{"product_id":"the-celestial-web-buddhism-and-christianity-a-different-comparison-9781626985933","title":"The Celestial Web: Buddhism and Christianity: A Different Comparison","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA leading scholar of religion applies a new method of interfaith understanding to Buddhist-Christian comparative theology providing rich new insights for students and scholars alike.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e In his ground-breaking Gifford Lectures, published as \u003ci\u003eReligious Pluralism \u0026amp; Interreligious Dialogue, \u003c\/i\u003ePerry Schmidt-Leukel introduced his \"fractal\" theory of religions, challenging the tendency to distinguish religious traditions as discrete entities without acknowledging the wide variety within them, varieties essentially reproduced in different religious traditions. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter offering an introduction to this new methodology to comparative religion, Schmidt-Leukel, in \u003ci\u003eThe Celestial Web, \u003c\/i\u003eapplies this method to a comparison between Buddhism and Christianity. Some of the points of comparison include their respective approaches to the world, ultimate reality, the \"dark side\" of human existence, and salvation\/liberation in terms of the figures mediating it. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStereotypical approaches often treat these traditions as opposites, for instance, positing that Buddhism embraces an impersonal absolute, whereas Christianity affirms the primacy of one's relationship with a personal God. Yet the fractal approach, which examines \"intra-religious\" varieties within the two traditions, reveals surprising points of congruence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerry Schmidt-Leukel\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology, and Senior Professor in the Cluster of Excellence \"Religion and Politics.\" University of M?nster. He is the author of a dozen books in German and English, including his Gifford Lectures (Orbis): \u003ci\u003eReligious Pluralism \u0026amp; Interreligious Dialogue.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Orbis Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50902424158482,"sku":"9781626985933","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b7f1ee5b-e189-44c1-a6ae-4c7af93d3ea9.jpg?v=1738454988","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-celestial-web-buddhism-and-christianity-a-different-comparison-9781626985933","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}