Paul F. Knitter
Paul F. Knitter | |
---|---|
Union Theological Seminary | |
Main interests | Religious pluralism |
Paul Francis Knitter (born February 25, 1939) is an American
Life and career
Knitter was born in
Since publishing his book, No Other Name? (1985), Knitter has been widely known for his religious pluralism. Knitter, who identifies as a "Buddhist Christian," explores the phenomenon of multiple religious belonging in Buddhism and Christianity in Without Buddha, I Could Not Be a Christian (2009).
In 1984, Knitter was one of 97 theologians and religious persons who signed A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion, calling for pluralism and discussion within the Catholic Church regarding the church's position on abortion.[6]
Knitter is a board member of CRISPAZ (Christians for Peace in El Salvador).[7]
Criticism
Along with his friend and colleague, the Protestant philosopher of religion
In a review of Jesus and Buddha: Friends in Conversation, Magliola critiqued Knitter and Roger Haight's discussion of the possibility of double belonging in Catholicism and Mahayana Buddhism.:
Mahayana Buddhism affirms the Two truths doctrine, mundane truth and Ultimate truth, are mystically identical, i.e., "form is emptiness and emptiness is form." Catholic Christianity, for its part has teachings such as . . . the presence of God in all things via "essence, presence, and power," but matter and form are never regarded as absolutely identical. Thus, in regard to the Ultimate, Mahayanist affirmation of the absolute identity (via the Dharmakāya) and Catholic rejection of the absolute identity (at any level or degree) are two tenets that irreducibly contradict each other. [12]
Works
Thesis
- Knitter, Paul F. (1974). Towards a Protestant Theology of Religions (PhD). Marburger Theologische Studien. Vol. 11. Marburg: N.G. Elwert. OCLC 611481104.
Books
- ——— (1985). No Other Name? A Critical Survey of Christian Attitudes toward World Religions. American Society of Missiology series. Vol. 7. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN 9780883443477.
- ———; Hick, John, eds. (1987). The Myth of Christian Uniqueness: Toward a Pluralistic Theology of Religions. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
- ———; ISBN 9780896224155.
- ———; ISBN 9780809131310.
- ———; ISBN 9780334024453.
- ———, ed. (1990). Pluralism and Oppression: Theology in World Perspective. Annual publication of the College Theology Society. Vol. 34. Lanham: University Press of America. ISBN 9780819179043.
- ——— (1995). One Earth Many Religions: Multifaith Dialogue and Global Responsibility. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN 9781570750373.
- ——— (1996). Jesus and the Other Names: Christian Mission and Global Responsibility. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN 9781570750533.
- ——— (1997). ISBN 9781570751233.
- ——— (2002). Introducing Theologies of Religions. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN 9781570754197.
- ———; ISBN 9781570754463.
- ——— (2005). The Myth of Religious Superiority: multifaith explorations of religious pluralism. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN 9781570756276.
- ——— (2009). Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian. Oxford: Oneworld. ISBN 9781851686735.
- ——— (2015). Jesus and Buddha: Friends in Conversation. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-78074-248-9.
- ^ "Paul F. Knitter". Union Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- ^ "Faculty Emeriti/ae". Union Theological Seminary. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "Paul F. Knitter Biographical Summary". Friends Theological College. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ Steinfels, Peter (9 October 2009). "A Look at Christianity, Through a Buddhist Lens". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-253-34688-9.
- ^ "Board of Directors | CRISPAZ".
- ^ "Relativism: The Central Problem for Faith Today | EWTN".
- ^ Catherine Cornille, The im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue, New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing, 2008, p.87.
- ^ Journal of American Academy of Religion, Vol. 78 Issue 4 (Dec. 2010), P. 1218.
- ^ Joseph A. Bracken's review of Jesus and Buddha: Friends in Conversation
- ^ Robert Magliola, Dilatato Corde,Vol 6, Issue 2 (July-Dec. 2016), at DIMMID www.dimmid.org Vol. VI, No. 2 (July-Dec., 2016)