During the Middle Ages, the relationship between the Buddha's omniscience and his religious authority was a major issue in Buddhist thought. One of the most extensive and sophisticated discussions on this topic is found in the Pramanavarttikalankarabhasya, the magnum opus of the 8th-century Buddhist master Prajnakaragupta. In this study, author Shinya Moriyama combines philological acumen with philosophical analysis to present Prajnakaragupta's innovative ideas, offering an important introduction to his religious thought in its historical context of post-Dharmakirtian Buddhist Ã?Â?epistemology. (Series: Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Sud- und Zentralasiens / Leipzig Studies on Culture and History of South and Central Asia - Vol. 4)

The great Buddhist scholars Santaraksita (725 - 88 CE.) and his disciple Kamalasila were among the most influential thinkers in classical India. They debated ideas not only within the Buddhist tradition but also with exegetes of other Indian religions, and they both traveled to Tibet during Buddhism's infancy there. Their views, however, have been notoriously hard to classify. The present volume examines Santaraksita's Tattvasamgraha and Kamalasila's extensive commentary on it, works that cover all conceivable problems in Buddhist thought and portray Buddhism as a supremely rational faith. One hotly debated topic of their time was omniscience - whether it is possible and whether a rational person may justifiably claim it as a quality of the Buddha. Santaraksita and Kamalasila affirm both claims, but in their argumentation they employ divergent rhetorical strategies in different passages, advancing what appear to be contradictory positions. McClintock's investigation of the complex strategies these authors use in defense of omniscience sheds light on the rhetorical nature of their enterprise, one that shadows their own personal views as they advance the arguments they deem most effective to convince the audiences at hand.

First Published in 2001. No anthologist succeeds in including everyone's favorites, so a few words about the principles of selection seem appropriate. Firstly, as with other volumes in this series, priority has been given to journal articles, rather than book chapters. However, some essential book chapters have been included, and the introductions to each volume include references to significant books. Secondly, the emphasis throughout is on philosophical studies of Indian philosophy. Consequently, much excellent historical and philological work has been omitted. Thirdly, the desire to make Indian philosophy accessible to interested Western philosophers has meant not only that all the selections are in English, but also that most of them use a minimal amount of unglossed Sanskrit terminology.

Religion and Morality addresses central issues arising from religion's relation to morality. Part I offers a sympathetic but critical appraisal of the claim that features of morality provide evidence for the truth of religious belief. Part II examines divine command theories, objections to them, and positive arguments in their support. Part III explores tensions between human morality, as ordinarily understood, and religious requirements by discussing such issues as the conflict between Buddhist and Christian pacifism and requirements of justice, whether 'virtue' without a love of God is really a vice, whether the God of the Abrahamic religions could require us to do something that seems clearly immoral, and the ambiguous relations between religious mysticism and moral behavior. Covering a broad range of topics, this book draws on both historical and contemporary literature, and explores afresh central issues of morality and religion offering new insights for students, academics and the general reader interested in philosophy and religion.

The philosophy of religion is a discipline that explores a wide range of issues related to religious beliefs and practices. However, the field has historically exhibited a narrow focus, predominantly centreing on the Christian tradition and lacking substantial interaction between philosophers from distinct religious and cultural backgrounds. To address this, Global Dialogues in the Philosophy of Religion includes contributions from eminent scholars that address the world's five major religious traditions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. These dialogues delve into the philosophical aspects of religion, covering significant topics, including revelation and religious experience, analysis of faith, science and religion, the foundations of morality, and life and the afterlife. In each section, one of these critical issues is examined by three distinguished philosophers, each specializing in a particular religious tradition. These authors not only present their own perspectives on the subject matter but also respond to the viewpoints of philosophers from other traditions. This dynamic exchange gives readers valuable insight into how philosophical inquiries can be approached from various religious standpoints. This unique collection offers a rich tapestry of ideas and fosters a greater understanding of the philosophical dimensions of religion across diverse cultural and religious contexts. An open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.

"Christians under Covers shifts how scholars and popular media talk about religious conservatives and sex. In an ethnography drawn from Christian sexuality websites, Kelsy Burke examines how some evangelical Christians use digital media to promote the idea that God wants married, heterosexual couples to have satisfying sex lives. These evangelicals maintain their religious beliefs while incorporating feminist and queer language into their talk of sexuality--encouraging sexual knowledge, emphasizing women's pleasure, and justifying marginal sexual practices within Christian marriages. This book complicates boundaries between normal and subversive, empowered and oppressed, and sacred and profane"--Provided by publisher.

An introduction to South Asian religions for non-specialist readers and undergraduate students.

This collection examines the topic of time in the life and works of Augustine of Hippo. Adopting a global perspective on time as a philosophical and theological problem, the volume includes reflections on the meaning of history, the mortality of human bodies, and the relationship between temporal experience and linguistic expression. As Augustine himself once observed, time is both familiar and surprisingly strange. Everyone’s days are structured by temporal rhythms and routines, from watching the clock to whiling away the hours at work. Few of us, however, take the time to sit down and figure out whether time is real or not, or how it is we are able to hold our past, present, and future thoughts together in a straight line so that we can recite a prayer or sing a song. Divided into five sections, the essays collected here highlight the ongoing relevance of Augustine’s work even in settings quite distinct from his own era and context. The first three sections, organized around the themes of interpretation, language, and gendered embodiment, engage directly with Augustine’s own writings, from the Confessions to the City of God and beyond. The final two sections, meanwhile, explore the afterlife of the Augustinian approach in conversation with medieval Islamic and Christian thinkers (like Avicenna and Aquinas), as well as a broad range of Buddhist figures (like Dharmakīrti and Vasubandhu). What binds all of these diverse chapters together is the underlying sense that, regardless of the century or the tradition in which we find ourselves, there is something about the puzzle of temporality that refuses to go away. Time, as Augustine knew, demands our attention. This was true for him in late ancient North Africa. It was also true for Buddhist thinkers in South and East Asia. And it remains just as true for humankind in the twenty-first century, as people around the globe continue to grapple with the reality of time and the challenges of living in a world that always seems to be to be speeding up rather than slowing down.

In this accessible treatment of the major themes of the Gospel of John, renowned New Testament scholar Lamar Williamson blends the best of biblical scholarship and a close reading of the Fourth Gospel to meet the practical needs of weekly preaching. A more reflective Gospel in which the risen Jesus speaks in signs and discourses, John does not simply tell stories, but allows us to experience the Word and to see Jesus offering living water to the aridity of the institutional church and bread to the hungry hearts of individual disciples. More than mere exposition,Preaching the Gospel of Johnincludes at the end of each passage three to five possibilities for preaching the text--creative and pertinent suggestions that can help preachers apply the words of the Fourth Gospel to the lives of today's churchgoers. Proclaiming the living Word is a major theme of the Gospel of John, and this clear and insightful commentary captures that message in the preaching moment.

This leading textbook for world religion is designed to help students in their study and research of the world's religious traditions. Known and valued for its balanced approach and its respected board of consulting editors, this text addresses ways to study religion, provides broad coverage of diverse religions, and offers an arresting layout with rich illustrations. Introductory sections on understanding religion and the religions of antiquity lay the foundation for the study of the numerous religious traditions highlighted in the volume, including indigenous religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Chinese, Korean, and Japanese religions. The user-friendly content is enhanced by charts of religious festivals, historic timelines, updated maps of the world's religions, and a useful glossary. Both historical overviews and modern perspectives for each religion are included. This third edition has several updates, including a new design, a new section on women and religion, and a newly revised section on religions in today's world.