Swami Abhishiktananda and Comparative Theology
- Format:
- Journal Article
- Year:
- 2004
- Journal Title:
- Horizons
- Volume:
- 31
- Issue:
- 1
- Language:
- Abstract:
Swami Abhishiktananda (Fr. Henri Le Saux, 1910-1973) was a French Benedictine who wrote a pioneering work in Hindu- Christian dialogue entitled Saccidänanda: A Christian Approach to Advaitic Experience. Therein he attempted an inclusivist integra- tion of the theologies of Advaita Vedanta and Roman Catholicism. He later rejected aspects of Saccidänanda and argued that Advaita and Christianity are too different to be integrated in this manner. In place of Saccidänanda, Abhishiktananda developed two positions at the end of the 1960s which anticipated current Roman Catholic debates over the theology of religions. One was an experiential in- clusivism which bears affinities with the pluralist position of Paul Knitter and others. The other was a "comparativist" position, simi- lar to the one later developed by Francis Clooney and James Fre- dericks. This paper will examine how Abhishiktananda developed these various approaches to Hindu-Christian dialogue and the tensions between them.
- Who (Jesuits):
- What (Subjects):
- Where (Locations):
- When (Centuries):
- Page Range:
- 40–63
- ISSN:
- 0360-96692050-8557