Baby Krishna, Infant Christ

Baby Krishna, Infant Christ
Author: Kristin Johnston Largen
Publisher: Orbis Books
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2011
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1608330184

A ground-breaking work in comparative theology. This stimulating work of comparative theology brings into conversation the stories of the infancy and youth Jesus with that of Krishna in the Hindu tradition. The early chapters tell the stories, first of Krishna and then of Jesus, and then describe the role each plays as savior for the faithful of that tradition. Chapter 1: Comparative Theology and Learning about Jesus Chapter 2: A Savior in Disguise the Stories Chapter 3: Krishna and His Followers How He Saves Chapter 4: Immanuel the Stories Chapter 5: Jesus and His Disciples How He Saves Chapter 6: All Grown Up Krishna and Jesus as Adults The text is not only readable but engaging, particularly when it explores the playfulness of the young Krishna and compares Krishna's early years with those of Jesus as described in such non-canonical writings as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Through this comparison Largen demonstrates the unique role Jesus' nature as both human and divine has in our Christian understanding of salvation.

The Kingdom of Children

The Kingdom of Children
Author: R. L. Stollar
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2023-11-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467466050

Empower the children in your faith community. Children are marginalized in our churches, dismissed into Sunday school or silenced for lengthy sermons aimed at adults. R. L. Stollar has spent his career advocating for the rights of children, and he thinks it’s time to stop talking down to children and start listening to them. In The Kingdom of Children, Stollar proposes a liberation theology of the child. Stollar begins with a theoretical framework that centers children in our theology and ecclesial life. Reframing biblical stories to center children, we can see how the binding of Isaac reflects the spiritual effects of child abuse, or how children like Miriam can serve as leaders in their communities. Using scriptural examples as well as real studies of children’s spiritual lives, Stollar asserts that children can be priests, prophets, and theologians in our communities. Each chapter concludes with activities and discussion points for introducing the book’s concepts to children. The Kingdom of Children is a must-read for youth ministers, parents, and anyone who works with children. By embracing the liberation of children, we can avoid stunting their spiritual growth and passing on trauma. And when we lift up children—truly value and learn from them—we build up the kingdom of God here in our communities.

Strangers in This World

Strangers in This World
Author: Hussam S. Timani
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2015
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1451472978

Immigration is one of the most hotly debated topics today. But, the question involves more than politics and emotion; it includes such critical issues as law, justice, human rights, human dignity, and freedom. Strangers in This World is a collection that brings together an international consortium of scholars to reflect on the religious, political, anthropological, and social realities of immigration through the prism of the historical and theological resources, insights, and practices across an array of religious traditions. The volume, reflecting the diversity of religious cultures, is nevertheless unified in arguing that immigration is an important aspect of the major religions and is found at their core. The contributors unfold this important dimension of the religious traditions and explore the ways that the theme of immigration connects to vital points of theological reflection and practice in Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Native American religious traditions. At root, the volume is about our collective journey together as immigrant peoples who have stories and settlements to share, as well as challenges and struggles to overcome, that may be faced through the resources our many faiths offer.

How to Do Comparative Theology

How to Do Comparative Theology
Author: Francis X. Clooney
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2017-12-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0823278425

For a generation and more, the contribution of Christian theology to interreligious understanding has been a subject of debate. Some think of theological perspectives are of themselves inherently too narrow to support interreligious learning, and argue for an approach that is neutral or, on a more popular level, grounded simply open-minded direct experience. In response, comparative theology argues that theology, as faith seeking understanding, offers a vital perspective and a way of advancing interreligious dialogue, aided rather than hindered by commitments; theological perspectives can both complement and step beyond the study of religions by methods detached and merely neutral. Thus comparative theology has been successful in persuading many that interreligious learning from one faith perspective to another is both possible and worthwhile, and so the work of comparative theology has become more recognized and established globally. With this success there has come to the fore new challenges regarding method: How does one do comparative theological work in a way that is theologically grounded, genuinely open to learning from the other, sophisticated in pursuing comparisons, and fruitful on both the academic and practical levels? How To Do Comparative Theology therefore contributes to the maturation of method in the field of comparative theological studies, learning across religious borders, by bringing together essays drawing on different Christian traditions of learning, Judaism and Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, the wisdom of senior scholars, and also insights from a younger generation of scholars who have studied theology and religion in new ways, and are more attuned to the language of the “spiritual but not religious.” The essays in this volume show great diversity in method, and also—over and again and from many angles—coherence in intent, a commitment to one learning from the other, and a confidence that one’s home tradition benefits from fair and unhampered learning from other and very different spiritual and religious traditions. It therefore shows the diversity and coherence of comparative theology as an emerging discipline today.

Learning Interreligiously

Learning Interreligiously
Author: Francis X. Clooney SJ
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2018-06-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506440134

Learning Interreligiously offers a series of about one hundred short pieces, written online between 2008 and 2016. They are meant for a wide range of readers interested in interreligious dialogue, interreligious learning, and the realities of Hindu-Christian encounter today, and are rich in insights drawn from teaching, travels in America and India, and the author’s research on sacred texts. The author, a Catholic priest who has spent more than forty years learning from Hinduism and observing religion as a plus and minus in today’s world, has much to share with readers. Some pieces were prompted by items in the news, some go deeper into traditions and probe the rich Scriptures and practices going back millennia, some seek simply to provoke fresh thinking, and others invite spiritual reflection. The book is divided into several parts so that readers can focus on individual events that made the news or on longer term and more concerted study. Familiar texts such as the Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, the Qur’an, and key passages from the New Testament will be considered for their spiritual possibilities. Readers will find much here to learn from and respond to as they too consider religion in today’s world.

The Craft of Innovative Theology

The Craft of Innovative Theology
Author: John Allan Knight
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2022-01-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 111960155X

A comprehensive collection of resources showing students of theology how to prepare and write creative research-oriented material The Craft of Innovative Theology: Argument and Process delivers a thorough examination of the method of producing and writing creative theological theses and projects, explaining to students how to write elegant, innovative research-oriented articles. Through a collection of papers written by distinguished scholars, the text exhibits numerous examples of well-executed creative writing on topics as varied as theodicy and evolution, and artificial intelligence and baptism. Each article includes an introduction by the editor that serves to guide the student through the material and elucidates what makes the work stand out as exceptional. The articles are also annotated to assist with the appreciation of the methodology and style used by the author. The Craft of Innovative Theology assists theology students in improving their research writing to a point where they’ll be ready for a Masters’ thesis or PhD dissertation, and is an excellent resource for a research methods course in a graduate program. The works incorporated by the editors include: A thorough introduction to God and the Incarnation, including knowing God through religious pluralism An exploration of God and church, including racial stigma and the southern Baptist public discourse in the twentieth century, and the appropriateness of baptizing artificial intelligence A discussion of God and the world, including where humanity has come from and where we’re going, and the challenges posed by biological evolution to Christian theology A treatment of God and ethics, including sin and the faces of responsibility Perfect for students of postgraduate theology and research methods courses, The Craft of Innovative Theology: Argument and Process will also earn a place in the libraries of students in courses that prepare them to write a Masters’ thesis in theology or to begin shaping their PhD dissertation topic.

The Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations

The Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations
Author: Chad M. Bauman
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 957
Release: 2020-12-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000328880

The historical interplay of Hinduism as an ancient Indian religion and Christianity as a religion associated (in India, at least) with foreign power and colonialism, continues to animate Hindu–Christian relations today. On the one hand, The Routledge Handbook of Hindu–Christian Relations describes a rich history of amicable, productive, even sometimes syncretic Hindu–Christian encounters. On the other, this handbook equally attends to historical and contemporary moments of tension, conflict, and violence between Hindus and Christians. Comprising thirty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors, this handbook is divided into seven parts: Theoretical and methodological considerations Historical interactions Contemporary exchanges Sites of bodily and material interactions Significant figures Comparative theologies Responses The handbook explores: how the study of Hindu–Christian relations has been and ought to be done, the history of Hindu–Christian relations through key interactions, ethnographic reflections on current dynamics of Hindu–Christian exchange, important key thinkers, and topics in comparative theology, ultimately providing a framework for further debates in the area. The Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations is essential reading for students and researchers in Hindu–Christian studies, Hindu traditions, Asian religions, and studies in Christianity. This handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as anthropology, political science, theology, and history.

Children in Early Christian Narratives

Children in Early Christian Narratives
Author: Sharon Betsworth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2015-04-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 0567657353

Sharon Betsworth examines the narratives, parables, and teachings of and about children in the gospels and the literature of Early Christianity. Betsworth begins with a discussion of the social-historical context of children and childhood in the first century before discussing the role of children in all four gospels. She shows that for Mark and Matthew, children are integral to understanding each evangelist's perspective on the reign of God and on Jesus' identity in each Gospel. In the Gospel of Luke the childhood of Jesus is shown to be crucial to the broader themes of the Gospel. In the Gospel of John, Betsworth examines the metaphorical use of the word 'children' looking at 'children of light' and of 'darkness'. She then explores stories of Jesus' childhood in the non-canonical Infancy Gospels of James and Thomas, as well as the childhood of his mother, Mary in the latter shedding light upon views of children, discipleship, and the person of Jesus in early christianity and in the ancient world more generally.

Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture

Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture
Author: Lavanya Vemsani
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2016-06-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Krishna is a central figure in Hinduism, a religion that has been a fundamental force for thousands of years. This accessible encyclopedia covers texts, practices, scholarship, and arts related to Krishna from the earliest known sources on. As Eastern religions and related practices such as yoga become increasingly popular, there is a need for resources that explain where these practices come from and what they mean. This is one of those works. Krishna is central to Hindu philosophy, theology, art, architecture, and literature, and an understanding of Krishna will give students greater understanding of the role of Hinduism around the world. Yet this isn't just a book on religion. The encyclopedia also provides insights into Indian and world history and into contemporary concerns, fostering respect for religious and cultural diversity. Entries on a wide range of subjects related to Krishna cover India and other places where major Krishna religious centers and temples are established worldwide. Articles draw from classical Indian sources dating back as far as 1300 BCE and from folk and worldwide literature, including mythology from Jainism and Buddhism. The book's alphabetical organization, cross references in each entry that highlight related entries and further readings, and topical and thematic lists will facilitate in-depth research.

An Introduction to Ecclesiology

An Introduction to Ecclesiology
Author: Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2021-03-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830841903

What is the church? In this thoroughly revised and updated text, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen provides a wide-ranging survey of ecclesiology in the midst of rapid developments and new horizons. This unique primer not only orients readers to biblical, historical, and contemporary ecclesiologies but also highlights contextual and global perspectives.