In this book Paul O. Ingram adds his voice to a long list of writers seeking to relate Christian tradition to the hard realities of this post-Christian age of religious and secular pluralism. As a Lutheran, Ingram thinks grace flows over this universe like a waterfall. So he brings Christian mystical theology into a discussion of the meaning of grace. Alfred North Whitehead's philosophical vision provides a language that serves as a hermeneutical bridge by which historians of religions can interpret the teachings and practices of religious Ways other than their own without falsification, and by which theologians can appropriate history-of-religions research as a means of helping Christians advance in their own faith journeys. The purpose of the journey of faith is what Whitehead called "creative transformation." The contemporary theological tradition that has most systematically and coherently followed Whitehead's lead in its reflection on non-Christian Ways is process theology, which is perhaps the only liberal or progressive theological movement now active in the twenty-first century.

Buddhist/Christian dialogue has rarely touched on its interaction with science, yet its importance has immense implications. Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in an Age of Science offers a fresh and exciting view on the ideas, themes, and people engaged in the three-way dialogue between Christianity, Buddhism and the natural sciences. Ingram's comprehensive yet accessible scholarship is uniquely solid in both religion and science, and has the gift of making complex theories understandable. Providing these three different perspectives will be useful for anyone interested in the relationship between religion and science.

Buddhist/Christian dialogue has rarely touched on its interaction with science, yet its importance has immense implications. Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in an Age of Science offers a fresh and exciting view on the ideas, themes, and people engaged in the three-way dialogue between Christianity, Buddhism and the natural sciences. Ingram's comprehensive yet accessible scholarship is uniquely solid in both religion and science, and has the gift of making complex theories understandable. Providing these three different perspectives will be useful for anyone interested in the relationship between religion and science.

While process philosophers and theologians have written numerous essays on Buddhist-Christian dialogue, few have sought to expand the current Buddhist-Christian dialogue into a trilogue by bringing the natural sciences into the discussion as a third partner. This was the topic of Paul O. Ingram's previous book, Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in an Age of Science. The thesis of the present work is that Buddhist-Christian dialogue in all three of its forms-conceptual, social engagement, and interior-are interdependent processes of creative transformation. Ingram appropriates the categories of Whitehead's process metaphysics as a means of clarifying how dialogue is now mutually and creatively transforming both Buddhism and Christianity. (James Clarke & Co 2011)

In Passing Over and Returning Paul O. Ingram describes his particular dialogue with the world's religions, illustrated by his experience of passing over into Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism, Judaism, and Islam, and by his return to his home as a Lutheran Christian. While religious diversity is not new, neither are the questions posed by religious diversity. What is new is that more and more people are actively engaged with the world's religions because more and more people are willing to be informed by insights found in religious traditions other than their own. This is particularly true among progressive Christians. But openness does not necessarily mean rejecting one's own tradition, even though persons sometimes convert to another tradition or combine their original religious identity with the identity of another tradition. Whether one returns to the home of one's own faith tradition after passing over, or assumes a dual religious identity, or converts to another tradition, all persons engaged in interreligious dialogue undergo processes of creative transformation. "This book actualizes what others have pointed toward abstractly. . . . Its commitment to Luther becomes its commitment to the truth that is found beyond Luther, beyond Christianity, and especially in the other great religious traditions. It does not speak abstractly of openness to other traditions, but concretely of what one learns when one crosses over to view reality from specific traditions. And it richly actualizes the return to the Lutheran confession. May this become a model for Christian theologies of the future." --John B. Cobb Jr., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology "Paul Ingram is in fine form once again. Bold yet nuanced, Ingram grounds his theological reflections directly in theory and sacred text, but the indirect influence of his own passionate journey is also unmistakably present, making this a compelling, challenging, and ultimately rewarding read." --Mark Unno, Head of Religious Studies Department, University of Oregon Paul O. Ingram is Professor Emeritus of History of Religions at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington. He is he author of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in an Age of Science (2008), The Process of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (Cascade Books, 2009), and Theological Reflections at the Boundaries (Cascade Books, 2012).

Description: The interdependence of boundary questions and the experience of cognitive dissonance reveal that knowledge in all fields of inquiry is always incomplete and tentative. The issues are particularly acute for Christian theological reflection. Ingram illustrates the importance of boundary questions and cognitive dissonance as a means of creatively transforming contemporary Christian theological reflection through dialogue with the natural sciences and the world's religions, particularly Buddhism, filtered through the lenses of Whiteheadian process philosophy. Endorsements: ""In a religiously plural world, theologians have been struggling to recognize this pluralism as they do their theological work. It happens less often that historians of religion articulate their theology out of their work and their findings. In this book, directly, clearly, and boldly, Paul Ingram does so, sometimes breaking new ground in the process."" -John B. Cobb Jr Professor Emeritus Claremont School of Theology ""Paul Ingram is one of relatively few Christian systematic theologians to synthesize reflections from his work in interreligious dialogue (especially the Buddhist-Christian exchange) and from his study of the ongoing exchange between philosophically oriented natural scientists and scientifically minded Christian philosophers/theologians. The present book represents the latest stage in his thinking on these matters. As Ingram himself comments, the experience of cognitive dissonance in comparing and contrasting quite different points of view on foundational issues may be often quite unsettling, but it seems to be the only way to keep growing intellectually, morally, and spiritually."" -Joseph A. Bracken, SJ Emeritus Professor of Theology Xavier University ""In Theological Reflections at the Boundaries, Paul Ingram challenges his readers to ask of themselves, 'Who do you say that I am?' in relation to the questions of Christian identity in a global society of religious pluralism, in a world increasingly defined by science and technology, and in a deep manner in terms of what it really means to be a human being. Most of all, though, he does this by asking himself this question, and by so doing, shares his journey and points the way."" -Mark Unno Associate Professor of East Asian Religions University of Oregon About the Contributor(s): Paul O. Ingram is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of Wrestling with God (Cascade Books, 2006) and The Process of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (Cascade Books, 2009).

Description: While process philosophers and theologians have written numerous essays on Buddhist-Christian dialogue, few have sought to expand the current Buddhist-Christian dialogue into a ""trilogue"" by bringing the natural sciences into the discussion as a third partner. This was the topic of Paul O. Ingram's previous book, Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in an Age of Science. The thesis of the present work is that Buddhist-Christian dialogue in all three of its forms--conceptual, social engagement, and interior--are interdependent processes of creative transformation. Ingram appropriates the categories of Whitehead's process metaphysics as a means of clarifying how dialogue is now mutually and creatively transforming both Buddhism and Christianity. Endorsements: ""The Process of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue is many things: Reflections on the historical process of Buddhist-Christian dialogue, the author's own intellectual process of evolving dialogue, and the vision of dialogue informed by a Whiteheadian view of process. The multifaceted complexity and richness of the work, however, issues from Paul Ingram's wholehearted engagement with dialogue, not just as a scholar, but as a person. In plumbing the very depths of his own faith, he has been inexorably impelled to examine his life within the larger scope of human and cosmic diversity, to reach beyond any sort of dogmatically predefined boundaries. He is a scholar of Japanese Pure Land thought, East Asian Buddhism, and religion and science, but it is here in The Process of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue that he truly reveals the deep hues of his kaleidoscopic lifework."" --Mark Unno, University of Oregon ""Ingram offers an insightful, well-structured, and panoramic view of the field of Buddhist-Christian studies, mapping out the conceptual, socially-engaged, and interior dimensions of the dialogue that continue to enrich and expand the horizons of both traditions."" --Ruben L. F. Habito, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University About the Contributor(s): Paul O. Ingram is Professor of Religion Emeritus at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in an Age of Science, Wrestling with God, and Wrestling with the Ox: A Theology of Religious Experience.

"Wrestling with the Ox" is a novel approach to religious pluralism, exploring the major themes which all religions have to confront. A Christian scholar of Buddhism, Paul O. Ingram uses the ten Ox-Herding pictures of Buddhist tradition as symbols of the realities with which we must all wrestle in order to live meaningful religious lives.

Description: Wrestling With God is concerned with conceptualizing a Christian pluralist theology of religious experience primarily in dialogue with Buddhism, but also in conversation with Confucian, Daoist, Hindu, Jewish, and Islamic traditions as well as dialogue with the natural sciences. It is through such dialogue as a form of theological reflection that Christians can hope for the emergence of new forms of faith and practice that are relevant to the complexities of contemporary life. The author's style and openness make this accessible to the general reader as well as the scholar. Endorsements: ""As a longtime participant in the ongoing Buddhist-Christian dialogue and as a student of the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, Paul Ingram is well equipped to mediate a ""trialogue"" between the worldviews of Christianity, Buddhism, and contemporary natural science. Written in a conversational rather than a heavily academic style, Wrestling with God challenges Christians, Buddhists, and natural scientists to reach out to one another for assistance in dealing with the complex ethical issues of our times."" --Joe Bracken, Professor of Theology Emeritus, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio About the Contributor(s): Paul O. Ingram is Professor of Religion Emeritus at Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, Washington). He is the author of Wrestling with the Ox, The Modern Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, and The Dharma of Faith.