Overview
A leading scholar of religion applies a new method of interfaith understanding to Buddhist-Christian comparative theology providing rich new insights for students and scholars alike.
“The Celestial Web is a gem of deep scholarship and innovative thinking, a must-read for both seasoned scholars and beginning students in comparative religion.”—Peter C. Phan, Ignacio Ellacuría Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University
“With great theological and buddhological erudition, Perry Schmidt-Leukel demonstrates concretely how his fractal approach to religious difference might point to the complementarity between Christianity and Buddhism, thus establishing a firm basis for interreligious learning.”—Catherine Cornille, professor, comparative theology, Boston College
“Perry Schmidt-Leukel has been one of the world’s leading scholars in comparative studies and Buddhist-Christian dialogue. In The Celestial Web, he puts it all together. Without blurring real differences and emphases in both traditions, he shows how a deep analysis reveals heretofore unheeded themes and underlying streams of thought in each that are reflected in the religious other. There is internal diversity within religions and in the religious believer. Appreciating this diversity makes religious life robust and provides the resources to more fully appreciate and learn from other religious traditions. This is simply one of the best books in comparative religion and Buddhist-Christian dialogue I’ve ever read.”—Peter Feldmeier, PhD, Murray/Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Toledo
In his ground-breaking Gifford Lectures, published as Religious Pluralism & Interreligious Dialogue, Perry Schmidt-Leukel introduced his “fractal” theory of religions, challenging the tendency to distinguish religious traditions as discrete entities without acknowledging the wide variety within them, varieties essentially reproduced in different religious traditions.
After offering an introduction to this new methodology to comparative religion, Schmidt-Leukel, in The Celestial Web, applies this method to a comparison between Buddhism and Christianity. Some of the points of comparison include their respective approaches to the world, ultimate reality, the “dark side” of human existence, and salvation/liberation in terms of the figures mediating it.
Stereotypical approaches often treat these traditions as opposites, for instance, positing that Buddhism embraces an impersonal absolute, whereas Christianity affirms the primacy of one’s relationship with a personal God. Yet the fractal approach, which examines “intra-religious” varieties within the two traditions, reveals surprising points of congruence.
Perry Schmidt-Leukel is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology, and Senior Professor in the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics.” University of Münster. He is the author of a dozen books in German and English, including his Gifford Lectures (Orbis): Religious Pluralism & Interreligious Dialogue.
Cover design: Michael Calvente
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