Christian approaches to other faiths (SCM Core Text)

Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2012

The content of Christian theology is nothing if not complex and nuanced. Faith, in essence, may be something relatively simple; an orientation of the heart, an intention of the will, a determination of religious identity. But as soon as the person of faith takes up the Anselmian challenge to seek understanding of that faith, problems of where to start and how to proceed quickly become acute. Many easy solutions are offered, of course, and most of those are of dubious intellectual quality, short-changing both the integrity of the faith and the veracity of its supposed cognition. They result most often in misinformed fundamentalism or other variants of stifling naïveté. But for many Christian believers seeking to deepen their knowledge and understanding by becoming students of theology there are many worthy guides. This second edition of Anderson's Journey is one of particularly good value. It purports, in its preface, to offer a 'trusty companionship for the journey' as well as to present 'a hearty invitation' to undertake the journey in the first place (p. ix). And in an attempt to make the journey as relaxed and enjoyable as possible the intellectual demands along the way are lightened by the insertion of cartoon comment that can, at times, provide critical insight and reinforcement of a main idea by way of providing a shaft of humorous light. For some, however, they may be more of a sideline distraction, and there are times when it seems that without a deeper knowledge the point of a cartoon may in fact be lost. Still, the overall impression is of a book that deals with complex and heavy topics in a most appealing manner, and succeeding in that on the whole. One very interesting feature is that, although the book has been written and structured in a historically developmental fashion, the preface presents an alternate format whereby the book could be read thematically. By a judicious selection of provided readings, nine discrete theological topics-Faith and Reason, the doctrines of God,

2009

This book is a companion to Alan Race & Paul M. Hedges (eds.), Christian Approaches to Other Faiths, SCM Core Text, 2008. There, Race and Hedges commissioned a series of essays on Christian approaches to other faiths that provided the reader with an overview of two areas: different theological approaches to the other religions in terms of general theology of religions; and approaches to each specific religion. In the current market there are books on the former and others on the latter, but very few where both exist within single covers. Volume one thus pulled the field together by covering five approaches in the theology of religion in part one. In part two it examined the traditional four religions (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism), plus the unjustly neglected Sikhism, Chinese religions, indigenous religions, and new religious movements. Volume one was a real achievement. The editors' contribution to the field is continued in this second volume, which mirrors the structure of the first, but adds a new third part on 'other faith traditions' responses to Christianity'. Either one of the editors, or a writer from volume one, provides a brief introductory commentary on the writings chosen for this 'Reader,' followed by the well chosen selection of classic texts representing the five theological approaches (and an additional one is now thrown in), followed by a selection of positive approaches to the variety of religions. These two volumes must be declared the best thing in print in terms of offering undergraduate students (and probably upper level pre-graduate school students) a commentary on the field of Christian approaches to other faiths. Part one begins with the classic threefold typology coined by Race back in 1983: exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism. The readings provided by Daniel Strange for the first position helpfully moves away from Barth, the usual suspect of exclusivism (even if falsely labelled as such, for he was a universalist). J. H. Bavinck and Alvin Plantinga provide challenging pieces. As with all the readings, the editing is done well, but the length of the texts are not very even (ranging from two to ten pages). David Cheetham provides Rahner (a must for inclusivism) and Amos Yong (a pneumatological inclusivism). And Perry Schmidt-Leukel offers Hick (a must for pluralism) and Roger Haight on retaining an 'orthodox' Christology. Compared to earlier readers, this text extends the range of 'classic' representatives for the threefold typology, while still covering paradigm shapers. Paul Hedges, a pluralist, presents a position labelled 'particularities' associated with postmodern emphases on language, critiquing the threefold typology by suggesting that all approaches are in some sense 'exclusivist'. The readings are from Gavin D'Costa and Paul J. Griffiths. Jeannine Hill Fletcher provides two feminist readings from Chung Hyun Kyung (dealing with hybridity) and Kate McCarthy (dealing with feminist methodological assumptions). Race offers an approach labelled 'interfaith dialogue' which provides two snapshots of real meetings, one at Snowmass in 1984 (with Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims and Native American traditions-overseen by Fr. Thomas Keating, a Thomas Merton-type Trappist monk) movingly narrated by M Darrol Bryant, and a dialogue between a Christian and Jew: Jonathan Sacks, U.K.'s Chief Rabbi, and Len Swidler, Catholic professor of dialogue. The readings are fascinating, but odd, given that a recent very influential approach called 'comparative theology' should fill this slot-both in suggesting

The Australasian Catholic record, 2005

Journal for Christian Scholarship, 2019

Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2006

Numen, 2014

Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2007

The ecumenical experience has shown that one of the greatest sticking points between dialogue partners is surprisingly not our traditional doctrinal divisions but rather the manner by which such divisions might be settled. Meaningful unity requires authority, yet the expression and reception of authority is precisely what so often divides us. Keelan Downton's study on authority in the church speaks within this ecumenical situation, offering penetrating insights into the root causes of division and constructive suggestions for the process of reconciliation.

Journal of Reformed Theology, 2010

It is a huge challenge to give a comprehensive account of all major issues that cover the field of contemporary Christian systematic theology in a single volume. It is even more challenging to do so on one's own, in a coherent way and using an accessible style. And yet, Mike Higton, senior lecturer in Theology at the University of Exeter, has done precisely that. His Christian Doctrine is printed on a cheap sort of paper-but presumably that is its most conspicuous weakness (and of course the publisher is to blame for this rather than the author). Addressing especially undergraduate students, Higton offers a superb survey of Christian theology's doctrinal claims, its tasks, traditions, sources, and main issues of contention. Of course the best way to introduce systematic theology is by undertaking it, so that is what Higton does: rather than rehearsing a static overview, he tries to make sense of the various doctrinal topics by showing what they may mean for us today and how they fit in with the overall Christian narrative. However, whereas many systematic theologians are inclined to give too much space to their own cherished ideas and constructions when introducing students to the main contours of Christian doctrine, Higton is modest enough to pause at the right moment to stimulate his readers to make a reasoned choice for themselves, offering at most a suggestion as to how a particular conundrum might be adequately handled.