Challenged by the teaching of Vatican II about the "seeds of the Word" in non-Christian religions, this book investigates the sacred character of the Saddharmapuṇḍarika Sūtra and its relation to the fundamental theological category of scriptural inspiration. In applying the methods of modern exegesis, the Sūtra in its ingenious composition is disclosed as a religious drama about the inspirational experience of the Buddha. The draft of a theology of inspiration along the guide lines of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum of Vatican II elaborates a 'christology of the Word' as its core, which allows an extension of inspiration in analogical manner to non-Biblical scriptures. The contrast of Christ, the "Word incarnate", and Buddha, the "Inspired One", offers a new contribution to an inter- religious dialogue.

This publication by Muto Kazuo is a significant Christian contribution to the predominantly Buddhist “Kyoto School of Philosophy.” Muto proposes a philosophy of religion in order to overcome the claim for Christian exclusivity, as proposed by Karl Barth and others. On such a foundation, he investigates the possibilities for mutual understanding between Buddhism and Christianity. Thereby he engages in a critical exchange with the Kyoto School philosophers Nishida, Tanabe, and Nishitani. Throughout his discourse, Muto applies their method of logical argument (the “dialectic” of soku) to the dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism. He thus opens up new perceptions of Christian faith in the Asian context and, together with his Buddhist teachers, challenges the modern Western dialectical method of reasoning.

Since its founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.

Steven J. Duby examines the doctrine of divine simplicity. This discussion is centered around the three distinguishing features: grounding in biblical exegesis, use of Thomas Aquinas and the Reformed Orthodox; and the writings of modern systematic and philosophical theologians. Duby outlines the general history of the Christian doctrine of divine simplicity and discusses the methodological traits and essential contents of the dogmatic account. He substantiates the claims of the doctrine of divine simplicity by demonstrating that they are implied and required by the scriptural account of God. Duby considers how simplicity is inferred from God's singularity and aseity, as well as how it is inferred from God's immutability and infinity, and the Christian doctrine of creation. The discussion ends with the response to major objections to simplicity, namely that the doctrine does not pay heed to the plurality of the divine attributes, that it eradicates God's freedom in creating the world and acting toward us; and that it does not cohere with the personal distinctions to be made in the doctrine of the Trinity.

St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Athanasius' great successor, tells us: "Our Father Athanasius, of hallowed memory, who adorned the throne of the Church of Alexandria for the whole of forty-six years and arrayed an unconquerable and apostolic knowledge in battle against the sophistries of the unholy heretics and greatly gladdened the world with his writings as by a most fragrant perfume, and all bear witness to the accuracy and piety of his teaching . was a man worthy of trust and deserving a confi dence, since he did not say anything not in agreement with Holy Scripture." The present volume consists of a collection of essays which represent original research into the writings of St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (295 - 373). Th ese essays respond to challenges arising out of the contemporary scholarly studies of St. Athanasius' theology and writings. Th e new perspectives in Athanasian studies, which these essays off er, are closer to the original theological legacy of this great Alexandrian Father of the Church who has come down in the history of the Church as the "canon of orthodoxy." Modern "critical research and discussions" have too oft en tended to obscure the Athanasian legacy and bar contemporary theology from the amazing blessings that this great ecumenical teacher and Father of the Church has bequeathed to all Christian generations.

In this thorough introduction to theological anthropology, Joshua Farris offers an evangelical perspective on the topic. Farris walks the reader through some of the most important issues in traditional approaches to anthropology, such as sexuality, posthumanism, and the image of God. He addresses fundamental questions like, Who am I? and Why do I exist? He also considers the creaturely and divine nature of humans, the body-soul relationship, and the beatific vision.

If the origin of the world is not a part of the world, what are the implications for our understanding of ourselves, the world, and its origin? In antiquity, both gentile and Christian authors agreed that the significance of this question could only be maintained by accepting the unbridgeable difference between the world and God. Not even Christology as the most ambitious attempt at developing a model for divine-human communication was allowed to undermine the principle of absolute divine difference. This changed with the modern emphasis on univocity and measurability as the defining aspects of knowledge. From the point of view of a philosophy of absolute difference, this appears as an arbitrary loss of perspective. By focusing on four authors--Cusanus, Luther, Hamann, and Kierkegaard--who have explored how the Christian and paradoxical understanding of Christ as eternal God and true human subverts the modern emphasis on unambiguity and definability, the present investigation makes an attempt to retrieve what has been lost. Classical Christology as interpreted by these authors thus appears as an indispensable tool for receiving and appreciating the gift of the world in a way that is not unduly limited by anthropocentric prejudice.