Inter-Religious Dialogue

Issue 9

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:47:11 +0000

Women, Feminism, & Inter-Religious Dialogue: In this issue of the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, we investigate the work and perspective of women, feminism, and inter-religious dialogue. Women have played pivotal roles in transforming communities and conflicts, upending theories and traditions, and building bridges of understanding where others have thought it impossible. Given the dynamic landscape of female involvement in numerous aspects of inter-religious activities and dialogue, we sought to explore inter-religious work as informed by women’s perspectives and feminist theory more broadly. We also share a special State of Formation feature. Yitz Greenberg, a leading light in the Jewish community and Modern Orthodox rabbi, describes the tense theological and historical issues that initially circumscribed his inter-religious dialogue experiences – as well as the deep connection and reflections he was ultimately able to develop. Responding to his personal narrative about the pursuit of authentic dialogue are six emerging religious and ethical leaders from State of Formation, approaching dialogue more than a generation after Rabbi Greenberg initially entered into it. Together, they bring into conversation key questions related to authentic and meaningful inter-religious interchange, as well as the frames we consciously (or unconsciously) bring to dialogue with religious “others.”

“A Convergence of Faith: The Concept of Relation in the Work of Sara Grant, RSCJ,” by Stephanie Petersen-Corigliano

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:46:53 +0000

Is the radical non-dualism of Advaita Vedanta fundamentally at odds with Christian monotheistic belief? Sara Grant, R.S.C.J., argues that it is not. However, unlike her religious and monastic contemporaries at work in India such as Henri Le Saux and Bede Griffiths, she does not rely on a mystical convergence to unsay the dichotomies between traditions. Rather, she argues that Advaita’s foremost proponent, Sankaracarya, developed a philosophy that was wholly dependent on the concept of relation. Her analysis of this concept in the work of Sankara is one of Grant’s unique contributions to the study of Indian philosophy. Grant further contends that an analogous concept is at work in the theology of Thomas Aquinas and that this pivotal concept has similarly received undue attention. In the work of her dissertation, Grant forges an early scholarly effort at inter-religious dialogue and comparative theology.

“Hybridity of Kuanyin and Mary, Maternal Sacrifice and Salvation: A Comparative Theological Study,” by Jea Sophia Oh

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:46:37 +0000

What kind of life or living could be the key of salvation? This paper deconstructs the traditional understanding of sacrifice as the code of salvation, as many Christians have traditionally believed that Jesus’s Crucifixion brought salvation “once and for all.” Not only in Christianity, but also in many other religions, sacrifice has been recognized as a crucial key to bring salvation.

Kuanyin is the bodhisattva of compassion, one who chose not to be Buddha but chose to stay with us for sharing our sufferings. Similarly, Mary is a Christian counterpart and mother figure who complied with God’s call to be a virgin mother of Jesus and witnessed the death of her own child with a great deal of suffering and compassion and yet was excluded from the divine trinity. Given these examples, can it be said that sacrifice is the key to salvation? I would say, “No! The cross is a result of living and not the climax of living. The key lies in compassionate living.”

Maternal sacrifice is that of a self-giving life and love. Mary’s life and her maternal sacrifice have been ignored by traditional soteriology, which emphasizes death and suffering. The code of salvation for these two mother figures is actually their compassion and love, therefore, “Life.” Likewise, Kuanyin’s sacrifice in the life of the Buddha is a part of her self-giving love in the process of salvation, not the purpose or the condition of salvation.

This paper turns our soteriological focus from death to Life, the compassionate living as an alternative soteriology. With love, Kuanyin sacrificed her body. With love, she stays on earth to save all Life.

“Toward a Gender-Aware Approach to Abrahamic Dialogue,” by Virginia A. Spatz

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:46:24 +0000

Interfaith dialogue, in practice, frequently overlooks gender as a key element in faith experiences, despite academic recognition of gender's interaction with spirituality, religious experience, and faith community roles. Abrahamic dialogue often includes men and women with substantially gendered views and practices. Moreover, dialogue itself can raise gender issues for participants from egalitarian communities. Dialogue lacks a systematic approach to this reality. This article examines Leonard Swidler’s popularly referenced “Dialogue Decalogue,” along with some “new” commandments for feminist men proposed in 1973, to suggest the beginnings of a systematically gender-aware approach to Abrahamic dialogue.

“The Female Divine Figure within Several World Religions,” by Dorothy Yoder Nyce

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:46:06 +0000

This article, with Mary the Mother of Jesus as a starting point, examines the female divine in several notable living faiths. To be fixed on one deity or truth claim can imply that one alone is superior, and that by extension others are weak or false. Little can be known of the wisdom or strength of the plural when diversity is ignored, for pluralism responds to diversity. Pluralism prompts religiously faithful yet open-minded people to relate with those whose beliefs differ. As they increase knowledge of and sensitivity to others’ god or goddess concepts, personal wellbeing or neighborly good might more easily emerge.

“Royal Righteousness in the Ramayana? Faithful Leadership in India’s Mythic Masterpiece,” by Benjamin B. DeVan

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:45:50 +0000

Reading revered, sacred, classic, and popular religious texts and stories together is one significant way to enrich inter-religious relationships. This essay explores the Ramayana as a Hindu resource for inter-religious conversation by examining the virtues or dharma espoused and exemplified by its leading characters. How do the Ramayana’s royal exemplars personify qualities essential to faithful leadership? What among their virtues might inter-religious and other leaders apply in their own spheres of influence? Doubling as a companion or discussion guide, this article utilizes R.K. Narayan’s user-friendly Penguin Classics edition as one succinct and accessible narrative for multi-faith settings.

“What Would Roy and Alice Do? A Reflection on How I Came to Be a Failure through Dialogue, Thank God,” by Irving (Yitz) Greenberg

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:45:25 +0000

I first learned about dialogue from reading Martin Buber. From him, I understood that religious dialogue was all about meeting the other in an I-Thou encounter. Certainly, there should be no intention to change the other or make him/her over in my image. But I confess that I did not enter the Jewish-Christian conversation in a very dialogic frame of mind. I was driven by a shocking, life-changing encounter with the Holocaust in 1961 that tore apart my devout, believing relationship with the God of Israel and shattered my religious equilibrium as a fulfilled modern Orthodox Jew. I could not understand how the Nazis could single out the Jews for total extermination, preceded by emotional torture and endless suffering, yet the neighboring peoples—nay, the whole modern civilized world—stood by. Nor could I accept that God had not intervened to save God’s people from this fate.

“Speak the Truth in Love: Bringing Inter-religious Dialogue Home,” by Jason A. Kerr

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:45:09 +0000

Rabbi Greenberg’s essay charts two parallel religious journeys. The first is his own, in which he shifts from viewing Christianity as a vehicle for anti-Semitism to recognizing its potential as a source of moral power. The second is that of Roy and Alice Eckhardt, whose quest to liberate Christianity from its anti-Semitism ultimately leads them to challenge the doctrine of the Resurrection. These poignant stories demonstrate the capacity of inter-religious dialogue to change people and institutions. Even so, Rabbi Greenberg also frankly acknowledges the costs that these inter-religious encounters can impose on intra-religious relationships: the Eckhardts’ forceful speaking “frightened and angered many Christians, even repentant ones,” while Greenberg says that he “was straining [his] own ties to their breaking point.”

“Tikkun Olam and Radical Kenosis: Fruit Borne in a Dialogue of Spiritual Encounter,” by Tasi Perkins

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:44:52 +0000

Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg’s “What Would Roy and Alice Do? A Reflection on How I Came to Be a Failure through Dialogue, Thank God,” is an insightful and provocative reflection on the constructive potential of inter-religious dialogue. Greenberg identifies Christianity’s history of contempt for Jewish people—manifest in the unspeakable atrocities of the Shoah—as the initial catalyst for his engagement in dialogue with Christians. Personal encounters with particularly honest and self-critical Christians led to a methodological shift in his approach to dialogue, and through this new approach, he has highlighted an important missiological parallel between the two traditions.

“A Response to Rabbi Greenberg,” by Lauren Tuchman

Editor — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:44:32 +0000

Rabbi Greenberg’s personal journey and initial struggles with dialogue resonate very deeply with me. I was moved and inspired not only by his evolving stance towards Christians, but also by the extraordinary examples of Roy and Alice Eckhardt and Sister Rose. Though their work and writings were deeply discomforting and not infrequently offensive to their coreligionists, I feel that their stories are extraordinary examples of the tremendous individual, communal, and societal transformation that can take place if we submit to the often-difficult work that dialogue requires of us.