NOTE:   Following the general Template on INTERACTION OF OTHER TRADITIONS AND CHRISTIANITY one can find two more specialized Templates regarding

a)  LITERATURE AND CHRISTIANITY   and

b)  INTERACTION OF RELIGIOUS TEXTS AND THE BIBLE

 

Goal of the CDC:  Making understandable the complexity of present-day Christianity by clarifying the contextual character of Christian theological views, practices and movements through history and cultures.

 

RATIONALE AND TEMPLATE for ENTRIES # 9,  INTER

INTERACTION OF OTHER TRADITIONS AND CHRISTIANITY

4/30/2004

Topic:   A specific instance of the way in which Christianity interacts with other religious traditions, and/or cultures.  Such an entry might be devoted to the way in which the Bible and Christian traditions are explicitly or implicitly interpreted in terms of other Scriptures, other religious traditions, and/or cultures in the interactions (dialogues, missionary activities, confrontations, wars) between Christians and members of other religious traditions and of secular societies;  or a specific instance of the way Christianity is presented in cultural media:  literature, oral traditions, movie and arts.  Such an entry might also be twofold:  presenting on the one hand the range of ways in which Christianity is viewed by different groups of another religious traditions (e.g., Islam), and conversely the range of ways in which this religious tradition in its complexity (e.g., Islam) is viewed from the perspective of different groups in Christianity.  In most instances these entries will form clusters.

 

Such clusters are introduced by a pair of entries on “this other religious tradition and Christianity” (e.g. “Islam and Christianity”—one on Muslim views of Christianity and the other on Christian views of Islam).  This pair of entries is followed by a series of entries about Christianity and the Bible in interaction with this other religious tradition and its Scriptures in particular geographical or historical contexts. 

 

Audience:  It is to be written for “curious and bright undergraduate students” (beginning university students whom we nicknamed “curious Georgia”) and yet must be informative enough to be a solid quick reference article for Christian clergy, professors and students in Christian seminaries and religious studies departments throughout the world.   These readers might not know anything about Christianity and about the other religious or cultural traditions– your self-contained entry should give them sufficient information to give them the assurance they know the essential about your topic – yet; they will have access to the rest of the dictionary for surveys of the history of Christianity in the world and in each region, and the plurality of entries concerning the interactions of Christianity with other religious traditions and cultures, as well as for explanations of concepts, Christian practices, events, history of Christian movements and denominations, and entries on women and men who are representatives of all of these..

 

Type of Entry and Goal:  A very concise presentation that is nevertheless quite authoritative because it clarifies those distinctive features of Christianity (or the Bible) that become most apparent when Christianity enters in dialogue with another religious tradition, its scriptures, or the literature of the culture in which it is.  This presentation is designed to promote a comparison of these distinctive features with those features of Christianity (or of the Bible) emphasized inside Christian communities or in other cultural contexts.

The CDC is committed to “self representation,” allowing contributors to emphasize the features of Christianity that are most significant from the perspective of their own religious or cultural tradition.  Thus for instance, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist scholars are asked to present the views of Christianity held by their respective religious traditions, and conversely Christians will present the views that Christians have of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and other religious traditions.  Yet, these entries need to remain descriptive.  In other words, the contributors are asked to avoid apologetic statements and absolute claims (non-falsifiable statements), for instance by making explicit that a given statement simply reports the views of a given group:  “X (a particular group a person) believes that…” or “X reports that….”

 

Rationale for having such entries in a “Dictionary of Christianity”:   This interaction with other traditions makes apparent features of Christianity, of its theology, of its practices, of its Scriptures that remain hidden without this encounter with another tradition, either because of similarities or because of differences.  A few possibilities:  One might see African traditional religions as “praeparatio evangelica” (John Mbiti) because of their similarities with certain Christian traditions;  or one might see more clearly the distinctiveness of various understandings or practices of Christianity in different contexts by recognizing how they reflect religious traditions found in these contexts; or again one might recognize how much Christian theological views blend with the cultural views in which they are held,  or on the contrary how much they differ from other traditions;  or again, one might be surprised by the way in which novelists and poets uncover features of Christianity to which theologians are blind.

 

The following categories are to be used to facilitate the comparison between outsiders’ views of Christianity and insiders’ views of Christianity, as well as the cross-cultural comparison of Christianity in diverse contexts: (The order may vary; categories may be re-grouped, but all must be considered in preparing an entry.  A fair representation of significant features of Christianity and other religious traditions must account for the fact that at least 50% of believers are women.)  The entry should seek to identify: 

• the other (religious, literary, or cultural) tradition or text with which (or in terms of which) Christian traditions or the Bible is interpreted; 
• the features (theological concepts, practices, religious experiences) of Christian traditions or of biblical texts that become most significant in light of the other tradition or text; 
• the theological or ethical issues raised by interpreting these two traditions or texts together;
• Suggested list of other entries to which this entry might be cross-referenced.

 

TEMPLATE for ENTRIES # 9,  INTER

 

(To insure consistency for the CDC, please include the following [[Phrases  Between Brackets]] in your draft B to  be subsequently removed by the editor. The order of the points is to be determined in each case by the author.)

 

[[Introduction]]   Description of the interaction which is the topic of the article and from which perspective it is written:  e.g., Jewish views of Christianity  or Christian views of Judaism;  or representation of Christianity in French literature;   a very short listing (much information can be conveyed in a  few words) of the diverse religious  groups or literary texts or  traditions from other religions from the perspective of which the article presents views of Christianity; or vice versa, the different Christian movements or texts from which the article presents views of the other religious tradition -- listing only those texts or traditions and the works that present them that are  discussed (not necessarily complete titles; short titles—just enough to find in an on-line library catalog—made understandable for English speaking readers – so often titles in translation) and the dates of these works or traditions, and a mention of the contexts in which this interaction takes place.  

 

What Features of Christian Traditions or of Biblical Texts Become [[Most Significant in Christianity in light of this encounter]] of the Bible and Christian traditions with another sacred/religious text, religious tradition, or cultural setting,   More detailed description of the context(s) or inter-text(s) as needed to clarify why certain features of Christianity become emphasized, more visible, and viewed as most significant. 

                Or conversely:  What Features of another religious tradition become [[Most Significant in “this other religious tradition”]] from the perspective of a plurality of Christian perspectives (today or through history).

 

[[What Distinctive Understandings]] do these features of Christian traditions or of biblical texts take?  Or what distinctive understanding of Christianity emerge from these ways of viewing other religious traditions. 

 

What are the [[Main Theological or Ethical Issues Raised]] by interpreting these two traditions or texts together?    

 

[[Related Entries]] presupposed:  These should be signaled in the body of the entry with an *  after the word designating the entry.  A few essential cross references may be listed at the end of the entry between parentheses:   “(see also xxxxx).” 

 

Short Bibliography (not included in the word-count):  List the main resources for further study of this topic to be included in the Bibliography of the Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity on a web-site that will be regularly up-dated.  Usually not more than 5 to 10 titles with full biographical data (see style sheet  at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/religious_studies/CDC/  ).

 

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RATIONALE AND TEMPLATE for ENTRIES # 9. Literature, Bible and Christianity

 

INTERACTION OF LITERATURE WITH THE BIBLE AND CHRISTIANITY

4/28/2004

Topic:  An entry of this type will be devoted to the way in which literature explicitly or implicitly interprets the Bible and/or Christian traditions and practices by presenting them in literary form.

 

Audience:  It is to be written for “curious and bright undergraduate students” (beginning university students whom we nicknamed “curious Georgia”) and yet must be informative enough to be a solid quick reference article for Christian clergy, professors and students in Christian seminaries and religious studies departments throughout the world.   These readers might not know anything about Christianity and about the other religious or cultural traditions– your self-contained entry should give them sufficient information to give them the assurance they know the essential about your topic – yet; they will have access to the rest of the dictionary for surveys of the history of Christianity in the world and in each region, and the plurality of entries concerning the interactions of Christianity with other religious traditions and cultures, as well as for explanations of concepts, Christian practices, events, history of Christian movements and denominations, and entries on women and men who are representatives of all of these.

 

Type of Entry and Goal: An entry of this type will be very concise yet quite informative because it emphasizes and clarifies those distinctive features of the Bible and Christian traditions and practices  that are highlighted for literary purposes in a certain cultural context.

 

A focus on the following issues will facilitate the comparison between outsiders’ and insiders’ views of the Bible and Christianity as well as the comparison with interpretations/representation of biblical themes and Christian traditions and practices in literary works of other cultures.  These issues might be more or less relevant in each case, some may be discounted, the order in which they are considered  may vary; issues may be re-grouped, but all must be considered in preparing an entry. The entry should seek to identify, often very briefly: 

• the particular character of the literary texts which represent/interpret biblical themes, Christian traditions and practices
• The intertexts with which (or in terms of which) the Bible and Christian traditions and practices are interpreted; 
• the features (religious experiences, theological concepts, practices, gender roles) of biblical texts and Christian traditions and practices that become most significant in light of the piece of literature; 
• the theological or ethical issues raised by this representation/interpretation of the Bible and and Christian traditions and practices;

When dealing with these categories, keep in mind that at least 50% of believers are women. 

 

 

TEMPLATE for ENTRIES # 9.Literature, Bible and Christinaity

 

 

(To insure consistency for the CDC, please include the following [[Phrases  Between Brackets]] in your draft ? to  be subsequently removed by the editor. The order of the points is to be determined in each case by the author.)

 

[[Introduction]]   Description of the interaction which is the topic of the article, namely the literary corpus  in a particular cultural context and its representation of biblical themes and Christian traditions and practices.

 

What [[features of Biblical texts or Christianity]] become most significant according to this literary corpus?

 

[[What distinctive understandings]] of certain Christian concepts or practices are then emphasized because of this interaction? 

 

[[Religious, theological concerns that are highlighted in Literature]] May include references to religious experience, locus of the sacred; sacred time(s); rituals

 

[[Christian practices that are highlighted in this literary corpus]] may include references to structure of authority; or attitude toward social, economic, political, and gender distinctions. 

 

 

[[Related Entries]] presupposed:   If possible, these should be signaled in the body of the entry with an * after the word designating the entry.  A few essential cross references may be listed at the end of the entry between parentheses:   “(see also xxxxx).”  (In most instance the editors will have to do this.)

 

Short Bibliography (not included in the word-count):  List the main resources for further study of this topic to be included in the Bibliography of the Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity on a web-site that will be regularly up-dated.  Usually not more than 5 to 10 titles with full biographical data (see style sheet  at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/religious_studies/CDC/  ).

 

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RATIONALE AND TEMPLATE for ENTRIES # 9.ReligiousText.Bible

INTERACTION OF RELIGIOUS TEXTS AND THE BIBLE

2/04/04

 

Topic:  The entries of this type will be part of a cluster, including several entries on the relationship of another religious tradition and Christianity; e.g., Islam and Christianity.

 

Such clusters are introduced by a pair of entries on “this other religious tradition and Christianity” (e.g. “Islam and Christianity”—one on Muslim views of Christianity and the other on Christian views of Islam).  This pair of entries is followed by a series of entries about Christianity and the Bible in interaction with this other religious tradition and its Scriptures in particular geographical or historical contexts. 

 

Thus, this entry will give specific instances of the way in which Biblical texts are read when they are interpreted in conjunction with non-Christian religious texts (e.g. when the Bible is read with the Koran as an intertext.)

 

Audience:  It is to be written for “curious and bright undergraduate students” (beginning university students whom we nicknamed “curious Georgia”) and yet must be informative enough to be a solid quick reference article for Christian clergy, professors and students in Christian seminaries and religious studies departments throughout the world.   These readers might not know anything about Christianity and about the other religious or cultural traditions– your self-contained entry should give them sufficient information to give them the assurance they know the essential about your topic – yet; they will have access to the rest of the dictionary for surveys of the history of Christianity in the world and in each region, and the plurality of entries concerning the interactions of Christianity with other religious traditions and cultures, as well as for explanations of concepts, Christian practices, events, history of Christian movements and denominations, and entries on women and men who are representatives of all of these..

 

Type of Entry and Goal: An entry of this type will be very concise yet quite informative because it emphasizes and clarifies a limited number of striking instances of biblical interpretation when it enters into dialogue with another religious tradition’s scriptures. 

 

The following categories are to be used to facilitate the comparison between outsiders’ views of Christianity and insiders’ views of Christianity, as well as the cross-cultural comparison of Christianity in diverse contexts: (The order may vary; categories may be re-grouped, but all must be considered in preparing an entry.  A fair representation of significant features of Christianity and other religious traditions must account for the fact that at least 50% of believers are women.)  The entry should seek to identify: 

• the other text with which (or in terms of which) the Bible is interpreted; 
• the features (religious experiences, theological concepts, practices, gender roles) of biblical texts that become most significant in light of the other text; 
• the theological or ethical issues raised by interpreting these two texts together;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEMPLATE for ENTRIES # 9.ReligiousText.Bible

 

(To insure consistency for the CDC, please include the following [[Phrases  Between Brackets]] in your draft ? to  be subsequently removed by the editor. The order of the points is to be determined in each case by the author.)

 

[[Introduction]]   Description of the religious text (e.g. the Koran) in terms of which the Bible is read.

 

What [[features of Biblical texts]] become most significant in light of this encounter with the Koran? 

 

[[What distinctive understandings]] of certain Christian concepts or practices are then emphasized in the Biblical text because of this interaction? 

 

[[Religious, theological concerns that are highlighted] in this encounter of the Biblical text with this other religious text.  May include references to religious experience, locus of the sacred; sacred time(s); rituals.

 

[[Ethical practices that are highlighted] in this encounter of the Biblical text with this other religious text. May include references to structure of authority; or attitude toward social, economic, political, and gender distinctions. 

 

 [[Related Entries]] presupposed:  These should be signaled in the body of the entry with an * after the word designating the entry.  A few essential cross references may be listed at the end of the entry between parentheses:   “(see also xxxxx).” 

 

Short Bibliography (not included in the word-count):  List the main resources for further study of this topic to be included in the Bibliography of the Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity on a web-site that will be regularly up-dated.  Usually not more than 5 to 10 titles with full biographical data (see style sheet  at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/religious_studies/CDC/  ).