Atonement and Comparative Theology
The Cross in Dialogue with Other Religions
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The central Christian belief in salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remains one of the most intractable mysteries of Christian faith. Throughout history, it has given rise to various theories of atonement, many of which have been subject to critique as they no longer speak to contemporary notions of evil and sin or to current conceptions of justice. One of the important challenges for contemporary Christian theology thus involves exploring new ways of understanding the salvific meaning of the cross.
In Atonement and Comparative Theology, Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African Religions reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement by pointing to analogous structures of sin and salvation, drawing attention to the scandal of the cross as seen by the religious other, and re-interpreting aspects of the Christian understanding of atonement. Together, they illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection.
Atonement and Comparative Theology is an excellent resource for those who think they have no time to teach comparative theology because they are too busy teaching systematics, or Christology, or any other branch of theology. It helps us to understand Christian theologies of atonement by using a comparative lens from some of the finest comparative theologians in the world.---Amir Hussain, Chair and Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University
What Christian doctrine has proved itself more problematic—for biblical hermeneutics, for ecumenical engagement, for feminist theology, for ethical deployment—than that of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus? And, therefore, what better choice for a multi-religious engagement? This volume opens the symbol of the atonement to startlingly fresh questions, contrasts, and critiques. Catherine Cornille has effected a multi-faceted demonstration of the transformative potential—beyond respectful juxtaposition or conceptual translation— of comparative theology.---Catherine Keller, George T. Cobb Professor of Constructive Theology, Drew University, and author of Cloud of the Impossible: Negative Theology and Planetary Entanglement
In this volume, thirteen Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African religions reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement by pointing to analogous structures of sin and salvation, drawing attention to the scandal of the cross as seen by the religious other, and re-interpreting aspects of the Christian understanding of atonement. Together, they illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection.---Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology
With the cross as such a dominant symbol of the paschal mystery in the texts, art, and environments of Christian worship, scholars and students of liturgy may well find studying these essays yields, as with their authors, new or deeper insights for us who "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 1:26).---Bruce T. Morrill, S.J., Worship
Introduction | 1
Catherine Cornille
Why Atonement?Who Needs It?
Atonement in Muslim-Christian Theological Engagement | 11
Daniel A. Madigan, S.J.
Christian Atonement Enlightened by a Buddhist Perspective on Craving | 40
Thierry-Marie Courau, O. P.
How Q 5:75 Can Help Christians Conceptualize Atonement | 61
Klaus von Stosch
Not for Myself Alone: Atonement and Penance After Daoism | 78
Bede Benjamin Bidlack
Suffering and the Scandal of the Cross
God’s Suffering in the Hindu-Christian Gaze | 105
Francis X. Clooney, S . J .
More Than Meets the Eye: The Cross as Maṇḍala | 130
Michelle Voss Roberts
Divine Suffering and Covenantal Belonging:
Considering the Atonement with Heschel and Moltmann | 149
Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski
The Clash and Continuity of Interpretation of Redemptive Suffering
Between African Religions and Christianity | 167
Elochukwu Uzukwu, C.S.Sp.
Rethinking Redemption
Redemptive Suffering After the Shoah:
Going Back and Forth Between Jewish and Christian Traditions | 189
Marianne Moyaert
Judgment on the Cross: Resurrection as Divine Vindication | 214
Joshua Ralston
“At One or Not At One?” Christian Atonement in Light of Buddhist Perspectives | 239
Leo D. Lefebure
How Empty Is the Cross? Realization and Novelty in Atonement | 259
S. Mark Heim
Bibliography | 281
List of Contributors | 301
Index | 305
