Religious Epistemology through Schillebeeckx and Tibetan Buddhism

Jason VonWachenfeldt is the Chair for the Religion and Philosophy Department at The Lawrenceville School, USA.

• IntroductionThe Problem of Objective “Truth” and the Threat of Relativism for Religious Practitioners in the Modern WorldChapter 1 Comparative Theology, Religious Diversity, and the Question of Ultimate TruthChapter 2The “Bridge Concept” and Its MaterialsChapter 3The Histories of Individuals, and the Context for Their IdeasChapter 4 The Roles of Individual Intellect and the Collective Intelligence of the Community in Knowledge FormationChapter 5 The Role of the Historical Founders of Religious Traditions in Shaping and Conveying Religious Knowledge, Meaning, and Truth for Contemporary BelieversChapter 6 The Role and Authority of Personal Experience in the Apophatic Knowledge of Ultimate RealityConclusionPossible Madhyamaka Implications for Catholic TheologyBibliographyIndex

VonWachenfeldt brilliantly explores the creative theories of religious experience and knowledge proposed by Schillebeeckx and Chopel in contexts of widespread doubt where traditional authority was questioned. Respecting their important differences, he demonstrates how Christian and Tibetan Buddhist perspectives can challenge and enrich each other. This is a major contribution to Buddhist-Christian scholarship.