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Introductory Information And Introduction, Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Introductory information, including the editorial policy and editorial advisory board, and the editor's introduction to the issue.

"Deo, Non Fortuna": Christian, Time, And Technology, David J. Hawkin

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

It is commonly asserted that Christianity is the historical religion par excellence. Its view of time is frequently contrasted with that of Eastern philosophies and religions. It is said to have a "realist" and a "positive" view of time, while religions such as Hinduism are said to have a "pessimistic" view of time in which temporal existence is seen to be mere illusion. These generalizations are often schematized into analogies about "linear" time and "cyclical" time and influential conclusions about Easter and Western culture are often drawn from such contrasts. One very prevalent argument which emerges from such discourse is …

Christianity And Time, Robert Cummings Neville

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Christianity has no one theory of time. But there are several constraints that Christian conceptions of time should meet, among which are the following three. First, Christianity arose within a fundamental monotheistic assumption that the world is created by God, and therefore time must be related to dive creation somehow. Second, Christianity arose in response to the person of Jesus of Nazareth who was supposed from the earliest times to have been historically decisive so that time needs to be understood in part in terms of history. Third, Christianity carries on always in the conceptual world of the cultures it …

Time In Hinduism, Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Whereas Christian conceptions of time feature a strong linear thrust, Hinduism sees time as cyclical. While Christianity and Western thought generally view time and the universe as having a point of beginning with its creation by God, Hindu thought sees the universe and time as having been going on beginninglessly (anadi). There is no notion of an absolute first creation or beginning to time. However, within this beginninglessness, there are cycles of creation usually thought of in terms of the seed-plant metaphor. Each cycle of creation begins from a seed which sprouts, grows, flowers, withers, and dies, but …

Viewpoint: Conversions In India: An Interim Report On The Discussion On The Hindu-Christian Studies List January-March 1999, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

The Hindu-Christian Studies List (HCS-L) came alive in the middle of January when the question was asked on the List how scholars engaged in Hindu-Christian studies should respond to the flare-up of violence in India involving Hindus and Christians and the issues connected with conversion. Should people ever convert from one religion to another? Would people ever convert if it were not for force, fear, material inducements? Is a truly spiritual conversion so rare an occurrence that it proves nothing about the phenomenon of missionary programs to change people's religions? Is the condemnation of acts of violence against Christians an …

Reports & News

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Reports and news relevant to the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies.

Book Review: "Beyond The Darkness: A Biography Of Bede Griffiths", Bruno Barnhart

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Beyond the Darkness: A Biography of Bede Griffiths by Shirley Du Boulay.

Book Review: "The Common Task: A Theology Of Christian Mission", John J. Thatamil

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of The Common Task: A Theodlogy of Christian Mission by Thomas Thangaraj.

Book Review: "Hindu Wisdom For All God's Children", Deepak Sarma

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Hindu Wisdom for all God's Children by Francis X. Clooney.

Book Review: "No Other Gods: Christian Belief In Dialogue With Buddhism, Hinduism, And Islam", Lance E. Nelson

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of No Other Gods: Christian Belief in Dialogue with Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam by Hendrik Vroom.

Book Review: "Encounters With Hinduism", Scott Daniel Dunbar

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Encounters with Hinduism by Horst Georg Pöhlmann.

Book Review: "Religions In Conflict: Ideology, Cultural Contact, And Conversion In Late-Colonial India", Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Religions in Conflict: Ideology, Cultural Contact, and Conversion in Late-Colonial India by A. R. H. Copley.

Briefly Noted

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Brief reviews of David J. Mearns's Shiva's Other Children: Religion and Social Identity amongst Overseas Indians by Harold Coward, D. Bishop's Written on the Flyleaf by Shirley Embra, Klaus K. Klostermaier's A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism and A Short Introduction to Hinduism by Harold Coward, John Renard's Responses to 101 Questions on Hinduism by Francis X. Clooney, and Pravrajika Vrajaprana's Vedanta: A Simple Introduction by Shirley Embra.

Articles Of Interest

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A listing of articles relevant to the topic.

Y51k And Still Counting: Some Hindu Views Of Time, Vasudha Narayanan

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

At the beginning of every religious ritual conducted in Hindu brahmanical modes, the officiating priest and those doing the ritual formally declare the co-ordinates of the land and the time in which the rite takes place. These words are part of the sankalpa or the declaration of intention to do the ritual. Such co-ordinates are in cosmic frameworks; the land is identified with one of the dvipas or islands in puranic cosmology and the timespan is given as a moment that occurs in a span of millions of years. The celebrant first announces the name of the kalpa (a span …

Book Reviews Table Of Contents

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A listing of the book reviews available in this issue.

Book Reviews: "Inkuluration In Tranquebar" And "Brahmabandhab Upadhyay", Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review for Inkulturation in Tranquebar: Der Beitrag der frühen dänisch-halleschen Mission zum Werden einer indisch-einheimischen Kirche (1708-1730) by Daniel Jeyaraj and Brahmabadhab Upadhyay: The Life and Thought of a Revolutionary by Julius J. Lipner.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Table of contents for Volume 12.

The Love Of God In The New Testament And In The Tulsikrt Ramcaritmanas, L. Thompson Wolcott

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A study of seemingly similar concepts in different cultures and religions should avoid the temptation to simply equate them or to contrast them. The intention should be to understand them within their own environment, noting their distinctions or resemblances only as these may be needed to sharpen their significance in their own settings, without judging them by criteria external to their settings.

Book Review: "A Report On Transnational And National Cultural Processes", Ronald Neufeldt

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Meeting Rivers: A Report on Transnational and National Cultural Processes edited by Lannart Svensson.

A Rebellious Son? Hugo Odeberg And The Interpretation Of John 5.18, James F. Mcgrath

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

A solution to the difficult question of how to interpret John 5.18 appeared to have been provided with the publication of Hugo Odeberg's monumental work, The Fourth Gospel, published in 1929. Odeberg cited a rabbinic expression which characterized a rebellious son as one who 'makes himself equal with his father, and thus suggested that 'the Jews' are here making a similar accusation: they regard Jesus as rebelling against the divine authority. Subsequent scholarship for a long time cited Odeberg as a definitive demonstration of the background and meaning of John 5.18, and thus of the entire passage.

Change In Christology: New Testament Models And The Contemporary Task, James F. Mcgrath

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The purpose of this paper is to review different models of development which have been suggested, and to suggest a way out of the impasse between the two major views which have predominated this field of study.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

The table of contents for Volume 11.

Meeting Information

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Information about the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies, its membership, and its annual meeting.

Hinduism In The Indian Diaspora In Trinidad, Marion O'Callaghan

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

The importation of Indian indentured labour into Trinidad covers the period of 1845 to 1917.

Trinidad had, in the century before Indian indentured labour, changed from a peasant society to a plantation economy based on sugar, from a country of few settlers or slaves to a society with settlers drawn principally from French settlers and a slave population drawn directly from Africa or from other Caribbean islands. It had changed colonial hands from Spain to Britain.

Speaking Of The Hindu Diaspora In Australia, Purushottama Bilimoria

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

What are the distinctive characteristics of the "Diaspora Hindus" who turned up during the different phases in the Australian landscape? To address this question, this essay will briefly discuss the early, colonial, post-independent, and more recent phases corresponding to patterns in migration, settlement, and temple culture of Australian Hindus, drawing on the history of their reception in the host society alongside other data, from the 1857 to 1996 national censuses.

Immigrants From India In North America And Hindu-Christian Study And Dialogue, Raymond B. Williams

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Two premises are behind this essay of reflections on the experience of immigrants from India as potential participants in Hindu-Christian study and dialogue: First, potential Hindu conversation partners are no longer "over there"; rather, they are in North America. A new form of transnational Hinduism is developing that raises the question about what location (geographical and social) is best for collaborative study and dialogue to take place. Second, in the early days of establishing Hinduism in North America by immigrants, very little dialogue has taken place. Several reflections on that relative silence might provide some understanding that could provide a …

Abishiktananda: Hindu Advaitic Experience And Christian Beliefs, J. Glenn Friesen

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Dom Henri Le Saux (Abhishiktananda) was a Roman Catholic priest who attempted to integrate the Hindu advaitic experience of the Self with his beliefs as a Christian. From the time he arrived in India in 1948 to his death in 1973, there was a radical change in Abhishiktananda's religious beliefs. The change in beliefs was as a result of his advaitic experiences. His certainty in the truth of the experiences increased over time. In an early Journal entry he speaks of his anguish and fear, a fear of risking eternity for an experience that might be only a mirage. By …

Infinity And The Logic Of Non-Dualism, Joseph A. Bracken

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Whether ultimate reality is to be conceived as a personal God or an impersonal principle somehow at work in the world is an issue which tends to divide major world religions into opposing camps. Furthermore, even within a given religion philosophers and theologians may differ on how God or Ultimate Reality is to be conceived. Within Vedantic Hinduism, for example, Sankara and Ramanuja are clearly in opposition on this point even though they share the same basic world view in so many other respects. Likewise, Christian philosophers and theologians have through centuries disagreed over this issue. At least one of …

Viewpoint: On Being Hindu-Christian, Tinu Ruparell

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Teaching courses in religious studies, I am often asked whether I myself profess allegiance to some faith tradition - that is whether I am myself a "believer" of some kind. I must confess that I get some mischievous pleasure in responding that I am a "Hindu-Christian". The answer usually gets one of two kinds of responses: either my questioner is somewhat intrigues, in which case we might have an interesting discussion; or they smile with polite indifference and promptly change the topic. Both of these kinds of responses, however, can betray that my answer has called something into question: the …