Awards

• Winner of Frederick Streng Book Award for Excellence in Buddhist-Christian Studies 2019

Overview

Winner of the Frederick Streng Book Award for Excellence in Buddhist-Christian Studies This work provides the first systematic discussion of the Bodhisattva path and its importance for constructive Christian theology. Crucified Wisdom examines specific Buddhist traditions, texts, and practices not as phenomena whose existence requires an apologetic justification but as wells of tested wisdom that invite theological insight. With the increasing participation of Christians in Buddhist practice, many are seeking a deeper understanding of the way the teachings of the two traditions might interface. Christ and the Bodhisattva are often compared superficially in Buddhist-Christian discussion. This text combines a rich exposition of the Bodhisattva path, using Santideva's classic work the Bodicaryavatara and subsequent Tibetan commentators, with detailed reflection on its implications for Christian faith and practice. Author S. Mark Heim lays out root tensions constituted by basic Buddhist teachings on the one hand, and Christian teachings on the other, and the ways in which the Bodhisattva or Christ embody and resolve the resulting paradoxes in their respective traditions. An important contribution to the field of comparative theology in general and to the area of Buddhist-Christian studies in particular, Crucified Wisdom proposes that Christian theology can take direct instruction from Mahayana Buddhism in two respects: deepening its understanding of our creaturely nature through no-self insights, and revising its vision of divine immanence in dialogue with teachings of emptiness. Heim argues that Christians may affirm the importance of novelty in history, the enduring significance of human persons, and the Trinitarian reality of God, even as they learn to value less familiar, nondual dimensions of Christ's incarnation, human redemption, and the divine life. Crucified Wisdom focuses on questions of reconciliation and atonement in Christian theology and explores the varying interpretations of the crucifixion of Jesus in Buddhist-Christian discussion. The Bodhisattva path is central for major contemporary Buddhist voices such as the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, who figure prominently as conversation partners in the text. This work will be of particular value for those interested in ""dual belonging"" in connection to these traditions.

Full Product Details

9780823281237

Table of Contents

Reviews

A top-quality contribution to the field of comparative theology. Heim offers a fresh and pioneering approach in the intellectual discipline of 'faith seeking understanding' by way of learning from other religious traditions and their views about matters of ultimate concern. -- Ruben L.F. Habito, Southern Methodist University Heim's sophisticated, yet engaging and accessible project constitutes an impressive contribution to the field of Buddhist-Christian studies, and, more generally, to the discipline of comparative theology. Scholars, students, and anyone with an academic interest in the dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism will certainly appreciate the author's nuanced treatment of the Mahayana tradition and the impact that an appreciation of its claims can have on classical Christian theology, soteriology, and anthropology. * Reading Religion *

A top-quality contribution to the field of comparative theology. Heim offers a fresh and pioneering approach in the intellectual discipline of 'faith seeking understanding' by way of learning from other religious traditions and their views about matters of ultimate concern.--Ruben L.F. Habito, Southern Methodist University

A top-quality contribution to the field of comparative theology. Heim offers a fresh and pioneering approach in the intellectual discipline of 'faith seeking understanding' by way of learning from other religious traditions and their views about matters of ultimate concern. -- Ruben L.F. Habito, Southern Methodist University

Author Information

S. Mark Heim is Samuel Abbot Professor of Theology at Andover Newton Seminary at Yale and a Visiting Professor at Yale Divinity School. He is the author and editor of several books, the most recent of which is Saved from Sacrifice: A Theology of the Cross.

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