Between One Faith and Another
Engaging Conversations on the World's Great Religions
Peter Kreeft
- 208 pages
- English
- ePUB (adapté aux mobiles)
- Disponible sur iOS et Android
Between One Faith and Another
Engaging Conversations on the World's Great Religions
Peter Kreeft
Ă propos de ce livre
How do we make sense of the world's different religions? In today's globalized society, religion is deeply intertwined with every issue we see on the news. But talking about multiple religions can be contentious. Are different faiths compatible somehow? And how can we know whether one religion is more true than another? In this creative thought experiment, Peter Kreeft invites us to encounter dialogues on the world's great faiths. His characters Thomas Keptic and Bea Lever are students in Professor Fesser's course on world religions, and the three explore the content and distinctive claims of each. Together they probe the plausibility of major religions, from Hinduism and Buddhism to Christianity and Islam. Along the way they explore how religions might relate to each other and to what extent exclusivism or inclusivism might make sense. Ultimately Kreeft gives us helpful tools for thinking fairly and critically about competing religious beliefs. If the religions are different kinds of music, do they together make harmony or cacophony? Decide for yourself.
Foire aux questions
Informations
1
WHAT IS RELIGION?
The Problem of Definition
Thomas: | Well, that was a surprise! |
Bea: | To me too, frankly. I think Iâm going to drop this course. |
Thomas: | Oh. Apparently your surprise was the opposite of mine. I didnât think I was going to stay, but now I think I am. I thought the professor would be vague, but heâs not. He made us think. |
Bea: | You think he made us think just because he asked a question we couldnât answer and then shot down all our answers and left us hanging? |
Thomas: | Yes! Thatâs exactly what Socrates used to do. And itâs a lot harder than most people think it is. And more valuable. |
Bea: | But it didnât help us to understand the thing we all came there to understand. |
Thomas: | What thing is that? |
Bea: | The religions of the world. Thatâs the course title, after all. |
Thomas: | And thatâs what the professor talked about. So whatâs your complaint? |
Bea: | He proved that we didnât even know what the word religion meant. So we donât even know what we mean when we call these things religions. If we canât even define the most basic term in the course, why bother taking a course in it? Itâs ridiculous. Throughout history we keep having arguments about religion, and we fight wars to the death about religion, but we donât even know what it is, what weâre fighting about! Itâs ridiculous. |
Thomas: | I quite agree that thatâs ridiculous. So letâs make it less ridiculous. |
Bea: | How? |
Thomas: | Donât you think we made any progress in doing that today? |
Bea: | In understanding the religions of the world, the thing this course is supposed to be about? No! In understanding what religion means? No! |
Thomas: | Donât you think itâs progress to understand that we donât really understand what we thought we did understand? |
Bea: | I understand how that Socratic skepticism may be fun for you. You like to play those games. |
Thomas: | Itâs not fun and games. Itâs understanding. Thatâs what youâre paying big tuition bucks to this university for, isnât it? |
Bea: | You are, maybe. You just love to tear ideas apart, like Socrates, donât you? |
Thomas: | But the Socratic method isnât âme versus you.â Itâs logic. |
Bea: | Your logic,... |