Comparative religion Books

Book SynopsisJacob Kinnard offers an in-depth examination of the complex dynamics of religiously charged places. Focusing on several important shared and contested pilgrimage placesGround Zero and Devils Tower in the United States, Ayodhya and Bodhgaya in India, Karbala in Iraqhe poses a number of crucial questions. What and who has made these sites important, and why? How are they shared, and how and why are they contested? What is at stake in their contestation? How are the particular identities of place and space established? How are individual and collective identity intertwined with space and place? Challenging long-accepted, clean divisions of the religious world, Kinnard explores specific instances of the vibrant messiness of religious practice, the multivocality of religious objects, the fluid and hybrid dynamics of religious places, and the shifting and tangled identities of religious actors. He contends that sacred space is a constructed idea: places are not sacred in and of themselves, bTrade ReviewJacob Kinnard sets his sights on a place, and sits and watches that place over time, observing shifts in light, the movements of people cutting across the frame, and ultimately takes note of the ways people gather together. These chapters are like long exposure photographs, with the resulting image capturing the blurs of activity of many people for many purposes over time. By seeing places in motion, Kinnard also puts scholarship in motion. A rich take on space through time. * S. Brent Plate, author of A History of Religion in 5 1/2 Objects *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ; Preface: The Questions of Places ; 1. Place, Contestation, and the Complexities of Agency ; 2. Power Fallen from the Sky ; 3. The Polyvalent Padas of Vishnu and the Buddha ; 4. The Drama of Vishnu and the Buddha at Bodhgaya ; 5. Bodhgaya, UNESCO, and the Ambiguities of Preservation ; 6. The Power and the Politics of Emplacement ; 7. Public Space or Sacred Place? ; 8. Fences and Walls: A Not-So-Final Reflection On Preservations, Prohibitions, and Places in Motion ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisPremodern and early modern yoga comprise techniques with a wide range of aims, from turning inward in quest of the true self, to turning outward for divine union, to channeling bodily energy in pursuit of sexual pleasure. Early modern yoga also encompassed countercultural beliefs and practices. In contrast, today, modern yoga aims at the enhancement of the mind-body complex but does so according to contemporary dominant metaphysical, health, and fitness paradigms. Consequently, yoga is now a part of popular culture. In Selling Yoga, Andrea R. Jain explores the popularization of yoga in the context of late-twentieth-century consumer culture. She departs from conventional approaches by undermining essentialist definitions of yoga as well as assumptions that yoga underwent a linear trajectory of increasing popularization. While some studies trivialize popularized yoga systems by reducing them to the mere commodification or corruption of what is perceived as an otherwise fixed, authentic sTrade ReviewAndrea Jains Selling Yoga represents a major new advance in the critical discussion of the history of yoga and its modern constructions in an increasingly globalizing world. The reader is treated to any number of surprises here, from the unexpected importance of a censored and suppressed countercultural reception of yoga and tantra in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to a stunning embrace of both in the second half of the twentieth century within a new consumerist pop culture. In the process, Jain manages to avoid all of the usual moralisms, political and religious essentialisms, and naive orientalisms, opting instead for an approach that is robustly historical, theoretically sophisticated, and deeply, deeply humane. * Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion *Table of ContentsNote on Transliteration ; Preface ; Acknowledgments ; Chapter One: Premodern Yoga Systems ; Chapter Two: From Counterculture to Counterculture ; Chapter Three: Continuity with Consumer Culture ; Chapter Four: Branding Yoga ; Chapter Five: Postural Yoga as a Body of Religious Practice ; Chapter Six: Yogaphobia and Hindu Origins ; Conclusion ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisReligions manage human emotions by coupling them with core cultural values, and particular religious traditions favour a distinctive pattern or syndrome of emotions and values. Douglas J. Davies uses insights from anthropology-sociology, cognitive science, and psychology, to explore the dynamics of emotional life that forge our human identity.Trade ReviewDavies offers a rich, challenging, interdisiplinary analysis of the complex interface of emotion and religious identity. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Dynamics, feelings, and meanings ; 2. Ritual, values, and emotions ; 3. Identity depletion ; 4. Grief, intensive living, and charisma ; 5. Gender, identity, and purity ; 6. Love, mercy, humility, and betrayal ; 7. Merit, grace, and pardon ; 8. Moral-somatics, hope, despair, and suffering ; 9. Revelation, conversion, and spirit power ; 10. Sacred place, worship, and music ; Conclusion ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis timely book aims to change the way we think about religion by putting emotion back onto the agenda. It challenges a tendency to over-emphasise rational aspects of religion, and rehabilitates its embodied, visceral and affective dimensions. Against the view that religious emotion is a purely private matter, it offers a new framework which shows how religious emotions arise in the varied interactions between human agents and religious communities, human agents and objects of devotion, and communities and sacred symbols. It presents parallels and contrasts between religious emotions in European and American history, in other cultures, and in contemporary western societies. By taking emotions seriously, A Sociology of Religious Emotion sheds new light on the power of religion to shape fundamental human orientations and motivations: hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, loves and hatreds.Trade ReviewA Sociology of Religious Emotion is exactly the kind of specialist academic book that is usually overlooked by the celebrity combatants in the secular commentariat. If the book's arguments and its proposals for research are heeded, it might ground the wrangles about the proper place of religion. * Bernice Martin, Times Literary Supplement *I came away from this book better informed, and richer in understanding. My respect for these authors is considerable, because there is a real art to making academic research accessible; and this book did a good job of interesting me, a lay person, in a discipline I didn't know ... I felt wiser when I had finished A Sociology of Religious Emotion. * Gwen Adshead, Church Times *Riis and Woodhead's efforts here are essential for a field of study which has all too often trivialised the role of emotions in religious belief in an effort to understand society without the reflexivity and depth due unto persons. ... Riis and Woodhead stake out an important and highly recommended path for what will hopefully be a renewed interest in 'A Sociology of Religious Emotion'. * Grant Brooke, Scottish Journal of Theology *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Emotion - a relational view ; 2. Delineating religious emotion ; 3. Dynamics of religious emotion I: connections of self, society, and symbols ; 4. Dynamics of religious emotion II: disconnections of self, society, and symbols ; 5. The power of religious emotion ; 6. Religious emotion in late modern society and culture ; Conclusion ; Appendix: Studying religious emotion: Suggestions for method and practice

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Book SynopsisThis book provides the first collection of Slavonic pseudepigrapha translated into a western European language. It includes the original texts, their translations, and commentaries focusing on the history of motifs and based on the study of parallel material in ancient and medieval Jewish and Christian literature.Trade ReviewAny scholarly work of high quality that makes primary sources available to a wider readership is welcome and praiseworthy. This fine publication brings attention to the once dynamic and widespread tradition of Slavonic pseudepigrapha and provides all the necessary tools for their further study. * Julia Verkholantsev, University of Pennsylvania, Speculum *[The authors] find parallels in the motives of the Slavic pseudepigrapha in unexpected places -- Old Irish, Scandanavian, medieval Latin, Arabic and Armenian mythology and texts as well as Zoroastrian sources -- indicating the extremely deep familiarity the authors have with their subject. At points, the authors also suggest an East Slavic origin for some of the pseudepigraphic texts. There is an impressive bibliography with books in more than ten languages and three indexes. * Illya Bey, Reading Religion *The material in these works can contribute significantly to a better understanding of the roots of postbiblical mysticism, rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, ancient and medieval dualistic movements, as well as the beginnings of the Slavonic literary tradition. The volume provides a collection of the minor biblical pseudepigrapha preserved solely in Slavonic; at the same time, it is also the first collection of Slavonic pseudepigrapha translated into a western European language. It includes the original texts, their translations, and commentaries focusing on the history of motifs and based on the study of parallel material in ancient and medieval Jewish and Christian literature. * Studies in Religion *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Book SynopsisThis volume offers an in-depth study of key themes common to the Hindu and Christian religious traditions. It redefines how we think about Hinduism, comparative study, and Christian theology. This book offers a bold new look at how traditions encounter one another, and how good comparisons are to be made. Redefining theology as an interreligious, comparative, dialogical, and confessional practice open to all people, it invites not only Hindus and Christians, but also theologians from all religious traditions, to enter into conversation with one another.Trade ReviewIt is no longer acceptable for theologians to criticize other religions or to think their own religion superior unless and until they have engaged in true dialogue (which means learning the necessary languages and texts, etc.). Clooney's work thus argues for and exemplifies a new kind of multireligious theological conversation. * The Journal of Religion *Francis Clooney's Hindu God, Christian God * which embodies disciplined scholarship, a strong faith commitment that is tempered by deep devotion to reason, and radical openness to theological conversation across religious boundariesbrings a breath of theological fresh air.Journal of the American Academy of Religion *...a thought-provoking and deeply researched book that all Indologists, philosophers of religion, and Christian theologians will benefit from reading. * Philosophy East & West *This is a wonderfully conceived and well-written book. A model of an emerging theology which is interreligious, comparative, dialogical, and confessional at the same time. * Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection *Thinkers within one religious tradition hone their work through appreciation for and opposition to views of major predecessors in that tradition. Francis Clooney demonstrates that Christian faith genuinely seeking understanding can and must widen this circle of formative dialogue to include figures in other religions as models and critics. Even when they were not speaking to each other, the Hindu and Christian theologians Clooney matches have a great deal to say to each other, precisely because they share the medium of rational argument, argument for God and about God. They emerge as collaborators, yet undiminished in their distinct identities. No other book so powerfully presents comparative study as integral to the healthy internal life of a religious tradition. * S. Mark Heim, Andover Newton Theological Seminary *Distinguished by its admirably close attention to textual detail, Hindu God, Christian God is an exemplary contribution to comparative theology. It will be essential reading for courses in comparative theology. * Keith Ward, Oxford University "Francis X. Clooney's new book takes a major step forward in developing a lucid presentation and close analysis of reasoning about topics common to much theistic thought. Clooney exemplifies his own interpretation of theology as both the affirmation of a particular faith tradition, and the mutual understanding (and possible agreement) of theologians in very different traditions. The book's compelling climax urges both Christian and Hindu theologians to join him in conducting scholarly comparison as interreligious dialogue.John B. Carman, Harvard University, Emeritus *If there is to be inter-religious thological conversation at all reason must be its presupposition and mainstay. Francis Clooney has written the definitive work on this in the contect of the Hindu-Christian encounter. The book is therefore indispensable reading for any serious study on the topic. * Hindu-Christian Studies Bulletin *Francis Clooney's Hindu God, Christian God * which embodies disciplined scholarship, a strong faith commitment that is tempered by deep devotion to reason, and radical openness to theological conversation across religious boundariesbrings a breath of theological fresh air.... Clooney traverses the Hindu and Christian textual and theological terrains with equal ease, remarkable skill, keen sensitivity, and admirable sophistication. His command of the intricate nuances of both Hindu and Christian theologies impressively shines throughout the work.Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Francis Clooney's Hindu God, Christian God * which embodies disciplined scholarship, a strong faith commitment that is tempered by deep devotion to reason, and radical openness to theological conversation across religious boundariesbrings a breath of theological fresh air.... Clooney traverses the Hindu and Christian textual and theological terrains with equal ease, remarkable skill, keen sensitivity, and admirable sophistication. His command of the intricate nuances of both Hindu and Christian theologies impressively shines throughout the work.Journal of the American Academy of Religion *a thought-provoking and deeply researched book that all Indologists, philosophers of religion, and Christian theologians will benefit from reading. * Philosophy East & West *This is a wonderfully concieved and well-written book . A model of an emerging theology which is interreligious, comparative, dialogical, and confessional at the same time. * Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection *By virtue of its theological sophistication, it analytical strength, its breadth of vision for a broadened and renewed theology, and the sheer number of theologians studied, this landmark contribution is an indispensable resource for Hindu and Christian scholars and other theologians."-The Journal of the American Academy of ReligionDistinguished by its admirably close attention to textual detail, Hindu God, Christian God is an exemplary contribution to comparative theology. It will be essential reading for courses in comparative theology. * Keith Ward, Oxford University *Francis X. Clooney's new book takes a major step forward in developing a lucid presentation and close analysis of reasoning about topics common to much theistic thought. Clooney exemplifies his own interpretation of theology as both the affirmation of a particular faith tradition, and the mutual understanding (and possible agreement) of theologians in very different traditions. The book's compelling climax urges both Christian and Hindu theologians to join him in conducting scholarly comparison as interreligious dialogue. * John B. Carman, Harvard University, Emeritus *Thinkers within one religious tradition hone their work through appreciation for and opposition to views of major predecessors in that tradition. Francis Clooney demonstrates that Christian faith genuinely seeking understanding can and must widen this circle of formative dialogue to include figures in other religions as models and critics. Even when they were not speaking to each other, the Hindu and Christian theologians Clooney matches have a great deal to say to each other, precisely because they share the medium of rational argument, argument for God and about God. They emerge as collaborators, yet undiminished in their distinct identities. No other book so powerfully presents comparative study as integral to the healthy internal life of a religious tradition. * S. Mark Heim, Andover Newton Theological Seminary *It is no longer acceptable for theologians to criticize other religions or to think their own religion superior unless and until they have engaged in true dialogue (which means learning the necessary languages and texts, etc.). Clooney's work thus argues for and exemplifies a new kind of multireligious theological conversation. * The Journal of Religion *If there is to be inter-religious thological conversation at all reason must be its presupposition and mainstay. Francis Clooney has written the definitive work on this in the contect of the Hindu-Christian encounter. The book is therefore indispensable reading for any serious study on the topic. * Hindu-Christian Studies Bulletin *Table of Contents1. Widening the Theological Conversation in Today's Pluralistic Context 2. Arguing the Existence of God: From the World to Its Maker 3. Debating God's Identity 4. Making Sense of Divine Embodiment 5. How Revelation Matters in the Assessment of Religions 6. Faithful and Reasonable Theology in a Pluralistic World A Hindu Theologian's Response: A Prolegomenon to "Christian God, Hindu God" by Parimal G. Patil Appendix I: LIst of Theologians Appendix II: Note on the Translations and Pronunciations Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisJesus and Muhammad are two of the best known and revered figures in history, each with a billion or more global followers. Now, in this intriguing volume, F.E. Peters offers a clear and compelling analysis of the parallel lives of Jesus and Muhammad, the first such in-depth comparison in print. Like a detective, Peters compiles dossiers of what we do and do not know about the lives and portraits of these towering figures, drawing on the views of modern historians and the evidence of the Gospels and the Quran. With erudition and wit, the author nimbly leads the reader through drama and dogma to reveal surprising similarities between the two leaders and their messages. Each had a public career as a semi-successful preacher. Both encountered opposition that threatened their lives and those of their followers. Each left a body of teaching purported to be their very words, with an urgent imperative that all must become believers in the face of the approaching apocalypse. Both are symbols ofTrade Reviewanother remarkable book * Murad Wilfried Hofmann, Journal of Islamic Studies *Table of Contents1. Clearing the Ground 2. The Settings 3. Opening the Files 4. The Critic at Work 5. The Living Voice 6. The Message: Jesus in Galilee 7. The Message: Muhammad at Mecca 8. Tragedy and Triumph 9. A New Dawn: The Aftermath, The Legacy 10. Epilogue: Spreading the Word A Guide to Further Reading Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn recent years scholars have begun to question the usefulness of the category of ''''religion'''' to describe a distinctive form of human experience and behavior. In his last book, The Ideology of Religious Studies (OUP 2000), Timothy Fitzgerald argued that ''''religion'''' was not a private area of human existence that could be separated from the public realm and that the study of religion as such was thus impossibility. In this new book he examines a wide range of English-language texts to show how religion became transformed from a very specific category indigenous to Christian culture into a universalist claim about human nature and society. These claims, he shows, are implied by and frequently explicit in theories and methods of comparative religion. But they are also tacitly reproduced throughout the humanities in the relatively indiscriminate use of ''''religion'''' as an a priori valid cross-cultural analytical concept, for example in historiography, sociology, and social anthTrade ReviewTimothy Fitzgerald is one of the most important scholars raising questions about the category of religion today, and in this essay he makes significant new contributions. He broadens the range of the discussion to include important but neglected categories that arose along with the category of religion, most notably the secular and the political, and he traces the emergence of this discourse in English-language texts dealing with travel and governance, showing that they emerge much later than is widely assumed. Anyone seriously interested in religion simply must take seriously Fitzgerald's central claim: it is wrong to think of religion as something that exists in and of itself, as an observable, objective domain essentially distinct from other domains such as politics and economics. * Gregory Alles, Professor of Religious Studies, McDaniel College and author of Religious Studies: A Global View *This important book continues Fitzgerald's investigations into the rhetorical uses and abuses of religion" and related terms. Here Fitzgerald leads us into close readings of primary texts from the early modern era, and shows that "religion" and "politics" and "economics" are not value-neutral descriptive categories, but modern inventions that serve the interests of a new kind of state and a new kind of market. With relentless logic, Fitzgerald cuts through the confusions, anachronisms, and nonsense that surround the modern use of these terms. In so doing, he helps us see that the way that Western social sciences have constructed the world is not inevitable, and that we need not see non-Western others through only one lens. This book will be of tremendous benefit not only to those in religious studies, but to political scientists, sociologists, and historians as well. * William T. Cavanaugh, Associate Professor of Theology, University of St. Thomas *In this perceptive study, Fitzgerald shows us just how the assumption that religion is essentially about personal belief becomes a crucial step in the construction of 'religion' as the name of a universal human experience. His emphasis is on changing configurations rather than binaries, which leads him to argue that in taking 'the religious' as the binary opposite of 'the secular' one is subscribing to an ideological enterprise. Discourse on Civility and Barbarity is an important contribution to the growing critical literature on the idea of Religion as an essentialized category. * Talal Asad, Author of Formations of the Secular *Table of ContentsNOTES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX

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Book SynopsisViolence has always played a part in the religious imagination, from symbols and myths to legendary battles, from colossal wars to the theater of terrorism. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence surveys intersections between religion and violence throughout history and around the world. The forty original essays in this volume include overviews of major religious traditions, showing how violence is justified within the literary and theological foundations of the tradition, how it is used symbolically and in ritual practice, and how social acts of violence and warfare have been justified by religious ideas. The essays also examine patterns and themes relating to religious violence, such as sacrifice and martyrdom, which are explored in cross-disciplinary or regional analyses; and offer major analytic approaches, from literary to social scientific studies. The contributors to this volume---innovative thinkers who are forging new directions in theory and analysis related to religioTrade ReviewThe authors of the volume's forty essays, who represent many disciplines including religion, anthropology, sociology, and political science, among others, offer a variety of ways of construing and explaining that relationship in both tradition-specific and cross-cultural contexts. The volume is thus a good resource for teaching as well as for brief introductions to the history of religion and violence in multiple traditions and to theories of religion and violence from multiple disciplines. * Rosemary Kellison, Religious Studies Review *With The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence, editors Mark Juergensmeyer, Margo Kitts, and Michael Jerryson have released a timely collection that provides a welcome guide to the emerging field of studies in violence and religion. * Phil Rose, Journal of Contemporary Religion *Table of ContentsContributors ; Introduction: "The Enduring Relationship of Religion and Violence" - Mark Juergensmeyer, Margo Kitts, and Michael Jerryson ; Part I: Overview of Religious Traditions ; 1. Hindu: "Violence and Nonviolence at the Heart of Hindu Ethics" - Veena Das ; 2. Buddhist: "Buddhist Traditions and Violence" - Michael Jerryson ; 3. Sikh: "Sikh Traditions and Violence" - Cynthia Keppley Mahmood ; 4. Jewish: "Religion and Violence in the Jewish Traditions" - Ron Hassner and Gideon Aran ; 5. Christian:"Religion and Violence in Christian Traditions" - Lloyd Steffen ; 6. Islamic: "Muslim Engagement with Injustice and Violence"- Bruce Lawrence ; 7. African: "African Traditional Religion and Violence" - Nathalie Wlodarczyk ; 8. Pacific Island: "Religion and Violence in Pacific Island Societies" - Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart ; 9. Chinese: "Violence in Chinese Religious Traditions" - Meir Shahar ; Part II: Patterns and Themes ; 10. Evil: "The Religious Problem of Evil" - James Aho ; 11. Sacrifice: "Sacrifice/Human Sacrifice in Religious Traditions" - David Carrasco ; 12. Martyrdom: "Martyrdom in Islam" - David Cook ; 13. Self Mutilation: "Starvation and Self Mutilation in Religious Traditions" - Liz Wilson ; 14. Apocalypse: "Apocalyptic Religion and Violence" - Jamel Velji ; 15. Sacred War: "Cosmic War in Religious Traditions" - Reza Aslan ; 16. Genocide: "Genocide and the Religious Imaginary in Rwanda" - Christopher Taylor ; 17. Terrorism: "Terrorism as Performance Violence" - Mark Juergensmeyer ; 18. Torture: "Christianity and Torture" - Karen King ; 19. Just War: "Just War and Legal Restraints" - John Kelsay ; 20. Abortion: "Religiously Motivated Violence in the Abortion Debate" - Julie Ingersoll ; 21. Contested Sites: "Conflicts over Sacred Ground" - Ron E. Hassner ; 22. Political Violence: "Religion and Political Violence" - Monica Toft ; 23. Death Rituals: "Rituals of Death and Remembrance" - Susumu Shimazono and Margo Kitts ; 24. Violent Death: "Violent Death in Religious Imagination" - Margo Kitts ; Part III: Analytic Approaches ; 25. Sociology: "Religion and Violence from a Sociological Perspective" - John R. Hall ; 26. Anthropology: "Religion and Violence from an Anthropological Perspective" - Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern ; 27. Psychology: "Religion and Violence from a Psychological Perspective" - James W. Jones ; 28. Political Science: "Religion and Violence from a Political Science Perspective"- Daniel Philpott ; 29. Literary Theory: "Religion and Violence from Literary Perspectives" - Margo Kitts ; 30. Theology: "Religion and Violence from Christian Perspectives" - Charles Kimball ; Part IV: New Directions ; 31 Sacrifice: "Sacrificial Violence: A Problem in Ancient Religions" - Walter Burkert ; 32. Cities: "Cities as One Site for Religion and Violence" - Saskia Sassen ; 33. Armageddon: "Armageddonin Christian, Sunni and Shi'a Traditions" - Michael Sells ; 34. Phenomenal Violence: "Phenomenal Violence and the Philosophy of Religion" - Hent de Vries ; 35. Constructions of Evil : "The Construction of Evil and the Violence of Purification" - David Frankfurter ; 36. Mimetic Theory: "Mimetic Theories of Religion and Violence" - Wolfgang Palaver ; 37. Scarcity: "Religion and Scarcity: A New Theory for the Role of Religion in Violence" - Hector Avalos ; 38. Evolutionary Theory: "Ritual, Religion, and Violence: An Evolutionary Perspective" - Candance S. Alcorta and Richard Sosis ; 39. Rites of Terror: "Divergent Modes of Religiosity and Armed Struggle" - Harvey Whitehouse, with Brian McQuinn ; 40. Sociotheology: "A Sociotheological Approach to Understanding Religious Violence" - Mark Juergensmeyer and Mona Sheik ; Index

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Book SynopsisThe Vatican II Council of 1965 signaled a new era in the relationship of the Jewish and Christian faiths. Determined to free the Church of the anti-Jewish polemic which led to such widespread suffering of the innocent, Catholic authorities completely revised their conceptions of Jews and Judaism. Soon, many mainstream Protestant churches also issued a series of official statements that affirm the eternal nature of God''s ancient covenant with Israel. An entirely new category of theology emerged as part of the developing Jewish-Christian dialogue, and gradually Jewish theologians began to respond. Opening the Covenant represents a significant advance in Jewish thinking about Christianity. Michael Kogan delves deep into the theologies of the two faiths to locate precise points of difference and convergence. He sees Christianity as the breaking open of the original Covenant to include Gentile peoples. God has brought this about, says Kogan, through the work of Jesus and his interpreters.Trade ReviewIn Opening the Covenant, Michael Kogan faces the people, confronts them with a theological challenge in an honest and upright way, and does it with a purity of language, as the tradition demands. * Rabbi David Lincoln, Park Avenue Synagogue *Michael Kogan's book, Opening the Covenant: A Jewish Theology of Christianity, is a major contribution toward a thoughtful understanding of what Christianity might mean for us as Jews. The product of his extensive experience in talking with Christians about faith, his philosophical training, and his deep knowledge of Jewish thought, this book maps out some critically important features of Jewish belief that can help Jews be fully committed to Judaism and, as a result of those convictions (and definitely not in spite of them) come to understand Christians as people of a different but an intelligent and sincere faith. Indeed, only in comparison to such a conception of Christianity can Jews understand the values and concepts that their own tradition affirms. * Rabbi Elliot Dorff, American Jewish University *Michael Kogan does what Jews must do if they are to engage in a true dialogue with Christianity, namely, take Christianity seriously as an object of God's communication and affection. Dialogue is mutuality. Until now, one could claim that the Jewish-Christian conversation was only a prolegomenon to dialogue. Now it enters into an authentic dialogue. * Leonard Swidler, Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue, Temple University *Are Jews anonymous Christians? Are Christians anonymous Jews, co-witnesses of the God of Israel among the Gentiles? With an intimate knowledge of both of these communities, Michael Kogan answers Yes and No to both ideas. He represents these two religions as standing on the edge of grasping the implications of encountering the absolute and incomprehensible Holy Mystery revealed to each. Each community has been addressed by, has responded to, and thus is constituted by the same faithful presence, or Word, or love of God. This book cuts through the phony complexity of theological mystification and opens up the exhilarating simplicity of the choice offered to each community: to recognize the other as kin, to appreciate the intimate partnership of responding to the transcendent God of power and love, and to witness together to the values of God's kingdom in this world. This is essential reading for all Jews and Christians. * Roger Haight, S. J., Union Theological Seminary *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Defining Our Terms ; 2. The Question of the Messiah ; 3. Three Jewish Theologians of Christianity ; 4. Affirming the Other's Theology: How Far Can Jews and Christians go? ; 5. The Forty Years' Peace: Christian Churches Reevaluate Judaism ; 6. Engaging Two Contemporary Theologians of the Dialogue ; 7. Into Another Intensity: Christian-Jewish Dialogue Moves Forward ; 8. Truth and Fact in Religious Narrative ; 9. Bringing the Dialogue Home ; 10. Does Politics Trump Theology? The Israeli-Palestinean Dispute Invades the Jewish-Christian Dialogue ; 11. Toward a Pluralist Theology of Judaism ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisFreedom and Creation in Three Traditions is a work of philosophical theology that brings together Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives on the complex questions surrounding divine and human freedom.Trade Review"Philosophical theology is not an easy subject, but in this book Burrell manages to make it as accessible as it will ever be. He himself controls the literature and language of all three traditions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and he appends an index of key Arabic terms used." —Journal of Ecumenical Studies"In his philosophically acute analyses, Burrell moves smoothly from tradition to tradition ... in order to show how in all three traditions one can discuss creation and freedom and why this discussion will be mutually enlightening and corrective." —The Journal of Religion"Among the most gratifying of Burrell's contributions here is his continuing insistence that we in our century take the relevant Jewish and Islamic sources and themes at least as seriously as Aquinas did in his." —Theological Studies

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Book SynopsisApophasis has become a major topic in the humanities, particularly in philosophy, religion, and literature. This two-volume anthology gathers together most of the important historical works on apophaticism and illustrates the diverse trajectories of apophatic discourse in ancient, modern, and postmodern times.Trade Review“Any writer worth his salt knows that what cannot be spoken is ultimately the thing worth speaking about; yet most often this humbling awareness is unsaid or covered up. There are some who have made it their business, however, to court failure and acknowledge defeat, to explore the impasse of words before silence. William Franke has created an anthology of such explorations, undertaken in poetry and prose, that stretches from Plato to the present. Whether the subject of discourse is All or Nothing does not matter: the struggle of speech to name the unnameable is the same. This ambitious two-volume undertaking demonstrates a preoccupation as old as Western civilization itself: the limits of language and the virtue of being at a loss for words. How long we have been raiding the Inarticulate!” —Peter S. Hawkins, Boston University“Developments in critical theory during the past two decades have led to renewed interest in negative theology. Books like Languages of the Unsayable (1989), Negation and Theology (1992), Derrida and Negative Theology (1992), and The Otherness of God (1998) have signaled the resurgence of this ancient tradition. William Franke’s distinctive contribution is to provide the background and texts from which these recent developments have emerged.” —Mark Taylor, Williams College"These two volumes successfully realize a massive project: to propose and delineate a new field of discourse that provides a fresh approach to Western thought as a whole. In short, William Franke demonstrates the centrality of apophaticism, 'what cannot be said,' to the Western tradition, from Plato (and before) to Derrida (and beyond). . . . The first volume covers the first 'cycles' of apophasis, as the Western tradition evolves, stretching from the commentary tradition of Plato's Parmenides to Eckhart and his progenitors. . . . Franke's work is nothing short of brilliant." —Religion and Literature“. . . one of the most important and original contributions to the discussion of apophasis in recent years. . . . Franke’s historical and disciplinary range, in light of his well-written and compelling essays, provides an illuminating insight into the pervasiveness of apophatic discourse. . . . Franke’s anthology is a resource which should not be ignored. Few others, maybe no others, provide the same clarity, coherence, and scope.” —Christianity and Literature“The genius of Franke’s two-volume critical anthology on apophatic discourses is the work’s breadth and depth of engagement with the concept in variously distinct and even conflicting contexts. . . . Franke manages his sweeping and inclusive exploration of apophatic discourses by identifying a thematic lens for selecting his sources as part of a larger, conceptually-rooted genre of discourse. . . . the greatest strength of Franke’s two-volume collection resides in the sheer fact that nothing like it exists.” —Essays in Philosophy

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Book SynopsisOne of the very few books to present a strong proposal on the issue of religious pluralism while maintaining a rock-solid evangelical stance, Wideness in God's Mercy will no doubt launch a decade of discussion on a higher level among many Christians.

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Book SynopsisWith this latest volume, a well-established series turns to look at one of the major world faiths which exist alongside Christianity, and which from the beginning has constantly made its mark on political, cultural and religious history.

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Book SynopsisArgues that the new historical consciousness of the relativity of all cultures profoundly affects our view of scripture.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisArgues for a view of Christian theology that, in critical dialogue with other world religions and philosophies, is able to engage the new world situation, play a critical role in reforming the 'powers' that are becoming more diverse and autonomous, and generate a social ethic for the 21st century.Trade Review"[T]he scholars at CTI can be congratulated for launching this debate on the profound philosophical implications of a primarily economic phenomenon, globalization, that is raising living standards and eroding ethnic and class distinctions throughout the world." - Wall Street Journal online"Table of ContentsAcknowlegments; Foreword by Justo Gonzalez; Introduction: Faith and Globalization; 1. The Question: A Review and a Direction; 2. The Approach: "Public Theology"; 3. The First Grace: Creation; 4. The Second Grace: Providence; 5. The Third Grace: Salvation; 6. A Summary with Conclusions and Implications.

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