancing interreligious dialogue, aided rather than hindered by commitments; theological perspectives can both complement and step beyond the study of religions by methods detached and merely neutral. Thus comparative theology has been successful in persuading many that interreligious learning from one faith perspective to another is both possible and worthwhile, and so the work of comparative theology has become more recognized and established globally. With this success there has come to the fore new challenges regarding method: How does one do comparative theological work in a way that is theologically grounded, genuinely open to learning from the other, sophisticated in pursuing comparisons, and fruitful on both the academic and practical levels? How To Do Comparative Theology therefore contributes to the maturation of method in the field of comparative theological studies, learning across religious borders, by bringing together essays drawing on different Christian traditions of learning, Judaism and Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, the wisdom of senior scholars, and also insights from a younger generation of scholars who have studied theology and religion in new ways, and are more attuned to the language of the ΓÇ£spiritual but not religious.ΓÇ¥ The essays in this volume show great diversity in method, and alsoΓÇöover and again and from many anglesΓÇöcoherence in intent, a commitment to one learning from the other, and a confidence that oneΓÇÖs home tradition benefits from fair and unhampered learning from other and very different spiritual and religious traditions. It therefore shows the diversity and coherence of comparative theology as an emerging discipline today.

For a generation and more, the contribution of Christian theology to interreligious understanding has been a subject of debate. Some think of theological perspectives are of themselves inherently too narrow to support interreligious learning, and argue for an approach that is neutral or, on a more popular level, grounded simply open-minded direct experience. In response, comparative theology argues that theology, as faith seeking understanding, offers a vital perspective and a way of advancing interreligious dialogue, aided rather than hindered by commitments; theological perspectives can both complement and step beyond the study of religions by methods detached and merely neutral. Thus comparative theology has been successful in persuading many that interreligious learning from one faith perspective to another is both possible and worthwhile, and so the work of comparative theology has become more recognized and established globally. With this success there has come to the fore new challenges regarding method: How does one do comparative theological work in a way that is theologically grounded, genuinely open to learning from the other, sophisticated in pursuing comparisons, and fruitful on both the academic and practical levels? How To Do Comparative Theology therefore contributes to the maturation of method in the field of comparative theological studies, learning across religious borders, by bringing together essays drawing on different Christian traditions of learning, Judaism and Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, the wisdom of senior scholars, and also insights from a younger generation of scholars who have studied theology and religion in new ways, and are more attuned to the language of the ΓÇ£spiritual but not religious.ΓÇ¥ The essays in this volume show great diversity in method, and alsoΓÇöover and again and from many anglesΓÇöcoherence in intent, a commitment to one learning from the other, and a confidence that oneΓÇÖs home tradition benefits from fair and unhampered learning from other and very different spiritual and religious traditions. It therefore shows the diversity and coherence of comparative theology as an emerging discipline today.

The first systematic discussion of the bodhisattva path in Mahayana Buddhism from a Christian theological perspective.

This volume builds on recent engagements with Barth in theologies of religion, and opens new conversation between Barth and comparative theology. In each of six religion-specific sections, two theologians offer focused engagements of Barth with themes and figures from another religious tradition, followed by response from a theologian from that tradition itself.

This book argues that Christian theology must be done in conversation with other religions. The book integrates theology of religious diversity, comparative theology, and constructive theology by moving beyond reified accounts of "religions" that make interreligious learning impossible. The author proposes a new theory of the religious that celebrates interreligious learning.

The central Christian belief in salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remains one of the most intractable mysteries of Christian faith. Throughout history, it has given rise to various theories of atonement, many of which have been subject to critique as they no longer speak to contemporary notions of evil and sin or to current conceptions of justice. One of the important challenges for contemporary Christian theology thus involves exploring new ways of understanding the salvific meaning of the cross.In Atonement and Comparative Theology, Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African Religions reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement by pointing to analogous structures of sin and salvation, drawing attention to the scandal of the cross as seen by the religious other, and re-interpreting aspects of the Christian understanding of atonement. Together, they illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection.

The central Christian belief in salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remains one of the most intractable mysteries of Christian faith. Throughout history, it has given rise to various theories of atonement, many of which have been subject to critique as they no longer speak to contemporary notions of evil and sin or to current conceptions of justice. One of the important challenges for contemporary Christian theology thus involves exploring new ways of understanding the salvific meaning of the cross.In Atonement and Comparative Theology, Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African Religions reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement by pointing to analogous structures of sin and salvation, drawing attention to the scandal of the cross as seen by the religious other, and re-interpreting aspects of the Christian understanding of atonement. Together, they illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection.