Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology
Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology

Author: Catherine Cornille

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-02-21

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1119535247

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The first systematic overview of the field of comparative theology Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology offers a synthesis of and a blueprint for the emerging field of comparative theology. It discusses various approaches to the field, the impact of religious views of other religions on the way in which comparative theology is conducted, and the particularities of comparative theological hermeneutics. It also provides an overview of the types of learning and of the importance of comparative theology for traditional confessional theology. Though drawing mainly from examples of Christian comparative theology, the book presents a methodological framework that may be applied to any religious tradition. Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology begins with an elaboration on the basic distinction between confessional and meta-confessional approaches to comparative theology. The book also identifies and examines six possible types of comparative theological learning and addresses various questions regarding the relationship between comparative and confessional theology. Provides a unique and objective look at the field of comparative theology for scholars of religion and theologians who want to understand or situate their work within the broader field Contains methodological questions and approaches that apply to comparative theologians from any religious tradition Recognizes and affirms the diversity within the field, while advancing unique perspectives that might be the object of continued discussions among theologians Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology offers an important basis for scholars to position their own work within the broader field of comparative theology and is an essential resource for anyone interested in theology conducted in dialogue with other religious traditions. 2021 PROSE Finalist in the Theology & Religious Studies category.

How to Do Comparative Theology
How to Do Comparative Theology

Author: Francis X. Clooney

Publisher: Fordham Univ Press

Published: 2017-12-12

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0823278425

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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 “spiritual but not religious.” The essays in this volume show great diversity in method, and also—over and again and from many angles—coherence in intent, a commitment to one learning from the other, and a confidence that one’s 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.

Ramanuja and Schleiermacher
Ramanuja and Schleiermacher

Author: Jon Paul Sydnor

Publisher: James Clarke & Company

Published: 2012-03-29

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 0227900359

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Can the comparison of two theologians vastly separated in space and time help contemporary theologians to think better? This book compares two preeminent theologians, Sri Ramanuja of the Hindu tradition and Friedrich Schleiermacher of the Christian tradition. Each argues that God sustains the universe at every moment of its existence, but they work out the divine sustenance in very different ways.

Comparative Theology
Comparative Theology

Author: Francis X. Clooney

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-09-09

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1444356437

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Drawing upon the author’s three decades of work in comparative theology, this is a pertinent and comprehensive introduction to the field, which offers a clear guide to the reader, enabling them to engage in comparative study. The author has three decades of experience of work in the field of comparative theology and is ideally placed to write this book Today’s increasing religious diversity makes this a pertinent and timely publication Unique in the depth of its introduction and explanation of the discipline of ‘comparative theology’ Provides examples of how comparative theology works in the new global context of human religiosity Draws on examples specific to Hindu-Christian studies to show how it is possible to understand more deeply the wider diversity around us. Clearly guides the reader, enabling them to engage in comparative study

Considering Comparison
Considering Comparison

Author: Oliver Freiberger

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-01-02

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 019092912X

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The comparative method is an integral part of religious studies. All the technical terms that scholars of religion use on a daily basis, such as ritual, hagiography, shrine, authority, fundamentalism, hybridity, and, of course, religion, are comparative terms. Yet comparison has been subject to criticism, including postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques. Older approaches are said to have used comparison primarily to confirm preconceptions about religion. More recently, comparison has been criticized as an act of abstraction that does injustice to the particular, neglects differences, and establishes a mostly Western power of definition over the rest of the world. In this book, Oliver Freiberger takes a closer look at how comparison works. Revisiting critical debates and examining reflections in other disciplines, including comparative history, sociology, comparative theology, and anthropology, Freiberger proposes a model of comparison that is based on a thorough epistemological analysis and that takes both the scholar's situatedness and his or her agency seriously. Examining numerous examples of comparative studies, Considering Comparison develops a methodological framework for conducting and evaluating such studies. Freiberger suggests a comparative approach - which he calls discourse comparison - that confronts the omnipresent risks of decontextualization, essentialization, and universalization. This book makes a case for comparison, arguing that it is indispensable for a deeper analytical understanding of what we call religion. The book is intended to enrich the practice of both aspiring and seasoned comparativists, stimulate much-needed further discussions about comparative methodology, and encourage more scholars to produce responsible comparative studies.

Constructing Reality in Comparative Theology
Constructing Reality in Comparative Theology

Author: Paul S. Chung

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2022-01-01

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 0227177711

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Through an examination of Christian interaction with other religions, Paul S. Chung constructs a theology of comparative religion. In the course of this construction, he employs the work of Ernst Troeltsch, Robert Bellah, and Karl Barth, while offering case studies of transformative interaction between Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Chung’s interdisciplinary approach opens up new avenues for inter-religious understanding and melding, for instance exploring the development of a Protestant Islam. Throughout, he provides innovative conceptions of the religions involved and the realities they assert.

How to do Comparative Religion?
How to do Comparative Religion?

Author: René Gothóni

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2012-02-14

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 3110922606

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Well-known scholars in the study of religions bring up to date and elucidate the discussion on the three most debated approaches in comparative religion, namely, the hermeneutical approach, the explanatory or cognitivist approach, and the critical approach. The approaches and methods of studying religion are disputed in an outspoken and challenging way, critically and radically arguing pros and cons. This work is unique, unrivalled, and full of essential insights into the dialogue of today and of the challenges of tomorrow.

Comparative Theology (Classic Reprint)
Comparative Theology (Classic Reprint)

Author: J. A. Macculloch

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-11-24

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 9780331846669

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Excerpt from Comparative Theology But allowing (what few will deny) that Christianity is the abso lute religion, it may be asked, DO the faiths of the past and of the present have any bearing upon its content? Is it possible to take any Christian belief, and, after comparing it with those of other faiths, to find any resemblance to it? And if so, may we say that the earlier belief is a foreshadowing of, a kind of testimony to, and a preparation for, the final form? Sacrifice, for example, is a common custom in many, if not all religions, and the Sacrifice of our Lord is a verity of the Christian creed. Have we here any preparation for this important historic fact in the earlier beliefs concerning sacrifice? Is it possible to compare them with it in order to Obtain some conception of the ideas underlying the custom? Did they foreshadow to waiting humanity the one Sacrifice of the Cross? So with other beliefs, such as the existence of a Supreme God, the Incarnation, the Future Life, the Church, Inspiration. In a word, the question comes to be, IS there a comparative method possible in Christian theology? This book is an attempt to answer the question from the point Of view of one who accepts fully and faithfully the Christian creed, yet who is assured that at no time in the world's history did God leave Himself without witness, but in divers parts and in many manners led mankind on to the Christ who was to be. If God controls the movements of history and the life of the universe, He equally watches over the religious beliefs of the soul, so that however much men may go astray, and however degraded these beliefs may be, they shall yet preserve some seed Of truth which will be fruitful in time to come. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.