An Intra-Lutheran, Lakatosian Approach to World Religions

This draft piece tries to bring together my thoughts on rethinking the issue of inter-faith or inter-religious dialogues. I call it inter-tradition dialogue to distinguish it from the othertwo.

Occasional Papers in the Study of Islam and Other Faiths No. 5, Melbourne: MST Press, 2015

The concept of a multifaith society has flooded public discourse in recent decades. Multifaith groups have been formed for the purpose of better social relationships. Governments have developed policies on multifaith issues in order to enhance social harmony. In such a context, individual faiths have recognised the need to articulate views of other faiths in ways that are fresh, creative - and, especially, open and inclusive. If one examines the rapid emergence of the multifaith narrative since the last quarter of the 20th century, one could easily get the impression that multifaith societies are a new development. Nothing could be further from the truth. Multifaith societies have existed from time immemorial. The Bible testifies to the emerging faith of the early Hebrews rubbing shoulders - and at times clashing weapons - with neighbouring faith groups, such as Canaanites, Philistines and so forth. Ancient empires such as the Greeks and Romans endorsed their own pantheon of gods, while at the same time ruling over other communities who followed significantly different expressions of faith. So the vast Roman Empire ruled over Druids in Britain, pagan worshippers of various forms in the Germanic lands, Jews in Palestine, Christians across the Roman domains, and many others. Meanwhile, further east, the various Chinese dynasties down the millennia have included within their realms followers of faiths as diverse as Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Traditional Chinese Religion. They not only rubbed shoulders but also shared significant features and mutually influenced each other in most creative and interesting ways. So the simultaneous study of multiple faiths has not only great currency in terms of present interest and relevance but it also speaks into past history in important ways. Public policy makers today can learn important lessons from the history of interaction among the faiths. In such a context, this present volume is relevant not only to current political and social discourse but also to studies of the past.

Stato Chiese E Pluralismo Confessionale, 2011

Fusion of Horizons, 2024

The FABC recommends the exercise of dialogue in three different areas of life in Asia: (i) dialogue with the Asian poor, (ii) intercultural dialogue and (iii) interreligious dialogue. Interreligious dialogue, which is the subject of our discussion, is classified into four types: Dialogue of life, Dialogue of action, Dialogue of theological exchange and Dialogue of religious experience. Employing the analytical and critical methodology, this paper aims at investigating various paradigms of interreligious dialogue that have been practiced down through the centuries, in view of developing a most feasible paradigm, based on the writings of Hans-Georg Gadamer. Accordingly, we have critically analysed the following models: (i) the ideal of both/and (Hegel), and (ii) the ideal of either/or (Kierkegaard), (iii) the metaphor of two books (Bonaventure), (iv) the intercultural hermeneutics (Schleiermacher and Gadamer), and (v) the fusion of horizons (Heidegger and Gadamer). Finally, our discussions boil down to Hans-Georg Gadamer's understanding of "fusion of horizons" and its implications in interreligious dialogue. According to Gadamer, "to acquire a horizon means that one learns to look beyond what is close at hand." A genuine fusion of horizons through dialogue always involves rising to a higher universality that overcomes our own particularity and that of the other. A fusion of horizons thus envisages respect for the differences of different religions. Here, one does not try to acquire mastery over the other and other religions based on our pre-judgments, rather strive to partake in the other and share the other's alterity. In order to foster interreligious dialogue as "fusion of horizons, we have to shun "ethnocentrism," and cultivate certain essential qualities like (i) openness to change, (ii) interreligious consciousness, and (iii) empathetic understanding. To conclude, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in "Dialogue and Proclamation," advocates the people living in religious pluralistic societies to engage in meaningful dialogue for "the integral development and liberation of all people."

Dialogue and Universalism, 2016

In this paper the author explores the conditions under which inter-religious dialogue can be a transformative process not only of the interlocutor's understanding of the beliefs and values of the religiously different other but also her attitude toward him or her. The proposition elucidated and defended is that, to be transformative, the dialogue should be God-centered, objective, empathic, and it should be grounded in the values of equality, respect, and toleration. The paper is composed of two parts. The first is devoted to an analysis of the concept of dialogue in general and of inter-religious dialogue in particular: What are the structural elements of dialogue between (a) individuals and (b) religious communities? The second part is devoted to an analysis of the conditions under which inter-religious dialogue can be a transformative process. The focus in this analysis is on the following question: What does it take for a person who has grown up in a certain religion, who understands herself and in fact lives from the standpoint that religion, to discern the religious truth proclaimed by another religion, to comprehend it, appreciate it, assent to it, and incorporate it in the structure of her mind or worldview? We may construct a formidable strategy, one that wins the blessing of reason, still, the question remains: How can a community, which tends to be exclusivist in its religious orientation, change its understanding of God or attitude toward the religious different other?

" Our generation has arrived at the threshold of a new era in human history: the birth of a global community. Modern communications, trade and international relations, as well as the security and environmental dilemmas we all face, make us increasingly interdependent. No one can live in isolation. Thus, whether we like it or not, our vast and diverse human family must finally learn to live together. Individually and collectively we must assume a greater sense of Universal Responsibility. " – The XIVth Dalai Lama " No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions. " Abstract This paper covers many topics relating to the evolution of religions, their interactions (both negative and positive) with each other, and the challenge of finding unity amidst the diversity of the world's diverse cultural and religious traditions – past, present, and future. Topics covered include: religion as a force for war or peace; a spectrum of possible perspectives within all religions; changing male-female images of divinity in different religions over time; mythology as a link between our outer lives in the world and the inner life of the spirit; how scriptures of all religions support the " golden rule " as well as " peace " ; principles for conducting interreligious / interfaith dialogue between peoples of different faiths; the first versus second axial age of the world's religions; key interfaith organizations and some of their declarations; how to create an interfaith organization within one's own local community; progress in interfaith dialogue replacing interreligious conflict and war; increasing numbers of people encountering other religions in their spiritual journeys; alternative scenarios (worst case, best case, and most probable case) on the future of religions and their interfaith interactions; and final conclusions. Résumé Cet article couvre plusieurs sujets relatifs à l'évolution des religions, leurs interactions (négatives et positives) entre elles, et le défi de découvrir l'unité à travers la diversité des multiples traditions culturelles et religieuses-passé, présent, et future. Les sujets abordés incluent : la religion comme force pour la guerre et la paix; un spectre de perspectives possibles à l'intérieur de toutes les religions; les images changeantes male-femelle de la divinité dans différentes religions à travers le temps; la mythologie comme lien entre nos vies extérieures dans le monde et la vie intérieure de l'esprit; la façon dont les écritures de toutes les religions soutiennent la « règle d'or » aussi bien que la « paix »; les principes pour diriger un dialogue interreligieux / multiconfessionnel entre les peuples de différentes croyances; le premier versus le second âge axial des religions du monde; des organisations multiconfessionnelles clé et certaines de leurs déclarations; comment créer une organisation multiconfessionnelle à l'intérieur de sa communauté; le progrès dans le dialogue multiconfessionnel pour remplacer les conflits interreligieux et la guerre; l'accroissement du nombre de personnes rencontrant d'autres religions dans leur parcours spirituel; les scénarios alternatifs (pire cas, meilleur cas, et cas le plus probable) sur le future des religions et leurs interactions multiconfessionnelles; et les conclusions finales.

Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society, 2020

Empirical research on the practice of interreligious dialogue delivers inspiring results for a practical-theological reflection. The contribution thus discusses the question of what theological and social science research can learn from each other. The author presents four exemplary theses on the Catholic understanding of the nature, aims and methods of interreligious dialogue, and puts them into a mutual dialogue with the empirical results of this study. The results demonstrate that interreligious dialogue only exists within different social and political contexts that should be recognised theologically as “incarnated” forms of dialogue. The diverse social and political functions of interreligious dialogue can be interpreted as dimensions of the evangelizing mission of the Church. In turn, social science research on interreligious dialogue should take “inside” dimensions into academic consideration such as aspects of theological self-understanding, the question of truth or the miss...

International Journal of Public Theology, 2010

In an age in which religion is a burning issue in the geo-political sphere, the need for peoples of different religions to engage in inter-faith dialogue may seem clear; what is less clear is whether there is legitimacy for and an imperative to members of individual faith communities to engage with the religious other on the exclusive grounds of their individual faith. This article thus seeks to advocate that theology done in the service of individual faiths needs, as a priority, to engage in legitimizing and necessitating dialogue with the religious other as the religious other. The article considers the grounds on which exclusivist religious people can undertake inter-faith dialogue. In looking to the need to attend to particularity and the genuine otherness of the religious other, the article advocates that faiths should begin to understand what is internal to their traditions that makes inter-faith dialogue a necessity for intense and particular religious self-identity. Members of faith communities need to be legitimated on terms internal to their community and by leaders of their community to engage in dialogue with the other: they need to know not only how to engage with the other but also why they engage with the other. In considering the particular tradition of Christianity, the article attends to these themes by seeking hints from Scripture and Christ that a Christian should engage with the religious other in order to be more intensely Christian.