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There is a long tradition of study of religions in their own right, traditionally with a linguistic, philological and textual methodology, and in recent decades with a phenomenological approach. More recently scholars have begun comparative work in which more than one tradition is studied; only very recently has philosophy of religion begun to be comparative. Here in SCM's Core Text: The Philosophy of Religion, Gwen Griffith-Dickson examines the thinkers and ideas of different traditions and brings them together in the examination of philosophical questions such as the problem of evil, the existence of God and the concept of God.
In Reclaiming Theodicy , Michael Stoeber explores various themes of theodicy - theology that defends God in the face of evil - by creatively developing a distinction between transformative and destructive suffering. Emphasising the importance of human compassion and illustrating various spiritual experiences of God that are healing, the book proposes a narrative of life within which one might understand suffering in relation to a personal God of ultimate power and love, and suggests basic principles toward developing a politics of compassion.
In an age of global migration, how should Christian theologians and church leaders respond to its various challenges and problems? What is a fundamental theological framework with which we are to engage in them? In this volume, Ilsup Ahn attempts to answer these questions by presenting a “Trinitarian theology of migration.” In doing so, he first provides an overview of recent theological works on migration by introducing their key theological insights. A Trinitarian theology of migration becomes possible as we begin to see that the three Sacred Persons (the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit) are distinctively, yet intrinsically involved with the phenomenon of human migration within God’s grand vision of liberation and redemption. From a Trinitarian theological perspective, in all stages of human migration from taking leave to getting integrated, migrants and citizens are called to join in God’s liberative and redemptive works for all the people of God.
In Reclaiming Theodicy , Michael Stoeber explores various themes of theodicy - theology that defends God in the face of evil - by creatively developing a distinction between transformative and destructive suffering. Emphasising the importance of human compassion and illustrating various spiritual experiences of God that are healing, the book proposes a narrative of life within which one might understand suffering in relation to a personal God of ultimate power and love, and suggests basic principles toward developing a politics of compassion.
This book argues that mystical doctrines and practices initiate parallel transformative processes in the consciousness of mystics. This thesis is supported through a comparative analysis of Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen) and the medieval German mysticism of Eckhart, Suso, and Tauler. These traditions are interpreted using a system/cybernetic model of consciousness. This model provides a theoretical framework for assessing the cognitive effects of mystical doctrines and practices and showing how different doctrines and practices may nevertheless initiate common transformative processes. This systems approach contributes to current philosophical discourse on mysticism by (1) making possible a precise analysis of the cognitive effects of mystical doctrines and practices, and (2) reconciling mystical heterogeneity with the essential unity of mystical traditions.
Clear and well-defined identities are hard to sustain in a rapidly shifting world. Peoples, goods, and cultures are on the move. The internet and other technologies increase the amount, the speed, and the intensity of cultural exchanges. Individuals, organizations, and nations develop complex identities out of many traditions, different ideals, various ways of life, and many models of organization. Religious traditions both collide and interact, with spiritual journeys crossing religious boundaries. In this book, more than 20 contributors from different backgrounds and academic disciplines offer an array of practical theological perspectives to help understand these complex identities and negotiate this shifting world. (Series: International Practical Theology - Vol. 17) [Subject: Religious Studies, Cultural Studies]
Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love grapples with the same fundamental question that has vexed philosophers and theologians since the advent of monotheistic religion, and continues as a barrier to belief for many today. Namely, if God is so good, how can natural disaster, genocide, trauma - and my present suffering - occur? Historically, there have been two apparently very different approaches to the problem: the pastoral, or practical, on the one hand and the systematic on the other. Richard Norton, however, suggests that these two lines of thought may not be as separate as they seem, and may indeed be dependent on one another for their cohesion. Drawing on Julian’s medieval experience of personal and population-wide suffering, alongside that of more recent theologians such as Dorothy Solle and Jürgen Moltmann, Norton constructs a compassionate model of theodicy that can be of use to both pastoral and systematic theologians. Throughout, he remains sensitive to the raw atrocity of evil, while preserving a vision of God as the one who ensures that all shall be well.
Defends a new type of epistemology, the Critical Trust Approach, and then applies it to the experience of God in the contemporary multicultural context.
Thomas Merton recognized the value and possibility of contemplative dialogue between monastics and contemplatives of other religious traditions and hoped that, through such dialogue, monastics would strive for ‘inter-monastic communion’ and a bonding of the broader ‘spiritual family.’ He held out hope that this bond would demonstrate the fundamental unity of humanity to a world that was becoming ever more materialistic and divided. Among other themes and topics, this book explores Thomas Merton’s role as a pioneer of Buddhist-Christian dialogue and monastic interreligious dialogue. It delves into the process of Merton’s self-transformation through contemplative experiences, explo...
Can contemporary art say anything about spirituality? Answering this question and more, On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art explores the curious disconnection between spirituality and current art.