Christianity and World Religions
Disputed Questions in the Theology of Religions
Christianity and World Religions
Disputed Questions in the Theology of Religions
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Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
ISBN: 9781405176736
Number of Pages: 256
Published: 13/02/2009
Width: 15.2 cm
Height: 22.9 cm
An engaging and accessible introduction to Christianity’s relationship with other world religions, addressing the questions of why the reality, and vitality, of other religions has become a challenge, and showing how Christianity is equipped to deal with religious plurality at both the doctrinal and social level.
- Timely and accessible, this book tackles the question of why the reality, and vitality, of other religions has become a challenge for Christianity
- Makes a decisive contribution to debates about the clash between Islam and the West, arguing that the major threat to religious freedoms come from secularism, and that Islam and Christianity both have the resources to develop a vibrant and pluralist public square; one informed by intellectual rigor and debate
- Considers the wider issue of how modernity has defined ‘religion’, and provides a substantial critique of secular ways of controlling religions
- Shows how Christianity is very well suited to deal with religious plurality at the doctrinal and social level
- Addresses the core issues and describes the various answers that have been proposed in recent years – making it an ideal introduction to the field, and one which will stimulate ideas and discussions
Preface ix
Part I: Charting the Territory: Theology of Religions 1
1 Early Map Making 3
Introduction 3
Pluralism 9
Inclusivism 19
Exclusivism 25
2 Changing the Angle: Recent Maps 34
Some Criticisms of the Threefold Typology 34
Comparative Theology 37
Postmodern Postliberalism 45
Part II: The Making and Meaning of Religions 55
3 Modernity’s Story 57
Introduction 57
Modernity’s Story about Religions 58
4 An Alternative: The Secular Construction of the Sacred Modernity as the Establishment of a New Ruling 74
Religion 74
Conclusion 102
Part III: Religions in the Public Square 103
5 Whose Religion and Which Public Square? 105
The Public Square 105
A Taxonomy of Secular Modernity and Postmodernity 107
6 Christian and Muslim Public Squares 128
Roman Catholicism, Modernity and Religious Plurality 128
Islam, Reasoned Debate, and Religious Plurality 136
Part IV: Christ’s Descent into Hell 159
7 Old Doctrines for New Jobs 161
Introduction 161
“The Descent”: Introduction to the “Circles of Hell” 165
The Limbo of the Just and the Unevangelized 167
8 Further into the Inferno 188
Purgatory and the Non-Christian 188
The Children’s Limbo 194
The Descent into Hell 201
Bibliography 212
Subject Index 225
Index of Works 233
"All in all, D'Costa should be commended for writing an excellent book. This work is a wonderful contribution to the conversation regarding Christianity and non-Christian religions. I highly recommend it for all persons interested in the theology of religions, as well as any Christian looking for new ways to understand the possibility of salvation for non-Christians." (The International Journal of Public Theology, 1 December 2012)
"I warmly encourage readers in each to take it up and read." (One in Christ, July 2010) "[D'Costa] finds convincing substantiation for his position in biblical, patristic, and medieval Christian doctrine." (CHOICE, September 2009)"For a generation which is reasserting its Catholic identity, this thesis may serve a valuable purpose, calming the anxieties of those who, admirable, have managed to maintain an interest in the salvation of non-Christians yet are as hard put to win converts as their more pluralist co-religionists." (The Way, January 2010)
"His gazetteer of these regions at the edge of the eschatological map is fascinating. The closing pages are as perceptive a meditation on what the dereliction of the cross can and cannot mean as we might expect to find in a first-rate book devoted entirely to that subject." (Chruch Times, December 2009)
