Evangelization As Interreligious Dialogue

What does Jesus have to do with Buddha? What does Muhammad have to do with Krishna? One of the most important tasks for theology in the twenty-first century is interreligious dialogue. Given the rapid process of globalization and the surge of information via the Internet, travel, and library networking today, interreligious dialogue has become a necessary element within Christian theology that no longer can be avoided. Evangelization as Interreligious Dialogue features eleven essays, plus an extensive introduction, that exercise a live conversation between religious others. Divided into four thematic sections—(1) Catholic approaches to interreligious dialogue, (2) dialogues between Judaism and Christianity, (3) dialogues between Islam and Christianity, and (4) dialogues between Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity—this volume conducts a sustained theological reflection on the current state of interreligious dialogue by signaling its hopeful promises and unrelenting challenges. The reader will be invited to encounter the religious other firsthand and put his or her most cherished theological assumptions to the test. This book aims to provoke an expansion of horizons for theological imagination as it exposes the basic dialectic of identity and difference as played out in the interaction between diverse religious beliefs, practices, and experiences.

What does Jesus have to do with Buddha? What does Muhammad have to do with Krishna? One of the most important tasks for theology in the twenty-first century is interreligious dialogue. Given the rapid process of globalization and the surge of information via the Internet, travel, and library networking today, interreligious dialogue has become a necessary element within Christian theology that no longer can be avoided. Evangelization as Interreligious Dialogue features eleven essays, plus an extensive introduction, that exercise a live conversation between religious others. Divided into four thematic sections--(1) Catholic approaches to interreligious dialogue, (2) dialogues between Judaism and Christianity, (3) dialogues between Islam and Christianity, and (4) dialogues between Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity--this volume conducts a sustained theological reflection on the current state of interreligious dialogue by signaling its hopeful promises and unrelenting challenges. The reader will be invited to encounter the religious other firsthand and put his or her most cherished theological assumptions to the test. This book aims to provoke an expansion of horizons for theological imagination as it exposes the basic dialectic of identity and difference as played out in the interaction between diverse religious beliefs, practices, and experiences.

Redemption and Dialogue makes available for the first time both of these vital Catholic statements, one on mission and evangelization and the other on dialogue with other faiths. It contains authoritative commentaries on both Redemptoris Missioand Dialogue and Proclamation as well as shorter critiques by an international group of Catholic and Protestant scholars. Part I, the full text of John Paul II's encyclical Redemptoris Missio is followed by a meticulous discussion of the document and its development by Marcello Zago, O.M.I. Part II then presents the full text of Dialogue and Proclamation and commentary by Jacques Dupuis, S.J. Part III provides the international assessment by Catholic and Protestant scholars of the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges of these documents. By providing the complete text of both documents and the fruits of the international discussion they spark , Redemption and Dialogue provides a fascinating treatment of both documents, their meanings for the church, and their significance for all concerned with issues in mission theology and interfaith dialogue.

Interreligious dialogue has gained popular attention since the second Vatican Council. New avenues and opportunities widen as growth in mutual understanding of the religions find deeper meaning. It is not uncommon that some misinterpret the Church's teachings and its position in this field too generous a fashion that ends up being syncretic and relativistic. There is often a tendency for an egalitarian approach in matters concerning truth even to the extent of separating truth from religion. This book is an attempt to revisit the Council's teachings on world religions and the place of dialogue in the life of the Church. What does the Church actually teach regarding inter-religious dialogue? What ressourcement the Council found in the Fathers of the Church that is still powerful and significant? This book will aid those involved in inter-religious dialogue, particularly to deepen his own commitment to the Church.

Cardinal Ariinze shares in this book extremely timely and helpful for fostering greater interreligious understanding today, and for guiding religious persons in their common effort toward building peace and justice.