Karl Barth and Comparative Theology
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Building on recent engagements with Barth in the area of theologies of religion, Karl Barth and Comparative Theology inaugurates a new conversation between Barth’s theology and comparative theology. Each essay brings Barth into conversation with theological claims from other religious traditions for the purpose of modeling deep learning across religious borders from a Barthian perspective. For each tradition, two Barth-influenced theologians offer focused engagements of Barth with the tradition’s respective themes and figures, and a response from a theologian from that tradition then follows. With these surprising and stirringly creative exchanges, Karl Barth and Comparative Theology promises to open up new trajectories for comparative theology.
Contributors: Chris Boesel, Francis X. Clooney, Christian T. Collins Winn, Victor Ezigbo, James Farwell, Tim Hartman, S. Mark Heim, Paul Knitter, Pan-chiu Lai, Martha L. Moore-Keish, Peter Ochs, Marc Pugliese, Joshua Ralston, Anantanand Rambachan, Randi Rashkover, Kurt Richardson, Mun’im Sirry, John Sheveland, Nimi Wariboko
Karl Barth and Comparative Theology offers an impressive range of engagement with Barth’s theology in conversation with different religious traditions... the volume will no doubt serve as an important conversation starter on how, with Barth’s help, we can think about and practice interreligious learning in our ever-increasingly pluralistic age.—The Center for Barth Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary
...a kaleidoscopic introduction to the analytical possibilities of comparative theology, and a reminder of the multifaceted richness of the theology of Karl Barth.—Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology
Martha L. Moore-Keish is the J. B. Green Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia.
Christian T. Collins Winn (Edited By)
Christian T. Collins Winn is Associate Professor of Theology and Chair of the Theology department at the Global Center for Advanced Studies College, Dublin.
Foreword: Some Reflections on Barth and Comparative Theology | ix
Francis X. Clooney
Introduction | 1
Christian T. Collins Winn and Martha L. Moore-Keish
I Barth and Judaism
1 Comparative Theology, Comparative Wisdom, and Covenantal Logic | 19
Randi Rashkover
2 Faith as Immunity to History? Rethinking Barth and Fackenheim | 36
Chris Boesel
Response to Part I | 57
Peter Ochs
II Barth and Buddhism
3 Barth’s Theology of Religion and Dōgen’s Nondualism | 67
James Farwell
4 Barth and Universal Salvation: A Mahayana Buddhist Perspective | 85
Pan-Chiu Lai
Response to Part II | 105
Paul Knitter
III Barth and Islam
5 Analogies across Faiths: Barth and Ghazali on Speaking after Revelation | 115
Joshua Ralston
6 Karl Barth and Parousia in Comparative Messianism | 137
Kurt Anders Richardson
Response to Part III | 155
Mun‘im Sirry
IV Barth and Hinduism
7 God as Subject and Never Object to Us: Reading Kena Upaniṣad with Karl Barth and Śaṅkara | 163
Marc A. Pugliese
8 “Do Not Grieve”: Reconciliation in Barth and Vedanta Desika | 184
John N. Sheveland
Response to Part IV | 203
Anantanand Rambachan
V Barth and African Traditional Religions
9 Speaking about the Unspeakable: Conversing with Barth and Ejizu on Mediated Divine Action | 211
Victor I. Ezigbo
10 Humanity and Destiny: A Theological Comparison of Karl Barth and African Traditional Religions | 228
Tim Hartman
Response to Part V | 249
Nimi Wariboko
Conclusion: Barth’s Dreams: Religions as Scandal and Parable | 257
S. Mark Heim
Acknowledgments | 265
List of Contributors | 267
