Interfaith Studies
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Recent papers in Interfaith Studies
This book explores the unique usage of pictorial art to undertake interreligious dialogue. It presents a practical guide to help educators learn and teach an effective and enjoyable interreligious dialogue within their academic settings.... more
After Moses had completed his term of service that he had pledged to his father in law, he was overcome by homesickness. On his way to Egypt he enters the sacred vale of Tuwa seeking warmth and guidance from its inhabitants. Instead, he... more
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This piece offers a Muslim perspective on the new interreligious engagement statement from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
This article critically analyses the principles of interfaith marriage in the light of the classical discourse of Islam. The fundamental concern of the paper is to study the issue of interfaith marriage in which one of the spouses to such... more
Review:Gavin D’Costa (ed.), The Catholic Church and World Religions: A Theological and Phenomenological Account’, Modern Believing, 55:3, pp. 314-7.
Today Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam have the largest populations among world religions. These three worldviews have made monumental contributions in shaping the visual arts of human civilization. This paper serves to provide a brief... more
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, due 2016 Explores the relationship and dialogue between religion and atheism, focusing upon Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and other, e.g. Pagan, traditions in their encounter with secularism and atheism. It... more
Co-edited with Elizabeth Harris and Shanthikumar Hettiararchi, Brill, Currents of Encounter Series, 2016
Stereotypes and hostilities abound when it comes to Christians and Satanists. This prevents mutual understanding, and an exploration of areas where members of these very different religious groups might find agreement. What follows is an... more
Reclaiming ancient Middle Eastern spiritual-pharmacopeias, agricultural and architectural environmental engineering practices (such as tree amber for wounds or the Medieval Iraqi aquifers—qanats—still in practice today) can be one... more
This paper, “Hindu View of Christ”, by Dr. Anand Amaladass, S.J., friend and academic colleague, was presented at the International Conference, ‘Hinduism and Christianity: Prospects for Inter-Religious Dialogue’, at the Edoardo Agnelli... more
This paper, concluded on Aug. 11, 2020, is a summary of my work with Professor Gift Siromoney on the invention of the Brāhmī script, up till the time of his death in 1988, as well as my independent discovery, decades later, of where and... more
L’étude retrace les difficultés d’accès au concile Vatican II (1959-1965) pour les interlocuteurs juifs, qui contactent le Vatican au sujet du schéma De Judaeis. Ces difficultés s'expliquent par la forte asymétrie des relations, les... more
The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of strategies used by Isiolo Interfaith Network in the Promotion of Peace in Isiolo Central Sub County of Isiolo County. Four research objectives were formulated to guide the study... more
The biography of Sri Swami Satchidananda, depicts the life of one of the first Yoga masters to bring the classical science of Yoga to the western world. Satchidananda was born as "Ramaswamy" into a deeply spiritual family, steeped in the... more
The author explores the differences in the ways of knowing God, with a particular focus on the rational proofs of God’s existence as perceived by noteworthy authors from Christian and Hindu traditions. He deepens the study with insights... more
This is a workshop I delivered at RSIS, NTU, Singapore. It is one of a series of 3 on the introduction to the study of religion. A video of the session can be found at: https://logosdao.wordpress.com/.
Muslim religious leaders and scholars lectured on the higher goals of peace in Islam by defining the goals with scripture and hadith, with prophetic sayings and actions, and with attempting to demonstrate that peace is a pillar of the... more
Religious communities play an important role in fostering justice and peace in societies. Religious belief can form an inspirational basis for peace and highlights the need for dialogue to build peace. A key issue for careful reflection... more
“Part II: J. Edgar Bruns’ Christian Buddhism!” is the third, and concluding, section of “Buddhist Influence in the Gospels: Two Catholic Views – Part I: Charles Francis Aiken” and the “Interlude: How Crypto Buddhism Won the West!” ¶In... more
Amidst on-going conflict that has divided people in Mindanao for hundreds years, some recent interfaith dialogue initiatives have started seeding peace by narrowing the gap between Muslims and Christians. This study examines these... more
Poverty: The Curse and the Blessing—Jewish, Christian and Muslim Perspectives
View this journal online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/MUWO w il e y o n li n e li b ra ry / jo u rn a l/ m u w o
ABSRACT India had been renowned in its affairs of promoting ethnic tolerance over ages. History provides us with instances supporting this claim. Monarchs like Ashoka and Akbar had been indulged in propagating secularism in Indian society... more
This study stages an analysis of religious politics in Dar es Salaam and Tanzania from below. At its heart is an original account of Muslim political mobilisation in Tanzania that foregrounds the everyday lives of urban actors in... more
In this paper it is argued that the typology in the theology of religions is not usefully constructed in strictly demarcated boundaries, but that the fluidity of the boundaries needs to be recognised. Employing previously expounded ideas... more
This study of why Buddhist missionary outreach went “underground” when it reached the West – the five Greek kingdoms of the West mentioned by the Buddhist king Aśoka in his 13th Rock Edict – is key to understanding some startling facts... more
Dr. Christian Lindtner:– Gematria is a word, a concept that is searched for in vain in the usual conversational lexicons and encyclopedias; and if one finally finds something under gematria in Bible manuals and the like, then the... more
This third book of my studies on the relation of Buddhism to Christianity is now in print, as well as offered here in PDF form. Its title is a purposeful inversion of the title of the late Indo-Spanish Catholic theologian Raimon... more
The conclusion of my book, ’The Unknown Buddha of Christianity’, the heart of which has been the revelation of the remarkable part played by the Royal Library of Alexandria, Egypt, in the origin, first, of Mahāyāna Buddhism, then,... more
Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886) is an important Hindu spiritual personality from the nineteenth century Bengal who is best known for his pluralistic approach to religions, which is based on his claim to have practically experienced the same... more
Parallels between the spiritual paths of Theravāda Buddhists and Discalced Carmelites have long been observed, although not satisfactorily explained. This study contributes to objectively clarifying the similarities and differences... more
The expression ‘Mythicism’ has come to be used to identify the negative side of the debate whether ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ was or was not a historical person. This book examines five major types of challenges to Jesus’ historicity: ¶ I. In... more
There is a proverb in India to the effect that one should not inquire too deeply into the origin of rishis (God-men) or rivers. This book, ‘Buddhism’s Relation to Christianity’, however, seeks to plumb the very depths of the great puzzle... more
20 More Religions & Faith Practices, Volume 2 is an introductory course on twenty of the world's most practiced and most misunderstood religions. Part of a two-volume series, introducing the reader to forty of the World's religions and... more
In this article it is argued that the Qiblah passages in the Qur’an, which are commonly understood as referring to the direction of the prayer, are directly engaging with and interpreting the Shema passages in Deuteronomy and their... more
The Nigerian government's inability to defeat Boko Haram is the result of a misplaced security policy that dismisses Shekau as ignorant and clueless. Most policymakers, analysts and academics do not understand the socio-cultural,... more
Argues that biblical and theological resources call Christians to a theology of radical openness to religious Others, especially through the motif of hospitality.
An exploration of method and theory in the study of religion looking at phenomenology, anthropology, theology, etc. as well as interreligious studies, the Insider/Outsider debate and such themes.
A Vision of Peace explores the emergence of the interfaith movement and the role that Sri Swami Satchidananda played in its evolution. A pioneer in the movement, he participated in and organized interfaith gatherings and seminars; he... more
TITLE The 1893 Russian Publication of Baha’u’llah’s Last Will and Testament: An Academic Attestation of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Successorship AUTHORS Christopher Buck Independent Scholar, Pittsburgh Youli Ioannesyan Institute of... more