Christian Perspectives on Transforming Interreligious Encounter: Essays in Honor of Leo D. Lefebure
Ebook
Christian Perspectives on Transforming Interreligious Encounter underscores the urgency of interreligious dialogue for contemporary society, aiming to foster interfaith understanding, justice, and peace. The initial section focuses on novel approaches to engaging with the religious Other through non-Christian sacred texts. Contributors explore the Jewish-Christian relationship, offer Christian interpretations of Hindu, Buddhist, and Confucian scriptures, and discuss the Qurʾān's potential to refine Christian theology. The dangers of comparative theology are warned against, and alternative perspectives, such as Asian liberation theology, are proposed for situating religion critically, as well as share the insights on Christian engagement with Zen practice. The second part explores the transformation of key Christian doctrines through interreligious encounters. Contributors delve into topics such as the conditions for faith and divine revelation, formulating a Christology in dialogue with Asian traditions, and understanding the Spirit as a source of questioning. They investigate the communitarian dimension of religious faith, discuss the Catholic Church's stance on interreligious dialogue, examine the role of biblical hermeneutics in decolonizing theology, and reflect on the existential threat of ecological destruction. The third part pays tribute to Leo Lefebure, emphasizing his impact on Catholic theology and comparative theology, and concludes with Lefebure's epilogue, providing him with the last word.
Foreword: Archbishop Felix Machado
Acknowledgements
Poem: Leo Lefebure, Stephen Lefebure
Introduction: Ways to Read the Sacred Writings of Other Religions. Peter C. Phan
Part I: Ways of Encountering the Religious Other
Chapter 1: The Christian Bible and Interreligious Relations: A Conversation with Leo D. Lefebure, John T. Pawlikowski
Chapter 2: A Christian Reading of the Bhagavad Gita: Relationship and Service with God and with Others, Kristin Johnston Largen
Chapter 3: Dorothy Day and Pațācārā: Two Women and Their Long Loneliness. James L. Fredericks
Chapter 4: Christian Readings of the Confucian Classics. Thierry Meynard
Chapter 5: A Christian’s Reading of the Jewish Scriptures. Mary C. Boys
Chapter 6: A Christian Reading of the Qurʾān. Jason Welle
Chapter 7: Can Christians Learn from Qur’anic Christology? Leo Lefebure’s Theology of Judaism and Islam, Klaus von Stosch
Chapter 8: Empire, Ethno-Nationalist Frontiers, and Theologies: Working Interreligiously for Just Peace. Jude Lal Fernando
Chapter 9: A Christian Encounter with Zen: Toward a Mysticism of Engagement. Ruben L.F. Habito
Part II: Issues in Interreligious Encounter
Chapter 10: Speaking of the Ineffable: Divine Revelation and Faith, Peter Feldmeier
Chapter 11: Jesus Christ as the Embodiment of Divine Wisdom: An Asian Interreligious Reading, Anh Q. Tran, SJ
Chapter 12: The Holy Spirit of Truth and Grace, Dale T. Irvin
Chapter 13: Communities of Faith and Salvation, Marc A. Pugliese
Chapter 14: The Catholic Church and Interreligious Dialogue: An Emphasis on Spiritual Accompaniment, John Borelli
Chapter 15: Religion and Violence: The Role of Biblical Hermeneutics in Decolonial Theology, with a Focus on the African Biblical Studies. Debora Tonelli
Chapter 16: The Buddha, the Christ, and the Amazonian Chief, Erin Lothes Biviano
Part III: Leo Lefebure, A Man of Interreligious Encounter
Chapter 17: The Wise Man from The West and A Pontifex Building Bridges Between East And West: An Appreciation of Leo D. Lefebure. Peter C. Phan
Epilogue, Leo D. Lefebure
About the Contributors
This book is a must read for Christians interested in crossing religious boundaries, following in the footsteps of Lefebure. The contributor list reads like a Who's Who in Interreligious Relations. There is literally something for everyone: biblical studies, peace studies, comparative theology, decolonial theology, Christology, ecclesiology, pneumatology, ethics, hermeneutics, spirituality, mysticism, etc. It's a book written with the reader and teacher in mind.
A rich collection of essays that capture the wisdom and insights of interreligious engagement by eminent scholars, both Catholic and Protestant—a must-read for students and scholars in religious and theological studies.
Almost sixty years after the conciliar declaration Nostra Aetate inaugurated a new era in interreligious relations, the importance of dialogue and exchange between traditions is as great as ever. Over the last few decades, theologian Leo Lefebure has worked tirelessly for greater interreligious understanding, starting from his own Catholic roots, yet always remaining open to the elements of truth present in non-Christian religions. This volume honors Leo Lefebure’s legacy and vision by bringing together seventeen scholars, whose contributions echo and amplify his search for wisdom across the range of Abrahamic and dharma traditions. Ranging from textual analysis to constructive speculation and pastoral reflection, these essays simultaneously instruct, challenge, and inspire.
Christian Perspectives on Transforming Interreligious Encounter is a magnificent volume, graced by expert and dedicated reflections on encounter as best practiced now and as moving forward in our century. Together, these essays on interreligious learning and dialogue create a fitting tribute to Leo Lefebure, who has always exemplified such learning and dialogue, sharing his wisdom with students and friends across the globe. The opening poem by Leo’s brother, plus Peter Phan’s closing tribute to Lefebure’s living and searching wisdom, plus Lefebure’s own concluding response perfectly close the circle: from the person and priest and scholar to his many academic and dialogical contributions, and in the end, personal testimonies to his lifelong commitment to interreligious wisdom and love.
This is a beautiful, informative, and instructive collection of essays written by top scholars and edited by Peter C. Phan and Anh Q Tran to honor the work of Leo Lefebure. These rich and enlightening essays engage in interreligious encounters and the religious other to provide depth and gravity to this important area of study in an increasingly globalizing world. This illuminating book can be adapted as a textbook to be used in classrooms, study groups and in faith communities.
The incredible breadth, depth, and richness of this work in different areas of religious pluralism and interreligious dialogue certainly make it second to none in the field. It is a veritable feast that nourishes and fills the mind and soul of anyone interested in interreligious learning and dialogue, much like the achievements of the scholar it celebrates! May this "feast" be offered as a powerfully nourishing pedagogical tool in years to come to everyone engaged in various fields related to religious pluralism and diversity.
- Title: Christian Perspectives on Transforming Interreligious Encounter: Essays in Honor of Leo D. Lefebure
- Authors: Peter C. Phan, Anh Q. Tran, Felix Machado, Leo Lefebure, John Borelli, Mary C. Boys, Peter Feldmeier, Jude Lal Fernando, James L. Fredericks, Ruben L. F. Habito, Dale T. Irvin, Kristin Johnston Largen, Stephen Lefebure, Erin Lothes Biviano, Thierry Meynard, John T. Pawlikowski, Marc A. Pugliese, Klaus von Stosch, Debora Tonelli, Jason Welle
- Publisher: Lexington Books
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666959994, 9781666959987, 1666959987, 1666959995
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666959994
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-12-11T07:08:08Z
Peter C. Phan is the inaugural holder of the Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University.
Anh Q. Tran is associate professor of historical and systematic theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University.