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- Title
Perry Schmidt-Leukel: Das himmlische Geflecht: Buddhismus und Christentum – ein anderer Vergleich (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2022), 416 S. ISBN 978-3-579-07183-1, 26.00 €.
- Authors
Freiberger, Oliver
- Abstract
The book "The Heavenly Network: Buddhism and Christianity - a Different Comparison" by Perry Schmidt-Leukel presents an alternative method of comparison between Buddhism and Christianity. The author emphasizes the diversity and changeability of both religions and shows that there are differences within both traditions that resemble the often mentioned central differences between the two religions. The book addresses topics such as world-renunciation and world-affirmation, impersonal and personal concepts of transcendence, delusion and sin, awakening and incarnation, self-redemption and redemption by others, as well as concepts of salvation. Schmidt-Leukel uses numerous examples from both religions to support his thesis. He emphasizes the complementarity and synthesis of the divergent tendencies within each tradition and argues that this contributes to strengthening the identity of each religion. In the book "Fractal Interpretation of Religious Diversity" by Perry Schmidt-Leukel, the theory of fractal interpretation of religious diversity is introduced. This theory refers to the concept of "fractal" by mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot and states that the diversity of religions replicates itself in certain structural patterns. The book supports this theory with empirical material from Buddhism and Christianity. However, it also raises questions such as the differences between the patterns of different religions and the identification of these patterns. The book is aimed at readers interested in a theological approach to religion that goes beyond conventional exclusivist and inclusivist theologies. It also demonstrates the positive effects of a pluralistic understanding on interreligious learning processes.
- Subjects
RELIGIOUS identity; RELIGIOUS diversity; BUDDHISM; CHRISTIANITY; RELIGIONS; SIN
- Publication
Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft, 2022, Vol 30, Issue 2, p367
- ISSN
0943-8610
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1515/zfr-2022-0012