Hegel Versus 'Inter-Faith Dialogue' : A General Theory of True Xenophilia

The term 'inter-faith' is a recent innovation in English that has gained significant traction in the discussion of religious diversity. This volume argues that the concept of faiths in the plural is deeply problematic for Christian theology and proposes a Hegelian alternative to the conventional bureaucratic notion of inter-faith dialogue. Hegel pioneered the systematic study of comparative religion. In line with Hegelian principle, Andrew Shanks identifies faith as an inflection of the will towards perfect truth-as-openness. In relation to other religious traditions, this must involve the practice of a maximum xenophilia, or love for the unfamiliar, understood as a core Christian virtue. Shanks's neo-Hegelian theory recognises the potential for God's work in all religious traditions, which may be seen as divine experiments with human nature. This timely book discusses a wide range of interreligious encounters and will be an essential resource for studies in comparative theology and philosophy of religion. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Dedication 7 Table of contents 9 Introduction: The Basic Opposition between Faith and 'Faiths' 11 Part I The Criterion of Atonement 23 Chapter 1 Faith: The Primordial Ambiguity of the New Testament Notion 25 Paul 25 John 36 Chapter 2 What Hegel Brings 47 Hegel and Lessing: Systematic Xenophilia 47 The Three Canons of True 'Folk-Religion' 56 (a) Universal Reason 58 (b) Fancy, Heart and Sensibility 63 (c) Civility 66 Hegel's Study of Comparative Religion 72 Part II God's Experiments 77 Chapter 3 'Religion': Outlines of a Typology 79 The 'Axial Period' 79 A General Theory 89 Chapter 4 Intra-Political Religion 93 Chapter 5 Pre-Political Religion 101 Yajñavalkya 101 The Buddha 106 Samkhya-Yoga and Epicureanism 112 Chapter 6 Anti-Political Religion 116 'Abrahamic' Monotheism 116 The Original Earthquake: Amos 118 Hosea's Response 122 After Hosea: 'The History of Israel' and Deutero-Isaiah 124 From Amos to Jesus 136 Part III Abrahamic Variations 139 Chapter 7 The Hazard of Faith 141 God Gambles 141 And Then Faith Enters into That Gamble 145 Pascal's Argument 146 James's Argument 152 Improving upon James's Version 155 Chapter 8 'Holy Anarchy' 160 Dissident Courage: Risks and Remedies 160 'Watch Out, Be Glad, Get Ready to Be Changed' 161 The Reversal of 'First' and 'Last' 164 Church as Transmission Strategy 166 Holy Anarchy/Sacred Licence 172 Obsession, Infestation, Riot, Feast 174 Chapter 9 Jesus and Hallaj 177 'First-person Theology'/'Second-person Theology' 177 The Martyrdom of al-Hallaj 179 Hallaj's Writing 186 The Testimony of Louis Massignon 190 Other Verdicts on Hallaj 196 Providential Triangulation 201 Chapter 10 Holy Spirit/Shekhinah 203 'Third-person Theology' 203 Tikkun: The Repairing of 'God' 206 God-in-Exile 210 Beyond Consolation 214 The Poetic Vision of Isaac Luria 219 Gnostic Radicalism without Gnostic Exclusivism 224 Chapter 11 After Hegel: The Evolution of Christendom 230 The Xenophile Creed 230 Stress-tests of Faith 232 The Second Reformation 240 A Paradoxical Hope 247 Notes 252 Introduction 252 Chapter 1 253 Chapter 2 254 Chapter 3 257 Chapter 4 258 Chapter 5 259 Chapter 6 260 Chapter 7 263 Chapter 8 263 Chapter 9 264 Chapter 10 265 Chapter 11 268 Index 271