This book examines the space of meeting between two religions that open up when there are honest attempts at interreligious learning. Taking Abhishiktananda and Bede Griffiths as examplars, and the meeting between Advaita Vedanta and Christianity, the nature of the theological movements within this
«Jonathan Smith provides important explorations and reflections on a
Professor Mario I. Aguilar, Director of the Centre for the Study of
Religion and Politics, University of St. Andrews
«This is a deeply learned and skilful exercise in interweaving resources of postcolonial theory and interreligious dialogue which highlights the multiple processes of conjunction, disjunction, opposition, and osmosis that dynamically shape the in-between domains of Hindu-Christian engagements».
Dr Ankur Barua, Lecturer in Hindu Studies, Faculty of Divinity,
University of Cambridge
Following a Christian upbringing, the author joined a group studying Advaita Vedanta and remained a member in his twenties and thirties, though never rejecting Christianity. Returning more formally to the Church, and after training, he went on to become a lay minister (Reader) in the Church of England. He was later awarded an MA in theology, and a PhD by the University of Chichester. His working career has been in the charity sector, in Church-related community work, mental health, carer's support, and a number of other health-related charities. He continues his work as a Reader in the Diocese of Chichester.
Contents: Abhishiktananda and Bede Griffiths in India - The Space of Meeting - Theology in the Third Space - Analysing the Interreligious Space 1: Comparative Theology -Analysing the Interreligious Space 2: Postcolonial Theory - Analysing the Interreligious Space 3: Homi Bhabha and the Third Space - Space, Tradition and Creation - Supreme Being, Incarnation and Human Beings - The Challenge of the Third Space - Bibliography - Index.