True and Holy:Christian Scripture & Other Religions

When believers read the sacred texts of other religions through a "hermeneutic of hostility," the consequences can be deadly. Christian history shows that the Bible is no exception. In recent decades, however, many Christian traditions have radically refashioned their approach to other religious traditions and to biblical interpretation. This new "hermeneutics of generostiy" seeks to uncover what can be learned from other holy texts and the communities that treasure them, and also seeks to find common ground on important issues such as human rights and religious liberty.

Lefebure offers Christian readings of Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist holy texts that suggest new bases for friendship and understanding. Noting the challenges and tensions in the relationship between Christians and these four other religious communities, he also examines the specific issues involved in interpreting the Christian Bible in interreligious dialogue. He concludes with a reflection on the experience of conversion in light of the theology of Bernard Lonegan and the mimeisis theory of Rene Girard.

Leo D. Lefebure is Matteo Ricci Professor of Theology at Georgetown University. His books include The Path of Wisdom: A Christian Commentary on the Dhammapada (recipient of the 2011 Frederick J. Streng Book of the Year Award from the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies), Revelation, the Religions and Violence (Pax Christi Book Award winner), The Buddha and the Christ, Life Transformed: Meditations on the Christian Scriptures in Light Of Buddhist Perspectives, and Toward a Contemporary Wisdom Christology: A Study of Karl Rahner and Norman Pettenger. He is a trustee of the Council for Parliament of the World's Religions.