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 Atonement and Comparative Theology, 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.

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 Atonement and Comparative Theology, 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.

About the Contributor(s): Catherine Cornille is the Newton College Alumnae Chair of Western Culture and Professor of Comparative Theology at Boston College. She is the author of The Im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue (2008) and editor of The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Interreligious Dialogue (2013). Cornille is also founding and managing editor of the series Christian Commentaries on Non-Christian Sacred Texts. Jillian Maxey is a doctoral candidate in Comparative Theology at Boston College, working in the area of Jewish-Christian Dialogue.

Synopsis: The challenges and changes that take place when religions move from one cultural context to another present unique opportunities for interreligious dialogue. In new cultural environments religions are not only propelled to enter into dialogue with the traditional or dominant religion of a particular culture; religions are also invited to enter into dialogue with one another about cultural changes. In this volume, scholars from different religious traditions discuss the various types of dialogue that have emerged from the process of acculturation. While the phenomenon of religious acculturation has generally focused on Western religions in non-Western contexts, this volume deals predominantly with the acculturation in the United States. It thus offers a fresh look at the phenomenon of acculturation while also lifting up an often implicit or ignored dimension of interreligious dialogue. Endorsements: "In a world becoming increasingly pluralistic, culturally and religiously, this book provides a generous assembly of leading scholars addressing the invariable need for effective and enduring interreligious and intercultural dialogue. This book is a rich resource for students and scholars . . . both in the academy and in different religious circles." -Marinus C. Iwuchukwu, Duquesne University "This fourth volume in Cornille's impressive series on interreligious dialogue demonstrates the extent to which religious identity is not only conditioned by cultural realities, but how very often it is self-consciously responsive to them. This relationship . . . drives the reader to interrogate the most basic categories we use and reify despite the ample historical and contemporary evidence of cultural change, adaptation, and growth in identity." -John N. Sheveland, Gonzaga University "Timely and informative, this book discusses interreligious dialogue in the contexts of the search for cultural identity, assimilation and acculturation, and religious pluralism in the United States. Written by experts in the field, it] is valuable for both scholars and general readers. I highly recommend it." -Kwok Pui-lan, Episcopal Divinity School Author Biography: Catherine Cornille is Professor of Comparative Theology at Boston College. She is author of The Im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue (2008) and managing editor of the series Christian Commentaries on Non-Christian Sacred Texts. She is editor of Song Divine (2006), Many Mansions? (2002), and A Universal Faith? (1992). Stephanie Corigliano is a doctoral candidate in Comparative Theology at Boston College, working in the area of Hindu-Christian dialogue.

Description: Catherine Cornille, Boston College David Tracy, University of Chicago Divinity School Werner Jeanrond, University of Glasgow Marianne Moyaert, University of Leuven John Maraldo, University of North Florida Reza Shah-Kazemi, Institute of Ismaili Studies Malcolm David Eckel, Boston University Joseph S. O'Leary, Sophia University John P. Keenan, Middlebury College Hendrik Vroom, VU University Amsterdam Laurie Patton, Emory University Endorsements: ""The implications of understanding between the religions are as unclear as it is clear that such understanding is badly needed. What is intriguing about this volume is not only that it enters this still widely uncharted territory but that many of its contributions explore which light the continental tradition of hermeneutic philosophy might shed on this field."" --Perry Schmidt-Leukel University of Muenster, Germany ""This is a book packed with expertise and insight. In light of the complexities of interreligious dialogue, the authors use the creativity of hermeneutical understanding to walk a necessary tight-rope: discovering those meanings that cut across religious traditions while respecting the particularity and non-negotiable otherness that exists in every religious tradition. The savvy editors have crafted a substantive volume that gives hope for true dialogue in our world of almost bewildering religious diversity."" --Anthony J. Godzieba Villanova University About the Contributor(s): Catherine Cornille is Associate Professor of Comparative Theology at Boston College. She is the author of The Im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue (2008) and editor of Many Mansions? Multiple Religious Belonging and Christian Identity (2002) and Song Divine: Christian Commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita (2006). She is managing editor of the series Christian Commentaries on Non-Christian Sacred Texts. Christopher Conway is a doctoral candidate in Comparative Theology at Boston College, working in the area of the Hindu-Christian dialogue.

Description: The fair and equitable distribution of wealth and the cultivation of proper attitudes toward material goods and economic development concern all religious traditions alike. In so far as the dynamics of the world market or the global economic system transcend the competency and control of any particular religion, dialogue between religions, as well as between religionists and economists becomes both possible and necessary. This volume brings together religious thinkers from various traditions as well as economists to reflect on the possibilities and the challenges of such dialogue. Endorsements: ""This book can't be more relevant because of the subject and the perspective it gives. But more than that, the occasion of its publication is more than opportune, at a moment where economics is the great concern for the whole world and threatens everyday life all around the globe. The relevant contribution religions can bring to that is organized with competence and creativity by Catherine Cornille and Glen Willis. It is mandatory reading for those working with economics and also for those who work with religious social thought of any confession and tradition."" -Maria Clara Bingemer Professor of Systematic Theology Catholic University of Riode Janeiro, Brazil ""At last a book in which scholars of religion and economics reach beyond their respective disciplines to address structural, political, and personal ways to understand and surmount financial hardship at both local and national levels. This collection of essays leads the way for a multidisciplinary dialogue not only on questions of economic development but also on the dangers of free market theism and the value of interrogating the moral underpinnings of market realities."" -Andy Rotman Smith College ""This probing study of the interaction between religion and economics is urgently needed. It makes a unique contribution. Not since the work of Max Weber has the question received the intellectual attention it clearly deserves in our world marked by deep inequalities between rich and poor. This book raises challenging questions and proposes stimulating solutions that will demand equally serious exploration in the years ahead."" -David Hollenbach, SJ Boston College About the Contributor(s): Catherine Cornille is Associate Professor of Comparative Theology at Boston College. She is author of The Im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue (2008), and editor of Song Divine: Christian Commentaries on the Bhagavadgita (2006), Criteria of Discernment in Interreligious Dialogue (Cascade Books, 2009), and Interreligious Hermeneutics (Cascade Books, 2010). She is managing editor of the series Christian Commentaries on Non-Christian Sacred Texts. Glenn Willis is a doctoral candidate in Comparative Theology at Boston College, working in the area of Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

These superb essays explore the phenomenon of individuals who identity themselves as followers of more than one religious tradition. The results prove that the late Joseph Kitagawa was prescient when he cautioned that the world is "Easternizing" as much as it is "Westernizing," and that "modernization" is a far from adequate key to name what is happening in world religious history in our age.

Description: CONTRIBUTORS: Mustafa Abu-Sway, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem Asma Afsaruddin, Indiana University Reinhold Bernhardt, Basel Univeristy David Burrell, CSC, University of Notre Dame Catherine Cornille, Boston College Gavin D'Costa, University of Bristol David M. Elcott, New York University Joseph Lumbard, Brandeis University Jonathan Magonet, Louis Baeck Institute, London John Makransky, Boston College Anantanand Rambachan, St. Olaf College Deepak Sarma, Case Western University Judith Simmer-Brown, Naropa University Mark Unno, University of Oregon Endorsements: ""Discernment as the evaluation of one religious community by another is a critical question in contemporary interfaith dialogue theory and practice. How do the members of different religions judge the relative worth of other religious traditions? And how does this judgment connect with the complicated religious lives of modern people? The question of religious discernment has become much more pressing in an age of the globalization of religion along with economic and cultural exchange. What is so refreshing about these essays is that the authors do not shy away from the fact that every religious tradition does have ways of judging the relative merits (and demerits) of the religions of other people . . . As the Kongzi (Confucius) taught so long ago, we need to find harmony but not uniformity. These essays help us on this path."" --John Berthrong Boston University ""This is serious and careful work, a rich collection yielding honest and provocative lessons by religious scholars challenged to identify the criteria for critical judgments they employ when addressing different understandings within their traditions and, particularly, across religious boundaries. They contribute significantly to contemporary reflections on the dynamics of interreligious exchange from a diversity of perspectives. Here five major traditions are represented, but not uniformly so. Their insightful, at times formidable, even counter-intuitive suggestions are instructive to all who wish to understand more clearly diverse religious perspectives on dialogue."" Georgetown University"" --John Borelli Georgetown University About the Contributor(s): Catherine Cornille is Associate Professor of Comparative Theology at Boston College. She is the author of The Im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue (2008) and editor of Many Mansions? Multiple Religious Belonging and Christian Identity (2002) and Song Divine: Christian Commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita (2006). She is managing editor of the series Christian Commentaries on Non-Christian Sacred Texts.

In the face of competing religious claims in our shrinking world, many turn to dialogue as a hopeful way of fostering understanding and reducing violence. But why does actual dialogue so often fail? This provocative essay investigates the possibilities and limits of interreligious dialogue. By showing the significant obstacles for dialogue within Christianity, the book also proposes ways in which these obstacles may be overcome from within. Major themes include Humility, Conviction, Interconnection, Empathy, and Generosity.