Beyond Agreement: Interreligious Dialogue amid Persistent Differences

by Scott Steinkerchner, Francis X. Clooney, SJ (Foreword by)

Overview

Beyond Agreement addresses the thorny question of how to make interreligious dialogue productive when the religious differences are so large that finding common ground seems unlikely. The book offers a way to think about interreligious dialogue that allows people to stay committed to their own truth as they have come to know it while being open to learning from other religions. It then outlines a way for Christian theologians to enter into a profitable dialogue with the beliefs and traditions of other religions by presenting practical steps to follow in order to keep the dialogue productive and respectful of similarities and differences among religions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442206427
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/16/2010
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Scott Steinkerchner, OP, is associate director of the Center of Dominican Studies at Ohio Dominican University.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Chapter 1 The Problem and Promise of Interreligious Dialogue 1

Notes 15

Chapter 2 The Relativity of Certainty 19

The Context 20

Language-Games and Family-Resemblance 20

Meaning 24

World-Pictures 29

Doubts and Mistakes 36

Certainty 40

How Similar Must World-Pictures Be? 45

Scientific Evidence 47

Notes 51

Chapter 3 Talking Across Certainties 57

The Context 57

Letting the Difference Make a Difference 61

Working with Multiple World-Pictures 65

Religions and World-Pictures 71

How Different Can World-Pictures Be? 75

Engaging in Dialogue across Disparate World-Pictures 80

Other Interpretations of Wittgenstein 94

Notes 104

Chapter 4 A Model Dialogue Across Disparate World-Pictures 111

The Tao Te Ching 112

The Tao 112

Effective Leadership 116

Wu-wei 118

The Gospel of John 120

The Arrest (18:1-12) 122

Before the High Priest (18:13-28) 127

Pilate's Trial (l8:28b-19:16) 131

Jesus' Resurrection 140

Conclusions 143

Notes 144

Chapter 5 Principles and Practices of Comparative Theology 149

How to Engage in Comparative Projects 164

Beyond these Comparisons, What Might We Gain? What Do We Risk? 175

Notes 178

Bibliography 181

Index 187

About the Author 191

Editorial Reviews

Beyond Agreement is certainly original; it presents a Wittgensteinian approach to comparative theology and applies it by way of a reading of the Gospel of John through the Tao notion of wu wei. The text reads very well, the writing is clear, and the argument proceeds logically to its conclusion. This is solid scholarship on interreligious dialogue.

Thomas Cattoi

Steinkerchner makes both a vigorous and a rigorous defense of comparative theology: he shows how and why we can and should learn from those whom we hold to be fundamentally wrong. Whether one is convinced by his case or not, following him as he carefully constructs it, is both thoroughly engaging and enlightening.

Paul F. Knitter

This is a carefully argued challenge to those who find religious differences problematic. The author turns difference into an opportunity for learning, self-transformation, and critical engagement, helpfully furthering the project of comparative theology.

Gavin D'Costa

This is an excellent book that takes up the challenge of whether and how to pursue interreligious dialogue when one has no interest in changing one's religious affiliation because one knows his own faith tradition is right. Steinkerchner wisely suggests that the purpose of dialogue is not agreement, lest it be defeated from the start, but to find a rapport and understanding that lies beyond agreement. Drawing on examples from Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity, this engaging book is a creative contribution to an area of increasing interest and concern—dialogue or lack thereof among the religions of the world.

Donald Goergen

This book joins the growing rank of distinguished works on religious pluralism, interreligious dialogue, and comparative theology and will be a necessary reading for those interested in these challenging themes.

Peter C. Phan