Many Paths: A Catholic Approach to Religious Pluralism Book

Preface     ix
Abbreviations     xi
Religion: A Component of Culture     1
Cultural Arrogance     1
Pejorative Terminology     2
Classicism     3
The Empirical Notion of Culture and Religion     4
Socialization     6
Ethnocentrism     6
Ideology     7
Communicating Meaning     9
Variability and Diversity of Symbol Systems     11
Religion and Politics     12
Beyond the Ephemeral     13
Doing What Is Signified     14
Defining Religion     15
Corruptibility     16
Guidelines for Judging Religions     17
Religion and Ethics     18
The Same But Different     20
Common Ground of Faith     21
Christian Theology and the Ubiquity of Grace     24
Theology and Belief     24
Optimism concerning Salvation     27
Pessimism concerning Salvation     28
The Rise of Islam     29
Limbo and Baptism of Desire     30
Retrieving the Authentic Tradition     35
The Anonymous Christian     37
Questions ofTerminology     39
The Common Way     41
Vatican Council II     43
Toward A Wider Ecumenism     45
Instruments of Grace and Expressions of Faith     46
Vatican Council II     49
All Religions Defective     51
Comparative Value of Religions     52
Judaism as Paradigm     53
Christological Questions     54
De-absolutizing Jesus Christ     55
Incarnation as Paradigm     58
Syncretism     59
Dialogue Needed     60
Structure and Locus of Dialogue     61
The Content of Dialogue     62
A Biblical Frame of Reference     64
Evangelization and Dialogue in Tension     66
Mission Misconceived     66
Incarnation Misconstrued     69
The Principle of Incarnation     70
The Church as Mission     73
Evangelical Dialogue     74
Liberation Theology     77
Resolving the Mission-Dialogue Question     79
Conclusion     79
Notes     81
References     85
Index     91