A fresh look at how Christians and Muslims speak of God Naming God entails labeling the ineffable. And yet the Bible itself oscillates between denying that God can be named and describing how God shows Godself anyway. In Naming God, the result of the 2021 Building Bridges Seminar—an international dialogue of Christian and Muslim scholars—the contributors examine the many ways Christians and Muslims refer to and describe God and the significance of naming God differently. This book provides guidance and materials that will benefit faith leaders as well as students and scholars of theology, dialogue theory, and conflict resolution. Nonspecialists will benefit from an entry-point into the theme of naming God, while specialists will be challenged to develop and deepen their thought on this important topic.

A fresh look at how Christians and Muslims speak of God Naming God entails labeling the ineffable. And yet the Bible itself oscillates between denying that God can be named and describing how God shows Godself anyway. In Naming God, the result of the 2021 Building Bridges Seminar—an international dialogue of Christian and Muslim scholars—the contributors examine the many ways Christians and Muslims refer to and describe God and the significance of naming God differently. This book provides guidance and materials that will benefit faith leaders as well as students and scholars of theology, dialogue theory, and conflict resolution. Nonspecialists will benefit from an entry-point into the theme of naming God, while specialists will be challenged to develop and deepen their thought on this important topic.

A record of the 2015 Building Bridges Seminar for leading Christian and Muslim scholars, this collection of essays explores the nature of divine and human agency through themes of creation's goal, humankind's dignity and task, and notions of sovereignty. Part I sets the context for the book with "Human Action within Divine Creation: A Muslim Perspective" by Mohsen Kadivar of Duke University and "On the Possibility of Holy Living: A Christian Perspective" by Lucy Gardner of Oxford University. The rest of the book includes paired essays-one from a Muslim perspective, one from a Christian perspective-that introduce scriptural material with commentary to aid readers in conducting dialogical study. In her conclusion, coeditor Lucinda Mosher digests the illuminating small-group conversations that lie at the heart of the Building Bridges initiative, conversations that convey a vivid sense of the lively, penetrating but respectful dialogue for which the project is known. This unique volume will be a valuable resource to scholars, students, and professors of Christianity and Islam.

A unique interreligious dialogue provides needed context for deeper understanding of interfaith relations, from ancient to modern times Freedom is far from straightforward as a topic of comparative theology. While it is often identified with modernity and even postmodernity, freedom has long been an important topic for reflection by both Christians and Muslims, discussed in both the Bible and the Qur'an. Each faith has a different way of engaging with the idea of freedom shaped by the political context of their beginnings. The New Testament emerged in a region under occupation by the Roman Empire, whereas the Qur'an was first received in tribal Arabia, a stateless environment with political freedom. Freedom: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, edited by Lucinda Mosher, considers how Christian and Muslim faith communities have historically addressed many facets of freedom. The book presents essays, historical and scriptural texts, and reflections. Topics include God's freedom, human freedom to obey God, autonomy versus heteronomy, autonomy versus self-governance, freedom from incapacitating addiction and desire, hermeneutic or discursive freedom vis-a-vis scripture and tradition, religious and political freedom, and the relationship between personal conviction and public order. The rich insights expressed in this unique interfaith discussion will benefit readers-from students and scholars, to clerics and community leaders, to politicians and policymakers-who will gain a deeper understanding of how these two communities define freedom, how it is treated in both religious and secular texts, and how to make sense of it in the context of our contemporary lives.

An important interfaith dialogue examines causes of global inequality and explores solutions. In A World of Inequalities: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, fourteen leading Christian and Muslim scholars respond to the global crisis of inequality by demanding and modeling interreligious dialogue. This volume takes an intersectional approach, examining aspects of global inequality including gender, race and ethnicity, caste and social class, economic and sociopolitical disparities, and slavery. Essays explore the roots of these realities, how they are treated in Christian and Muslim traditions and texts, and how the two faiths can work together to address inequality. A World of Inequalities brings readers into the conversation, inviting them to engage in a similar dialogue by offering pairs of essays alongside texts for close reading. Scholars, religious leaders, and students of theology and theological ethics will find this a useful resource to address this pressing issue.

Conventional wisdom would have it that believing in one God is straightforward; that Muslims are expert at monotheism, but that Christians complicate it, weaken it, or perhaps even abandon it altogether by speaking of the Trinity. In this book, Muslim and Christian scholars challenge that opinion. Examining together scripture texts and theological reflections from both traditions, they show that the oneness of God is taken as axiomatic in both, and also that affirming God's unity has raised complex theological questions for both. The two faiths are not identical, but what divides them is not the number of gods they believe in. The latest volume of proceedings of The Building Bridges Seminar-a gathering of scholar-practitioners of Islam and Christianity that meets annually for the purpose of deep study of scripture and other texts carefully selected for their pertinence to the year's chosen theme-this book begins with a retrospective on the seminar's first fifteen years and concludes with an account of deliberations and discussions among participants, thereby providing insight into the model of vigorous and respectful dialogue that characterizes this initiative. Contributors include Richard Bauckham, Sidney Griffith, Christoph Schwoebel, Janet Soskice, Asma Afsaruddin, Maria Dakake, Martin Nguyen, and Sajjad Rizvi. To encourage further dialogical study, the volume includes those scripture passages and other texts on which their essays comment. A unique resource for scholars, students, and professors of Christianity and Islam.

Conventional wisdom would have it that believing in one God is straightforward; that Muslims are expert at monotheism, but that Christians complicate it, weaken it, or perhaps even abandon it altogether by speaking of the Trinity. In this book, Muslim and Christian scholars challenge that opinion. Examining together scripture texts and theological reflections from both traditions, they show that the oneness of God is taken as axiomatic in both, and also that affirming God's unity has raised complex theological questions for both. The two faiths are not identical, but what divides them is not the number of gods they believe in. The latest volume of proceedings of The Building Bridges Seminar-a gathering of scholar-practitioners of Islam and Christianity that meets annually for the purpose of deep study of scripture and other texts carefully selected for their pertinence to the year's chosen theme-this book begins with a retrospective on the seminar's first fifteen years and concludes with an account of deliberations and discussions among participants, thereby providing insight into the model of vigorous and respectful dialogue that characterizes this initiative. Contributors include Richard Bauckham, Sidney Griffith, Christoph Schwoebel, Janet Soskice, Asma Afsaruddin, Maria Dakake, Martin Nguyen, and Sajjad Rizvi. To encourage further dialogical study, the volume includes those scripture passages and other texts on which their essays comment. A unique resource for scholars, students, and professors of Christianity and Islam.

A record of the 2015 Building Bridges Seminar for leading Christian and Muslim scholars, this collection of essays explores the nature of divine and human agency through themes of creation's goal, humankind's dignity and task, and notions of sovereignty. Part I sets the context for the book with "Human Action within Divine Creation: A Muslim Perspective" by Mohsen Kadivar of Duke University and "On the Possibility of Holy Living: A Christian Perspective" by Lucy Gardner of Oxford University. The rest of the book includes paired essays-one from a Muslim perspective, one from a Christian perspective-that introduce scriptural material with commentary to aid readers in conducting dialogical study. In her conclusion, coeditor Lucinda Mosher digests the illuminating small-group conversations that lie at the heart of the Building Bridges initiative, conversations that convey a vivid sense of the lively, penetrating but respectful dialogue for which the project is known. This unique volume will be a valuable resource to scholars, students, and professors of Christianity and Islam.

The Community of Believers offers the proceedings of the 2013 Building Bridges seminar, a dialogue between leading Christian and Muslim scholars under the stewardship of Georgetown University. These essays consider such themes as the Church as mystical body of Christ versus the Church as proclamation; the roots and uses of the term ummah and its development over time; Christian desires for communion, experiences of division, and approaches to unity; the history of Muslim disunity; twentieth-century Christian ecclesiology and its responses to a post-Christendom and post-Christian world; and the Arab Spring as a case study for contemplating accommodationism, conservatism, reformism, and fundamentalism as Muslim strategies to address the pressures of modernism. The volume also includes texts and commentaries used in the seminar's discussions of each topic and a concluding essay summarizing the tone, content, and style of participant exchanges throughout the seminar.

An important interfaith dialogue examines causes of global inequality and explores solutions. In A World of Inequalities: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, fourteen leading Christian and Muslim scholars respond to the global crisis of inequality by demanding and modeling interreligious dialogue. This volume takes an intersectional approach, examining aspects of global inequality including gender, race and ethnicity, caste and social class, economic and sociopolitical disparities, and slavery. Essays explore the roots of these realities, how they are treated in Christian and Muslim traditions and texts, and how the two faiths can work together to address inequality. A World of Inequalities brings readers into the conversation, inviting them to engage in a similar dialogue by offering pairs of essays alongside texts for close reading. Scholars, religious leaders, and students of theology and theological ethics will find this a useful resource to address this pressing issue.

Launched in 2002 by the Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Building Bridges Seminar has been under the stewardship of Georgetown University since 2012. The seminar gathers distinguished scholar-practitioners of Islam and Christianity for deep study and discussion of selected texts pertaining to an overarching theme. Sin, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation: Christian and Muslim Perspectives is a collection of essays and scripture passages studied at the 2014 Building Bridges seminar. Thoughtful and provocative, the book begins with the complete texts of the opening lectures by Veli-Matti Karkkainen and Jonathan A. C. Brown and contains essays by Christoph Schwobel, Ayman Shabana, Susan Eastman, Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Philip Sheldrake, and Asma Afsaruddin. Peppered throughout with relevant scripture passages and commentary, the text concludes with an extensive account of the informal conversations at the seminar that conveys the lively and respectful dialogue that is the hallmark of this meeting.

Prayer: Christian and Muslim Perspectives is a rich collection of essays, scriptural texts, and personal reflections featuring leading scholars analyzing the meaning and function of prayer within their traditions. Drawn from the 2011 Building Bridges seminar in Doha, Qatar, the essays in this volume explore the devotional practices of each tradition and how these practices are taught and learned. Relevant texts are included, with commentary, as are personal reflections on prayer by each of the seminar participants. The volume also contains a Christian reflection on Islamic prayer and a Muslim reflection on Christian prayer. An extensive account of the informal conversations at the seminar conveys a vivid sense of the lively, penetrating, but respectful dialogue that took place.

A unique interreligious dialogue provides needed context for deeper understanding of interfaith relations, from ancient to modern times Freedom is far from straightforward as a topic of comparative theology. While it is often identified with modernity and even postmodernity, freedom has long been an important topic for reflection by both Christians and Muslims, discussed in both the Bible and the Qur'an. Each faith has a different way of engaging with the idea of freedom shaped by the political context of their beginnings. The New Testament emerged in a region under occupation by the Roman Empire, whereas the Qur'an was first received in tribal Arabia, a stateless environment with political freedom. Freedom: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, edited by Lucinda Mosher, considers how Christian and Muslim faith communities have historically addressed many facets of freedom. The book presents essays, historical and scriptural texts, and reflections. Topics include God's freedom, human freedom to obey God, autonomy versus heteronomy, autonomy versus self-governance, freedom from incapacitating addiction and desire, hermeneutic or discursive freedom vis-a-vis scripture and tradition, religious and political freedom, and the relationship between personal conviction and public order. The rich insights expressed in this unique interfaith discussion will benefit readers-from students and scholars, to clerics and community leaders, to politicians and policymakers-who will gain a deeper understanding of how these two communities define freedom, how it is treated in both religious and secular texts, and how to make sense of it in the context of our contemporary lives.

This volume of the Building Bridges Seminar, Power: Divine and Human, Christian and Muslim Perspectives, comprises pairs of essays by Christians and Muslims which introduce texts for dialogical study, plus the actual text-excerpts themselves. This new book goes far beyond mere reporting on a dialogical seminar; rather, it provides guidance and materials for constructing a similar dialogical experience on a particular topic. As a resource for comparative theology, Power: Divine and Human is unique in that it takes up a topic not usually explored in depth in Christian-Muslim conversations. It is written by scholars for scholars. However, in tone and structure, it is suitable for the non-specialist as well. Students (undergraduate and graduate), religious leaders, and motivated non-specialists will find it readable and useful. While it falls solidly in the domain of comparative theology, it can also be used in courses on dialogical reading of scripture, interreligious relations, and political philosophy.

Death, Resurrection, and Human Destiny: Christian and Muslim Perspectives is a record of the 2012 Building Bridges seminar for leading Christian and Muslim scholars, convened by Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury. The essays in this volume explore what the Bible and Qur n-and the Christian and Islamic theological traditions-have to say about death, resurrection, and human destiny. Special attention is given to the writings of al-Ghazali and Dante. Other essays explore the notion of the good death. Funeral practices of each tradition are explained. Relevant texts are included with commentary, as are personal reflections on death by several of the seminar participants. An account of the informal conversations at the seminar conveys a vivid sense of the lively, penetrating, but respectful dialogue which took place. Three short pieces by Rowan Williams provide his opening comments at the seminar and his reflections on its proceedings. The volume also contains an analysis of the Building Bridges Seminar after a decade of his leadership.

This volume of the Building Bridges Seminar, Power: Divine and Human, Christian and Muslim Perspectives, comprises pairs of essays by Christians and Muslims which introduce texts for dialogical study, plus the actual text-excerpts themselves. This new book goes far beyond mere reporting on a dialogical seminar; rather, it provides guidance and materials for constructing a similar dialogical experience on a particular topic. As a resource for comparative theology, Power: Divine and Human is unique in that it takes up a topic not usually explored in depth in Christian-Muslim conversations. It is written by scholars for scholars. However, in tone and structure, it is suitable for the non-specialist as well. Students (undergraduate and graduate), religious leaders, and motivated non-specialists will find it readable and useful. While it falls solidly in the domain of comparative theology, it can also be used in courses on dialogical reading of scripture, interreligious relations, and political philosophy.

In this interfaith book Lucinda Mosher investigates different understandings of destiny, loss, death, and remembrance in America's many religions. Using stories and interviews with a variety of religious adherents and health professionals, the book wrestles with questions such as: how can our religion guide us in making decisions about certain kinds of medical treatment options? What religion-related issues would it be helpful for a healthcare provider to know? How do different religious traditions help manage our grief? In a globalized society religious traditions sit alongside each other as never before, and the need for religious literacy and multifaith chaplaincy is increasingly recognized. By looking at multireligious America, this book provides an essential exploration of different attitudes to death, helping members of all faith communities to become more literate with each other's religious traditions.

A comprehensive collection provides guidance and deep insight from a variety of experts in this emerging field The rapidly developing field of interreligious studies fosters scholarship engaging two or more religious traditions at a time. Inherently multidisciplinary, the field brings the academic consideration of religions into conversation with the humanities and social sciences, employing relational, intersectional, experiential, and dialogical methodologies as it examines the interrelationship of individuals and groups with differing alignments toward religion. Edited by Lucinda Mosher, The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies features an international roster of practitioners of or experts on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Ruism, Humanism, and African, North American, and South American Indigenous lifeways. Each author offers a unique perspective on the nature of this emerging discipline. This companion provides fifty thought-provoking chapters on the history, priorities, challenges, distinguishing pedagogies, and practical applications of interreligious studies. Anyone who seeks a deeper appreciation of this relatively new academic field will find it useful as a textbook or research resource.

Showing how spiritual care is practiced in a variety of different contexts such as healthcare, detention and higher education, as well as settings that may not have formal chaplaincy arrangements, this book offers an original and unique resource for Hindu chaplains to understand and practice spiritual care in a way that is authentic to their own tradition and that meets the needs of Hindus. It offers a Hindu perspective for all chaplains to inform their caregiving to Hindus. The book explores the theological and metaphysical roots of Hindu chaplaincy and puts forward the case for Hindu chaplaincy as a valuable spiritual practice. It covers the issues that arise in specific locations, such as college, healthcare, prison, military and the corporate sector. Chapters also examine Hindu pastoral care offered in other, 'non-chaplaincy' settings, such as LGBT centres, social justice work and environmental activism. Made up of some 30 essays by chaplains, scholars and other important voices in the field, Hindu Approaches to Spiritual Care provides spiritual caregivers with a comprehensive theoretical and practical approach to the relationship of Hinduism and chaplaincy.