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One of the most discussed topics of our time is Christianity's relation to other religions. In this important new book, one of Britain's leading contemporary theologians develops a sharp and penetrating critique of the pluralist position. In the tradition of Alasdair MacIntyre and John Milbank, D'Costa shows that too often it masks a secularizing agenda, traceable to the worst apects of Enlightenment modernity. Even by its own criteria, pluralism does not succeed. D'Costa demonstrates this by exploring the 'meeting of the religions' in its leading exponents from Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. He discovers the influence of Western modernist thought or else a veiled exclusivism not only in Hick, Knitter, Cohn-Sherbok and Panikkar, but even in Radhakrishnan and the Dalai Lama. He then goes on to establish an alternative Trinitarian approach to interreligious prayer and tolerance, drawing on recent discussions of other religions as 'vehicles of salvation'. The final section of the book represents the first major systematic theological study of interfaith prayer.
An engaging and accessible introduction to Christianity’srelationship with other world religions, addressing the questionsof why the reality, and vitality, of other religions has become achallenge, and showing how Christianity is equipped to deal withreligious plurality at both the doctrinal and social level. Timely and accessible, this book tackles the question of whythe reality, and vitality, of other religions has become achallenge for Christianity Makes a decisive contribution to debates about the clashbetween Islam and the West, arguing that the major threat toreligious freedoms come from secularism, and that Islam andChristianity both have the resources to develop a vibrant andplural...
In this timely study Gavin D'Costa explores Roman Catholic doctrines after the Second Vatican Council regarding the Jewish people (1965 - 2015). It establishes the emergence of the teaching that God's covenant with the Jewish people is irrevocable. What does this mean for Catholics regarding Jewish religious rituals, the land, and mission? Catholic Doctrines on the Jewish People after Vatican II establishes that the Catholic Church has a new teaching about the Jewish people: the covenant made with God is irrevocable. D'Costa faces head-on three important issues arising from the new teaching. First, previous Catholic teachings seem to claim Jewish rituals are invalid. He argues this is not th...
There is no single standard textbook that outlines the official Roman Catholic theological position in relation to other religions which then explicates this orientation theologically and phenomenologically in relation to the four main religions of the world and the flowering of new religious movements in the west. The present project will cover this serious gap in the literature. After outlining the teaching of Vatican II and the magisterium since then (chapter one), each subsequent chapter will be divided equally between (a) an exposition of the history and features of the religion or movement being studied; and (b) a serious theological analysis of these features, showing how these religions do have elements in common, as well as how they differ in fundamental ways from Catholicism.
Gavin D'Costa breaks new ground in this authoritative study of the Second Vatican Council's doctrines on other religions, with particular attention to Judaism and Islam. The focus is exclusively on the doctrinal foundations found in Lumen Gentium 16 that will serve Catholicism in the twentyfirst century. D'Costa provides a map outlining different hermeneutical approaches to the Council, whilst synthesising their strengths and providing a critique of their weaknesses. Moreover, he classifies the different authority attributed to doctrines thereby clarifying debates regardingcontinuity, discontinuity, and reform in doctrinal teaching.Vatican II: Catholic Doctrines on Jews and Muslims expertly ...
This imaginative study rethinks the nature of theology and its role in universities. The author sketches out a fascinating project using examples from US and UK institutions, whereby theology becomes a transformative force within universities. Imagines what a Christian university, in which all disciplines have been theologized, would look like. Feeds into discussions about the religious identity of denominationally-linked colleges and universities. Forms part of a wider attempt to imagine a vital public role for theology that enables it to serve both the Church and the wider community.
Leading authors in politics, law, sociology and theology discuss what the proper place of religion is in a liberal state.