Revelation in a Pluralistic World

by Louis Roy

Overview

Since the Enlightenment, the churches have progressively suffered a severe loss of status because of their belief that revelation is realized only in Christianity. The suggestion that Christian revelation might be truer than other so-called revelations seems to be preposterous. This book argues that this insistence has often remained unnuanced and simplistic, with the consequence that not only unbelievers as well as believers of other religions, but even numerous Christians no longer agree with the primacy of a truth revealed in Jesus Christ. The book addresses the difficulties affecting the interpretation of belief, given modernity's concerns. The volume sets out a provisional synthesis on revelation and it makes available much expository and historical information. It correlates distinctions between pair members such as the natural and the supernatural, conceptualism and intellectualism, heart and reason, subjectivity and objectivity, limited perspective and universal viewpoint, permanence of doctrine and historicity, Christian and non-Christian claims regarding truth, revelation and divine speech, moderate and radical pluralism, Jesus absolutized and Jesus relativized. The thrust of the argument is towards an appropriation of what is best in ancient, medieval, and modern traditions on revelation. This book delineates, in an original way, a position on revelation that is at once traditional and relevant for today. It accepts many values brought to the fore by modernity and draws from exegetes, historians, philosophers, and theologians. Its inspiration comes principally from the Bible, Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, and Bernard Lonergan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192688200
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	08/25/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	376
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Louis Roy is a member of the Dominican Order and he holds a doctorate from Cambridge University. He taught at the grass-root level and at the Institut de Pastorale in Montréal before becoming a Full Professor of theology and philosophy at Boston College for twenty-one years, until 2006. He now teaches at the Dominican University College in Ottawa. He has published books in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Vietnamese. He has written numerous articles on the affective, intellectual, and mystical aspects of religious experience, faith and psychology, the question of God, revelation, and interreligious dialogue, especially between Christianity and Buddhism.

Table of Contents

PrefaceIntroductionPart One: The Groundwork1. A Basic Characterization Inspired by the PastPart Two: The Challenge of Modernity2. Modernity's Representations of Belief3. Catholic Responses4. The Problem of Historical KnowledgePart Three: Contemporary Discussions5. Paul Ricœur: Testimony and Hope6. Amid the Current Clash of ViewsPart Four: Revelation apart from Jesus?7. Claims Made by Other Religions8. Revelation, or God-Speech? 9. Can We either Absolutize or Relativize Jesus Christ? Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"The book offers much that generates fresh thinking on the topic of revelation, and such material can be the basis of further discussion within one's tradition and in dialogue with others." — Rev. Mark P. Hertenstein, Reading Religion

From the Publisher