"World Religions and
Christianity"
An introduction to the basic teaching and practices of selected
non-Christian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. On
the basis of this introduction, this course invites you to risk a
dialogue with alien world views and value systems: to rise above
Christian parochialism and western cultural arrogance in order to
encounter and respect the otherness of these religious traditions; to
risk Christian assumptions and habits of mind in direct, open, and
mutually critical exchange; and finally, to entertain the other's
life-world as a possible mode of being in the world. Such a dialogue
mandates a new, more expansive and pluralistic view of the world; but
also, and more significantly, it demands of Christians a fresh
appraisal of the essential teachings of the Christian religion.