Behind the Masks of God: An Essay Toward Comparative TheologyBehind the Masks of God develops an abstract concept of creation ex nihilo to compare and contextualize many of the symbols and more concrete ideas of divinity in world religions. The first focus is Christianity, and the book is put forward as an essay in Christian theology. In addition, the essay asks how creation ex nihilo serves to relate Christianity to other religions, particularly those of China. Neville addresses both Buddhism and Christianity, and to a lesser extent Taoism, as test cases for the applicability of creation ex nihilo as a fundamental comparative category for connecting theistic religions with non-theistic ones. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
On Organizing the Concept of Divinity | 9 |
II An Ontology | 13 |
III A Primary Cosmology | 17 |
IV The Archeology of God | 21 |
On Organizing a Program for Theology | 29 |
I A Program for Theology | 30 |
II Theological Sources | 36 |
IV Comparison and the Primary Cosmology | 102 |
Kenosis in BuddhistChristian Dialogue | 107 |
II Kenosis in Contemporary Dialogue | 110 |
III Being vs NonBeing? | 112 |
IV A Caveat | 113 |
Chinese Philosophy of Human Being | 115 |
I Sanctification and Salvation | 116 |
II Salvation History | 123 |
III Theological Interpretants | 46 |
Creativity A Speculative Historical Reflection | 51 |
II Chinese Understandings of Creativity | 54 |
III Understandings of Creativity in Contemporary Thought | 57 |
IV An Ontology of Creativity | 61 |
V Human Creativity | 63 |
Philosophy of World Religions A Chinese Test Case | 67 |
I History and a Program for Philosophy of Religion | 68 |
II Transcendence and Creation ex Nihilo in China | 73 |
III Primary Cosmology in China | 79 |
Creation and Nothingness in Buddhism and Christianity | 85 |
I Fundamental Comparative Categories | 86 |
II The Logic of Creation ex Nihilo | 89 |
III Comparative Application of Creation ex Nihilo | 98 |
III History and Salvation | 124 |
Individuation in Confucianism and Christianity | 127 |
I Christianity and Covenant | 128 |
II Confucian Identity in the Mean | 132 |
III Comparisons Critique and Construction | 137 |
Wang Yangming and John Dewey on the Ontological Question | 143 |
I Transaction and the Mean | 145 |
II The Ontological Question | 150 |
Behind the Masks of God | 155 |
II Theology and Dialogue | 163 |
Notes | 171 |
Bibliography | 179 |
| 193 | |
Other editions - View all
Behind the Masks of God: An Essay Toward Comparative Theology Robert Cummings Neville Limited preview - 1991 |
Behind the Masks of God: An Essay Toward Comparative Theology Robert Cummings Neville No preview available - 1991 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract archeological asymmetry Buddhism and Christianity Cause of Mixture chaos chapter Christian theology Chu Hsi components conception concrete conditional features Confucian Confucius contemporary context contingency contract covenant created creation ex nihilo creative act creator critical cultural determinate things dialectic dialogue dimension diverse divine matters elements essential and conditional evangelical existential experience expression feminine fundamental comparative category ground harmony historical human ical identity important individual interpretation kenosis kind Kyoto School meaning metaphysical moral nature needs Neo-Confucian Neville non-being normative notion one's ontological creativity ontological question patterns philosophy of religion practice primary cosmology principle relation religious traditions requires responses ritual salvation sanctification scripture selfishness sense social soteriological specific spiritual structures symbols systematic theology Taoist temporal theistic theme theologian theory tion transcendent truth Tu Wei-ming ture understanding vague virtue Wang and Dewey Wang Yang-ming Western world religions world theology yin and yang