Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology

Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology 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. Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology begins with an elaboration on the basic distinction between confessional and meta-confessional approaches to comparative theology. The book also identifies and examines six possible types of comparative theological learning and addresses various questions regarding the relationship between comparative and confessional theology. Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology offers an important 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. -- Provided by publisher.

Intro; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1 Types of Comparative Theology; 1.1 Comparing Theologies; 1.2 Confessional Comparative Theology; 1.3 Meta-Confessional Comparative Theology; 1.4 Between Confessional and Meta-Confessional Comparative Theology; Notes; Chapter 2 The Status of Other Religions in Comparative Theology; 2.1 Exclusivism and Comparative Theology; 2.2 Particularism and Comparative Theology; 2.3 Closed Inclusivism and Comparative Theology; 2.4 Open Inclusivism and Comparative Theology; 2.5 Pluralism and Comparative Theology

2.6 Postcolonialism and Comparative Theology2.7 Dialogue between Perceptions of the Religious Other; Notes; Chapter 3 Comparative Theological Hermeneutics; 3.1 Understanding the Other through the Self; 3.2 Understanding the Self through the Other; 3.3 Participation and Understanding; 3.4 Dynamics of Interreligious Borrowing; 3.5 The Problem of Syncretism; 3.6 The Problem of Hegemony; Notes; Chapter 4 Types of Learning in Comparative Theology; 4.1 Intensification; 4.2 Rectification; 4.3 Recovery; 4.4 Reinterpretation; 4.5 Appropriation; 4.6 Reaffirmation; Notes

Chapter 5 Comparative Theology and Confess…