From the early days of the Christian faith, the relationship between the twin realities of Jesus' historical particularity and universal presence has been a theological puzzle. The apparent dichotomy of the two leads Christ-followers to ponder some difficult questions: Who is Jesus is to those who do not know him? Who are those who do not know him to those who do? Do "we" who follow Jesus meet him in "those" who do not? Contemporary debates concerning Christian theology of religions have been profoundly shaped by Alan Race's threefold typology of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. Scholars increasingly recognize the insufficiency of this typology, and a consensus about how to replace it remains elusive. With The Unique and Universal Christ, Drew Collins argues that an alternative theological approach to the relation between the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the universality of God's presence can be gleaned from the theology of Hans Frei and his fivefold typology of Christian theology. With Frei's model as an interpretive lens, Collins examines the various ecumenical movements of the twentieth century and their conversations around theological authority in connection to Christianity's relationship with other faith traditions. A new paradigm emerges for conceptualizing Christian faith amid the rich diversity of our world. Reconsidered in this light, the Christian theology of religions ceases to be a combative venture that pits a Christian faith committed to the scandalous particularity of Jesus Christ's identity as the Son of God against a faith open to the possibility of encountering the divine presence in the world at large. Instead, it becomes a mode of exploration, hoping for such encounters with the universal presence of Christ because of the uniqueness of Jesus.

We have more options and choices to make about how we want to live than ever before. But where do we turn for guidance as we choose how to live? Are we so focused on choosing what we want for our lives that we have forgotten to ask ourselves what is a good life and what is worth wanting? In What is the Good Life?: Perspectives from Religion, Philosophy, and Psychology, leading scholar-practitioners from nine different traditions--religious and secular--each offer an account of the good life. These accounts explore the distinct visions construed by their respective traditions from within a shared threefold heuristic schema of agency, circumstance, and affect. Presented in this way, the existential concern and normative force of these traditions are brought to the fore, inviting readers to explore the commonality of this central question across a variety of traditions alongside their unique and distinct responses. What is the Good Life? offers readers a conceptual guide for navigating our pluralistic world and specific examples of the visions of the good life they might encounter. Although these traditions provide decidedly different accounts of the good life, they are united in their capacity to make claims about the world and our place in it--normative claims, with ineradicable existential force--with which we might grapple, provided we are given the opportunity. And it is the invitation to take up such first-person grappling that this book provides.