For too many students, Christian theology is learned in isolation from other religious traditions.With this creative book, Kristin Johnston Largen places the work of Christian theology soundly within the interreligious dialogue that is the defining feature of our time. This supplemental theology text prepares students for the real task of understanding and articulating their Christian beliefs in a religiously and culturally diverse world.Concentrating on the anchoring subjects of God, creation, and humanity, she explores these loci in the broader context of interreligious dialogue with Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam to better understand the Christian tradition. The result is a fascinating lens through which to view the essential teachings of theology, and an essential supplementary textbook for the theology classroom.
Kristin Johnston Largen is associate professor of systematic theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Among her other publications are What Christians can Learn from Buddhism: Re-Thinking Salvation (Fortress, 2009), and Baby Krishna, Infant Christ: A Comparative Theology of Salvation (2010).
"Instead of simply highlighting similarities among the religious traditions, Largen provides valuable close-up views of particular narratives, teachings, and rituals on their own terms and enables the reader to formulate her own continuing questions about how each issue is related to Christian theology. Exhibiting both religious humility and theological courage, she confronts Christian misconceptions and problematic issues of other traditions, including, for example, idolatry, caste, jihad, and chosenness, while constructing a thorough Christian theology that seeks to learn from its neighbors." Madhuri Yadlapati Louisiana State University In this book, Kristin Largen continues to teach by example that it is no less important to attend to the substance of the world's religions. Knowing that in our contemporary world Christian doctrine will almost always be judged in a comparative religious context, she incorporates that dialogue into the very formulation of basic Christian convictions about God, creation, and human transformation. Finding God among Our Neighbors offers both invitational summaries of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam and a statement of distinctive Christian belief that emerges out of respectful inter-religious encounter, articulating that encounter itself as a characteristic Christian practice. S. Mark Heim Andover Newton Theological School "This is the book I've been waiting for! No other text so brilliantly, and accessibly, introduces readers to the varieties of religious belief and practice as an introduction to Christian theology, placing the Christian theological project squarely within our interreligious landscape. For the many students who arrive in theology classrooms without prior knowledge of any faith tradition, Finding God Among our Neighbors will serve remarkably well as an introduction to Christian or comparative theology. So clearly written, it will be captivating for readers interested in reflecting theologically on our multireligious landscape. This is a wonderful text, more than highly recommended!" Jeannine Hill Fletcher Fordham University
