Suchergebnisse

A planet in transition -- Transforming reality -- A divided vision -- Space-time -- The process of life -- Whither evolutionists? -- The structure of life -- Transforming instincts -- The human mind -- The quickening pace -- Our social groupings -- Our transforming institutions -- Expanding the legal universe -- The charismatic model -- Tribal religious realities -- The traumatic planetary past -- Theologians and scientists -- The future of theology -- The transformation of science -- The metaphysics of modern existence

In diesem Buch werden zentrale, längst inner- und außerkirchlich vor sich gehende, vielfach aber verleugnete religiöse und theologische Wandlungen unserer Gegenwart zusammengefasst und in ihren Konsequenzen beschrieben: warum "Religion" ("Spiritualität) fundamental, gleichwohl hoch gefährdet und verführbar ist; inwiefern die östliche Meditation bei uns und im Verständnis des Göttlichen viel bewirkt und somit alte innerchristliche Forderungen zentral gemacht hat; warum auch im Verständnis des Jesus von Nazareth eingreifende Revisionen überfällig sind. Was diese Einsichten für ein beglückend neu zugängliches Verständnis christlicher Grundworte im Zeichen der alternativen Spiritualität bedeuten, wird ausführlich dargestellt.

From the early days of the Christian faith, the relationship between the twin realities of Jesus' historical particularity and universal presence has been a theological puzzle. The apparent dichotomy of the two leads Christ-followers to ponder some difficult questions: Who is Jesus to those who do not know him? Who are those who do not know him to those who do? Do "we" who follow Jesus meet him in "those" who do not? Contemporary debates concerning Christian theology of religions have been profoundly shaped by Alan Race's threefold typology of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. Scholars increasingly recognize the insufficiency of this typology, and a consensus about how to replace it remains elusive. With The Unique and Universal Christ, Drew Collins argues that an alternative theological approach to the relation between the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the universality of God's presence can be gleaned from the theology of Hans Frei and his fivefold typology of Christian theology. With Frei's model as an interpretive lens, Collins examines the various ecumenical movements of the twentieth century and their conversations around theological authority in connection to Christianity's relationship with other faith traditions. A new paradigm emerges for conceptualizing Christian faith amid the rich diversity of our world. Reconsidered in this light, the Christian theology of religions ceases to be a combative venture that pits a Christian faith committed to the scandalous particularity of Jesus Christ's identity as the Son of God against a faith open to the possibility of encountering the divine presence in the world at large. Instead, it becomes a mode of exploration, hoping for such encounters with the universal presence of Christ because of the uniqueness of Jesus. --

This dissertation adds to the current scholarship surrounding the construction and popular diffusion of the modern concept of religion. While the construction of this concept has deep historic roots, it emerged fully during the nineteenth century as closer contact and cultural exchange through colonialism fostered comparisons of faiths to each other in search of commonalities. Religion was increasingly understood both as an abstract category—divorced from its exclusive identification with Christianity—to describe the various systems of faith in the world as well as a true and eternal essence. Additionally, some entertained the utopian dream that the true essence of religion could be realized in history thereby creating a universal religion for all mankind. Historians have traditionally associated such broader understandings of religion with eighteenth-century Deists in England, American Transcendentalists, liberal Protestants more broadly, divines of religious academies like Harvard Divinity School, and, more recently, esoteric movements like the Theosophical Society and New Thought. A similar emphasis on the universality of religion and an optimism regarding the impending spiritual unity of the human race can be seen in the loose religious movement known as Spiritualism. Unlike Transcendentalism or academic comparative religion, Spiritualism represented a broad and democratic movement that cut across class, gender, and race. Though the emphasis on eastern religion was far more pronounced in Theosophy and New Thought, Spiritualism, emerging in the mid-nineteenth century, prefigured and influenced them both. As such, this dissertation argues that Spiritualism was an important force for popularizing and democratizing new comparative ideas about religion that had previously existed as part of a more elite and educated discourse. Spiritualists, though lacking a binding creed or theology, generally agreed that there was a timeless and true essence of religion that had been partially expressed in the various historical religions of the world. Thus, other religions and their scriptures could be fruitfully compared and wisdom extracted from them, though Christianity typically remained the implicit standard for comparison. With a pronounced faith in progress and a religious fervour shared by the surrounding revivalistic culture of nineteenth-century America, Spiritualists hoped to transcend sectarian boundaries and—with the help of spiritual guides— inaugurate a new era of peace and social reform under the auspices of their quintessentially modern and rational religion.