Description
Book SynopsisJason VonWachenfeldt is the Chair for the Religion and Philosophy Department at The Lawrenceville School, USA.
Trade ReviewVonWachenfeldt brilliantly explores the creative theories of religious experience and knowledge proposed by Schillebeeckx and Chopel in contexts of widespread doubt where traditional authority was questioned. Respecting their important differences, he demonstrates how Christian and Tibetan Buddhist perspectives can challenge and enrich each other. This is a major contribution to Buddhist-Christian scholarship. -- Leo D. Lefebure, Professor of Theology, Georgetown University, USA
There is no better way to do fundamental theology in a relativist culture than comparatively. First, introduce two large thinkers of different traditions. Then ask neutral bridge questions: how do they handle historical perspective, dynamics of interpretation, negative dialectics, and openness to the future? Jason VonWachenfeldt concludes this study of Schillebeeckx and Chopel with a brilliant constructive justification of truth claims in a pluralist context. -- Roger Haight, S.J., Union Theological Seminary, New York
Von Wachenfeldt’s robust comparative analysis of two figures across the Christian and Buddhist worlds demonstrates how rewarding such cross-cultural encounters are in today’s global world. The thematic focus on the nature of religious knowledge and experience in the context of historical consciousness makes this work critical for contemporary Catholic theology. -- Francisca Cho, Professor, Georgetown University, USA
How to embrace the relativizing social construction of all truth-claims without sliding down the slippery slopes of relativism? Von Wachenfeldt answers that question by engaging two contemporary scholars, one Catholic (Schillebeeckx) and the other Tibetan (Chopel), in an intriguing and illuminating conversation. An example of comparative theology at its best. -- Paul Knitter, Union Theological Seminary, USA
Table of ContentsIntroduction The Problem of Objective “Truth” and the Threat of Relativism for Religious Practitioners in the Modern World
Chapter 1 Comparative Theology, Religious Diversity, and the Question of Ultimate Truth
Chapter 2 The “Bridge Concept” and Its Materials
Chapter 3 The Histories of Individuals, and the Context for Their Ideas
Chapter 4 The Roles of Individual Intellect and the Collective Intelligence of the Community in Knowledge Formation
Chapter 5 The Role of the Historical Founders of Religious Traditions in Shaping and Conveying Religious Knowledge, Meaning, and Truth for Contemporary Believers
Chapter 6 The Role and Authority of Personal Experience in the Apophatic Knowledge of Ultimate Reality
Conclusion Possible Madhyamaka Implications for Catholic Theology Bibliography Index
