The Emptying God
A Buddhist-Jewish-Christian Conversation
- World Religions
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2005
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Publisher's Description
Masao Abe is widely acknowledged as a leader in the worldwide dialogue on Buddhism. A profound scholar of Buddhism and of Christian theology, his critical and constructive reflections culminate in the seminal essay that is the cornerstone of this volume. Seven eminent scholars respond to the challenge of Abe's construal of Kenotic God and Dynamic Sunyata." Abe demonstrates powerfully the dynamism of the Buddhist appreciation of the divine Emptiness at the heart of Being. His essay suggests how the doctrine of sunyata can provide a needed corrective to the reified understanding of God prominent in Jewish and Christian traditions. Abe opens the way for new and deeper engagement of these traditions with the wisdom of Buddhism. Leading Christian and Jewish theologians--Thomas J. J. Altizer, Eugene Borowitz, John B. Cobb, Jr., Catherine Keller, Schubert M. Ogden, Jurgen Moltmann, and David Tracy--respond to Abe's challenge. From perspectives as diverse as American feminism, post-Holocaust Judaism, process thought, and hermeneutics, they reply to Abe's proposals for considering God to be intrinsically self-emptying. Abe responds to these essays in a conclusion. Provocative and illuminating, The Emptying God shows how interfaith dialogue, at its very best, provides materials for the mutual transformation of all traditions.
Endorsements (2)
“An extremely important new contribution. . . . Everyone interested in this dialogue will want to study Masao Abe's unfolding of the basic Buddhist concept of sunyata and its relation to the concept of God, and the various responses which follow.”
“This book is an event by taking seriously the Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish traditions at the same time. Professor Abe's work, deeply rooted in the Zen philosophy and at the same time open for dialogue, is a real challenge for Jewish-Christian thinking. The responses in this book are not a last word, but a first attempt to dialogue.”
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