Religion Commons^™

Forest And Village: Popular Hindu-Christian Encounter, David C. Scott

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

The realization that what is commonly spoken of as Hinduism is in reality an elite Brahmanical religion is so ubiquitous that there is no need to argue the point here. Similarly, Christianity has generally been understood in terms of classical Western theological and philosophical thought. This being the case, it is hardly surprising that until relatively recently what has been understood as the encounter and interaction of Christianity and Hinduism has been, in fact, an encounter and interaction of what we might speak of as the elite great traditions in both religious systems. Yet the fact remains that in India …

Viewpoint: Hindu-Christian "Studies": Some Confessions From The Boundaries, Fred W. Clothey

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

There are times I think the term Hindu-Christian "studies" or even Hindu-Christian "dialogue" is a misnomer and a fantasy. This is so for several reasons. For one thing, there is a long history in which such "study" or conversation has been a monologue, a one-way street or an interpretation by imposition. There has been too much shouting at each other from caves and not enough honesty, negotiation, and mutual respect of personhood on the boundaries between where peoples live. For another, such engagements are not and never again can be merely one on one discourses between persons with single identities. …

Book Review: "The Indian Christiad", Bettina Bäumer

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of The Indian Christiad by Anand Amaladass and Richard Fox Young.

Book Review: "Practice And Theology Of Interreligious Dialogue. A Critical Study Of The Indian Christian Attempts Since Vatican Ii", Anand Amaladass

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Practice and Theology of Interreligious Dialogue. A Critical Study of the Indian Christian Attempts Since Vatican II by Jose Kuttianimattathil.

Book Review: "Die Symbolik Von Gift Und Nektar In Der Klassischen Indischen Literatur", Anand Nayak

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Die Symbolik von Gift und Nektar in der klassischen indischen Literatur by Ira Stubbe-Diarra.

Book Review: "Rammohun Roy In Hindu And Christian Tradition: The Teape Lectures 1990", Ronald Neufeldt

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Dermot Killingley's Rammohun Roy in Hindu and Christian Tradition: The Teape Lectures 1990.

Briefly Noted

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Brief summaries of Inter-Faith Dialogue and World Community and Current Dialogue.

Book Review: "The Divine Matrix: Creativity As Link Between East And West", Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of The Divine Matrix: Creativity as Link Between East and West by Joseph A. Bracken, S.J.

Reports & News

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A collection of current reports and news, including Society for Hindu-Christian Studies Annual Meeting 1995, Report on the Symposium on Evil, Interfaith Dialogue - the South Carolina Experience, and News in Brief.

Scripture As A Source Of Knowledge In Hinduism, Anantanand Rambachan

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

One of Wilfred Cantwell Smith's principal concerns in What is Scripture? is to highlight the variety of texts which are construed as scripture and the variety of attitudes which human history reveals towards such texts. We may begin by noting, for example, the inappropriateness of the term "scripture" (from scribere - to write) for the Vedas because of its emphasis on the written word as opposed to the word which is heard and preserved through oral transmission. The Vedas are more aptly referred to in Sanskrit as (that which is heard) or sabda (sound), and these terms correctly underline the …

A Response To The Symposium On Sri Dharampal's "Bharatiya Chitta Manas And Kala", Jitendra Bajaj, Mandyam Doddamane Srivivas

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

The symposium on Sri Dharampal's Bharatiya Chitta manas and Kala, organized by Prof. Fancis Clooney and carried in the last issue of the Hindu-Christian Studies Bulletin (Vol. 8, 1995), is indeed a significant contribution to the debate Sri Dharampal's essay sought to initiate. We are grateful to Prof. Clooney and the four learned commentators who, with their diverse academic and cultural backgrounds, clearly grasped the essence and importance of Sri Dharampal's effort, which in brief is to help launch a new Indian enterprise to comprehend and re-assert the essential civilizational genius of India within the present-day reality of the …

Recent Articles Of Interest

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A listing of recent articles of interest in the field.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Table of contents for this issue.

Book Reviews Table Of Contents

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A listing of the book reviews available in this issue.

Book Review: "Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs And Practices", Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Julius Lipner's Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices.

Book Review: "Swami Abhishiktananda: His Life Told Through His Letters", Anand Amaladass

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Swami Abhishiktananda: His Life Told Through His Letters by James Stuart.

Book Review: "Gandhi And His Jewish Friends", Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Margaret Chatterjee's Gandhi and His Jewish Friends.

Reports & News

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Reports for this issue, including The Society for Hindu-Christian Studies, A University Department for Interreligious Relations, and In Memoriam: Ignatius Hirudayam, S.J., as well as a listing of other recent articles of interest.

The Nature And Authority Of Scripture: Implications For Hindu-Christian Dialogue, Anantanand Rambachan

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

In a thoughtful series of reflections on the future of Hindu-Christian Dialogue, Klaus Klostermaier observes that there are "few Hindus who are interested in (contemporary) Christian theology, and there are fewer still who have a desire to enter into dialogue with their Christian counterparts." Others have noted that, with few notable exceptions, the initiatives for dialogue in recent times have been from the Christian side. In an earlier study, I suggested, briefly, a few possible reasons for this lack of interest on the Hindu side. The memories of colonialism and its association with aggressive Christian missionary activity, misrepresentation of other …

Viewpoints: A New Millennium - Nearly!, C. Murray Rogers

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Celebration is the keynote of these few reflections.

In five years' time a new millennium will be born. It is time that we rejoiced. Our leaders, it is true, make stupendous misjudgements. Damage and suffering is at present caused to a majority of human beings and to our Mother Earth. Certain men and women in pursuit of riches and power for themselves, a small minority of persons (usually white and male, and a smaller minority of wealthy coloured and black persons), are undermining the life of our planet. Yet at this very same time something new is on the horizon.

Viewpoints: Two Nationalist Poets On Jesus Christ, Prema Nandakumar

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Christianity in India is almost as old as Christianity itself. It is vain to think that Christianity can be seen as an isolable element in Indian culture. While the new religion settled down quietly in several parts of India, it naturally took on the Brahminic mode of life. The Syrian Christians in Kerala, for instance, are committed to a Brahminic custom like casting the horoscope and looking for a matching horoscope before finalizing a marriage. Father Beschi in Tamil Nadu donned Indian dress and wrote in Tamil. His poem Tembavani is justly famous. Each verse found in E. P. Krishna …

Book Review: "Theo-Monistic Mysticism: A Hindu-Christian Comparison", Anantanand Rambachan

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Michael Stoeber's Theo-Monistic Mysticism: A Hindu-Christian Comparison.

Book Review: "The Limits Of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation Of The Vedas", Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Anantanand Rambachan's The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas.

Book Review: "Christianity And World Religions. Paths Of Dialogue With Islam, Hinduism, And Buddhism", Morny Joy

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Christianity and World Religions. Paths of Dialogue with Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, by Hans Küng with Josef van Ess, Heinrich von Stietencron, and Heinz Bechert; translated by Peter Heinegg.

Book Review: "God As Feminine: Hindu And Christian Vision. A Dialogue.", Anand Amaladass

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Joseph Sebastian's God as feminine: Hindu and Christian Vision. A Dialogue.

Introduction, Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Introduction by the editor for this issue.

Front Cover And Publication Information

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Front cover, table of contents, and publication information including the editorial policy and editorial advisory board.

Book Review: "Monastic Life In The Christian And Hindu Traditions: A Comparative Study", Harold Coward

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

A review of Monastic Life in the Christian and Hindu Traditions: A Comparative Study, edited by Austin B. Creel and Vasudha Narayanan.

Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, And Hindu-Christian Dialogue, Michael Stoeber

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

In the late summer of 1993, representatives of the major religions of the world met in interfaith dialogue in Chicago, to celebrate the centenary of the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions. The 1893 Parliament was remarkable, both in its magnitude and its purpose: it brought together forty-one denominations and over four hundred men and women in a forum of mutual teaching and learning. That is to say, its formal purpose was reciprocal dialogue, something rather unusual for the 19th century, when interfaith preoccupations of the time still normally focused on proselytism.

Four Responses To Prof. Dharampal's "Bharatiya Chitta Manas And Kala", Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

For decades Prof. Dharampal has been well-known and respected for his research on eighteenth-century India; his analyses of a wide range of social, cultural, political economic and technological issues have been respected and valued during this time. Bharatiya Chitta manas and Kala -- perhaps, "The Indian Sense of Consciousness, Mind and Time" -- is both a continuation of his earlier work and a new venture in reflection on larger and more elusive religious and cultural issues.