Abstract
Exploring Islam: Theology and Spiritual Practice in America
by Salih Sayilgan
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2021. 251 pp. $36.00. ISBN 978-1-5064-6802-0.
This volume is a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the foundations of the Islamic faith, including its history, theology, and spiritual practice. It also deals with issues such as jihad, the status of women, and the various sectarian divisions in Islam. The most distinctive feature of this work is its analysis of the lived experience of Muslims in modern American life. It explores questions such as: What are the foundations of Islam? How do Muslims relate to and interpret the Qur’an? Who is the Prophet Muhammad? What does Shari’a law really mean? What are the major themes of Islamic theology? What are the theological and political issues that led to divisions among Muslims? Do Muslims and Christians believe in the same God? How do Muslims practice Islam in America? What are the challenges and opportunities for American Muslims? In addressing these questions, Sayilgan offers perspectives that are scholarly, judicious, and engaging.
Freedom: Christian and Muslim Perspectives
edited by Lucinda Mosher
Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2021. 264 pp. $49.95. ISBN 978-1-6471-2128-0.
Freedom, far from straightforward as a topic of comparative theology, has long been an important topic for reflection by both Christians and Muslims, discussed in both the Bible and the Qur’an. Each faith has a different way of engaging it, shaped by the political context of their beginnings. The New Testament emerged in a region under occupation by the Roman Empire, whereas the Qur’an was first received in tribal Arabia, a stateless environment with political freedom. Contributors consider how Christian and Muslim faith communities have historically addressed many facets of freedom, including God’s freedom, human freedom to obey God, autonomy versus heteronomy, autonomy versus self-governance, freedom from incapacitating addiction and desire, hermeneutic or discursive freedom vis-à-vis Scripture and tradition, religious and political freedom, and the relationship between personal conviction and public order. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of how these two communities define freedom, how it is treated in both religious and secular texts, and how to make sense of it in the context of contemporary life.
Doing the Work of Comparative Theology: A Primer for Christians
by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020. 321 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8028-7466-5.
In a world that is more religiously diverse than ever before, coworkers and neighbors may well be adherents of other faiths. But how many of us grasp the similarities and differences between the major world religions? Comparative theology is one increasingly important way to bridge this gap. Kärkkäinen introduces the nature and work of comparative theology, then delves into a detailed doctrine-by-doctrine comparison of Christian teachings with those of historical and contemporary Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. With every doctrine, he first presents a summary of consensual Christian belief and then orients readers to the distinctive teachings of other faith traditions, highlighting parallels and differences. The volume is ideal for students, ministers, instructors, and lay people interested in interfaith dialogue.
Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology
by Catherine Cornille
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2019. 224 pp. $44.95. ISBN 978-1-1195-3522-5.
This volume offers a synthesis of and a blueprint for the emerging field of comparative theology. It discusses various approaches to the field, the impact of religious views of other religions on the way in which comparative theology is conducted, and the particularities of comparative theological hermeneutics. It also provides an overview of the types of learning and of the importance of comparative theology for traditional confessional theology. Though drawing mainly from examples of Christian comparative theology, the book presents a methodological framework that may be applied to any religious tradition. It offers a basis for scholars to position their own work within the broader field of comparative theology and is an essential resource for anyone interested in theology conducted in dialogue with other religious traditions.
Atonement and Comparative Theology: The Cross in Dialogue with Other Religions
edited by Catherine Cornille
Comparative Theology: Thinking Across Traditions, 9. New York: Fordham University Press, 2021. 320 pp. $35.00. ISBN 978-0-8232-9434-3.
The central Christian belief in salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remains one of the most intractable mysteries of Christian faith. Throughout history, it has given rise to various theories of atonement, many of which have been subject to critique as they no longer speak to contemporary notions of evil and sin or to current conceptions of justice. One of the important challenges for contemporary Christian theology thus involves exploring new ways of understanding the salvific meaning of the cross. In this volume, thirteen Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African religions reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement by pointing to analogous structures of sin and salvation, drawing attention to the scandal of the cross as seen by the religious other, and re-interpreting aspects of the Christian understanding of atonement. Together, they illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection.
Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
by Rachel S. Mikva
Boston: Beacon, 2020. 264 pp. $28.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8070-5187-0.
Scripture’s abiding relevance can inspire great goodness, such as welcoming the stranger and extending compassion for the poor. But its authority has also been wielded to defend slavery, marginalize LGBTQ individuals, ignore science, and justify violence. Grounded in close readings of Scripture and tradition in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, Mikva shows us that the Abrahamic religions have always been aware of their tremendous power both to harm and to heal. Thus, they have transmitted their sacred stories along with built-in tools—interpretive traditions—to do the necessary work of taking on dangerous religious ideas and fostering self-critical faith. By exploring the themes of Scripture, election, and reward and punishment, Mikva examines how the interpretive methodologies of these religions have identified and grappled with their perilous power and positive potential, valuing multiple perspectives and recognizing ongoing rhythms of change.
Doing Theology with Humility, Generosity, and Wonder: A Christian Theology of Pluralism
by Damayanthi Niles
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2020. 150 pp. $16.99. ISBN 978-1-5064-3359-2.
This book looks at how Christians can think about their own theology in a manner that will allow them to be more open to interfaith dialogue and to see that conversation as essential to what it means to be a Christian. For much of history, Christian theology has been used to undergird and justify imperial power. This has required a theological construction that advances a vision of belief that stands above and against the world and other faiths, or that at the very least acts as the one vision under which all others must unite. Empire and the colonizing enterprise do not lend themselves well to plural ways of understanding Christian faith, let alone a plurality of religious faiths. Niles contends that to take plurality seriously, we need a Christian theology that sees itself as a participant in that plurality.
The Faiths of Others: A History of Interreligious Dialogue
by Thomas Albert Howard
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2021. 376 pp. $38.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-300-24989-7.
In recent decades, organizations committed to interreligious or interfaith dialogue have proliferated, both in the Western and non-Western worlds. Why? How so? And what exactly is interreligious dialogue? These are the touchstone questions of this book, the first major history of interreligious dialogue in the modern age. The author narrates and analyzes several key turning points in the history of interfaith dialogue before examining, in the conclusion, the contemporary landscape. While many have theorized about and practiced interreligious dialogue, few have attended carefully to its past, connecting its emergence and spread with broader developments in modern history. Interreligious dialogue, grasped in light of careful, critical attention to its past, holds promise for helping people of diverse faith backgrounds to foster cooperation and knowledge of one another while contributing insight into contemporary, global religious pluralism.
Reformed Public Theology: A Global Vision for Life in the World
edited by Matthew Kaemingk
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2021. 336 pp. $29.99. ISBN 978-1-5409-6197-6.
The Reformed tradition in the twenty-first century is increasingly diverse, dynamic, and deeply engaged in a wide variety of global and public issues, from the arts and business to immigration and race to poetry and politics. This book brings together the insights of a diverse group of leading Reformed thinkers to offer a contemporary vision of the depth and diversity of the Reformed faith and its global public impact. Nicholas Wolterstorff, Makoto Fujimura, Bruce Ashford, John Witvliet, Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, and James K. A. Smith are among the twenty-six contributors.
The Struggle Over Class: Socioeconomic Analysis of Ancient Christian Texts
edited by G. Anthony Keddie, Michael Flexsenhar III, and Steven J. Friesen
Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplement Series, 19. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. 472 pp. $69.00. ISBN 978-1-62837-415-5.
This volume brings together seventeen scholars from the fields of New Testament and early Christianity to examine Christian texts in light of the category of class. Historically rigorous and theoretically sophisticated, the collection presents a range of approaches to, and applications of, class in the study of the epistles, the gospels, Acts, apocalyptic texts, and patristic literature. The volume challenges both scholars and students to articulate their own positions in the ongoing scholarly struggle over class as an analytical category.