Majesty and Meekness: A Comparative Study of Contrast and Harmony in the Concept of God

by John B. Carman

Overview

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.

This intriguing book compares beliefs concerning the nature of God in a variety of world religions by focusing on a number of "polarities," or pairs of qualities in the divine character that are seemingly opposed. Carman examines such polarities as supremacy/accessibility, immanence/transcendence, justice/mercy, and majesty/meekness, tracing their roles in the understandings of God expressed by Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802806932
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/30/1994
Series:	Studies in a Christian World View
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	463
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.03(d)

About the Author

John B. Carman, former director of the Center for the Studyof World Religions at Harvard University, is the ParkmanProfessor of Divinity and professor of comparative religionat Harvard Divinity School. His previous works includeThe Theology of Ramanuja: An Essay in InterreligiousUnderstanding."

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
Part 1	At the Edge of Theology	1
1.	Discovering Polar Attributes in Diverse Theologies	3
2.	Seeking Understanding through Comparison	23
Part 2	Polarities in Hindu Theologies	39
3.	The Many Faces of Siva	41
4.	Nammalvar's Hymn to Vishnu: The Wonder of God's Transformation	63
5.	Ramanuja's Theology of Vishnu: God's Supremacy and Accessibility	79
6.	Pillan's Commentary: Harmonizing Nammalvar's Hymn with Ramanuja's Theology	101
7.	Amida's Grace and Shinran's Faith	115
8.	Interlocking Polarities in the Divine Nature	143
Part 3	Polarities Compared	155
9.	Approaching Christian Theology through the Hymnbook	157
10.	Avatar and Incarnation: Two Conceptions of Divine Condescension	188
11.	God Hidden and Revealed: Martin Luther's Theology	213
12.	Wrath and Mercy, Majesty and Meekness: The Theology and Vision of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards	231
13.	Jewish Experience of God's Justice and Mercy	252
Part 4	Differing Conceptions of Divine Unity	273
14.	Hindu Goddesses and the Blessed Virgin Mary	275
15.	Christian Understanding of the Divine Trinity	295
16.	Muslim Witness to the One God	323
17.	Transcending Dualities in Hindu and Christian Mysticism	347
Part 5	The Persistence of Polarities	371
18.	Polarity and Paradox in Recent Theology	373
19.	Making Sense of Paradox	399
20.	Questions to Theologians	412
	Glossary	430
	Index	445

Editorial Reviews

Lamin Sanneh
— Yale Divinity School
"In this valuable book Dr. Carman offers a careful and sensitive account of ideas about God in Hinduism and Christianity, with complementary views in Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. It is a profound theological work that compares religious traditions in order to take seriously the challenge they represent."

Wilfred Cantwell Smith
— Harvard University
"From this study Christians will in an engaging way learn much about others' religious perceptions around the world on matters of central theological importance to us all. More significant yet, they will also learn much about themselves and gain a new, deepened appreciation of Christian issues. . . A striking work."

Robert C. Neville
— Boston University School of Theology
"Majesty and Meekness is the outstanding example to date of the emerging genre of world theology — that is, theology in a religious tradition written in reference to the theologies of other world religious traditions. Carman has the sensitivity of a profound scholar of Hinduism and brings it to the Christian theological themes explored in this book."

Stephen N. Dunning
— University of Pennsylvania
"An extraordinary book. . . The heart of Majesty and Meekness is a formidable grappling with the polarities in the divine nature that express the paradoxical mystery of God's reality and relation to all human beings."

Keith E. Yandell
— University of Wisconsin-Madison
"There is nothing else like this superb phenomenological project that discusses similarities and polarities in concepts of God found in Hindu and Semitic monotheistic traditions. It should be required reading in theology, religious studies, and philosophy of religion courses."

From the Publisher