Theology after Vedanta: An Experiment in Comparative Theology

In two respects this is a truly original book. First, it elaborates the fundamental truth that people and communities live from the word of scripture, not from doctrines to which scriptures tend to be reduced, let alone from hermeneutical theories applied to scriptures. Second, this book refuses to take a higher view in History of Religions by passing superficially attractive judgments on either Christianity or Hinduism. It does not take sides with either dogmatism or liberalism, and its impartiality is modest. The author does not attack any side; he appreciates, compares, and then seeks such theological illumination as the process of appreciation and comparison warrants. The message addressed to Catholic theologians deserves careful attention. My hunch is that history-of-religion scholars, some of whom are former Christians with chips on their shoulders, can learn a lot about just what kind of commitment is necessary to take non-Christian religious traditions seriously. I think Clooney’s approach holds real promise for inter-religious dialogue because it operates from within the setting of encounter between strange and seemingly incompatible worlds. It refuses to adopt for its point of departure, an imperious theory about the possible significance that any religion could have. This is an exercise in theological neighborliness, not summitry.