Varieties of Religious Invention by Patrick Gray

Varieties of Religious Invention by Patrick Gray

Religious controversies frequently center on origins, and at the origins of the major religious traditions one typically finds a seminal figure. Names such as Jesus, Muhammad, Confucius, and Moses are well known, yet their status as "founders" has not gone uncontested. Does Paul deserve the credit for founding Christianity? Is Laozi the father of Daoism, or should that title belong to Zhuangzi? What is at stake, if anything, in debates about "the historical Buddha"? What assumptions are implicit in the claim that Hinduism is a religion without a founder? The essays in Varieties of Religious Invention do not attempt to settle these perennial arguments once and for all. Rather, they aim to consider the subtexts of such debates as an exercise in comparative religion: Who engages in them? To whom do they matter, and when? When is "development" in a religious tradition perceived as "deviation" from its roots? To what extent are origins thought to define the "essence" of a religion? In what ways do arguments about founders serve as a proxy for broader cultural, theological, political, or ideological questions? What do they reveal about the ways in which the past is remembered and authority negotiated? As the contributors survey the landscape shaped by these questions within each tradition, they provide insights and novel perspectives about the religions individually, and about the study of world religions as a whole.

"By examining the 'founders' of various religious traditions, this book helps us to better understand both those individual traditions and the connections between themIt is an especially useful resource for those who are interested in comparative theology." --Amir Hussain, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University

Patrick Gray is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He has published five books on the Bible, the history of biblical interpretation, and Hellenistic philosophy, including Opening Paul's Letters: A Reader's Guide to Genre and Interpretation.

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ISBN 13	9780199359721
ISBN 10	0199359725
Titel	Varieties of Religious Invention
Autor	Patrick Gray
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Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Oxford University Press Inc
Erscheinungsjahr	2015-10-08
Seitenanzahl	224
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
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