Why Atonement?Who Needs It? Atonement in Muslim-Christian Theological Engagement | 11 Daniel A. Madigan, S.J.
Christian Atonement Enlightened by a Buddhist Perspective on Craving | 40 Thierry-Marie Courau, O. P.
How Q 5:75 Can Help Christians Conceptualize Atonement | 61 Klaus von Stosch
Not for Myself Alone: Atonement and Penance After Daoism | 78 Bede Benjamin Bidlack
Suffering and the Scandal of the Cross God’s Suffering in the Hindu-Christian Gaze | 105 Francis X. Clooney, S . J .
More Than Meets the Eye: The Cross as Maṇḍala | 130 Michelle Voss Roberts
Divine Suffering and Covenantal Belonging: Considering the Atonement with Heschel and Moltmann | 149 Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski
The Clash and Continuity of Interpretation of Redemptive Suffering Between African Religions and Christianity | 167 Elochukwu Uzukwu, C.S.Sp.
Rethinking Redemption Redemptive Suffering After the Shoah: Going Back and Forth Between Jewish and Christian Traditions | 189 Marianne Moyaert
Judgment on the Cross: Resurrection as Divine Vindication | 214 Joshua Ralston
“At One or Not At One?” Christian Atonement in Light of Buddhist Perspectives | 239 Leo D. Lefebure
How Empty Is the Cross? Realization and Novelty in Atonement | 259 S. Mark Heim
Bibliography | 281
List of Contributors | 301
Index | 305
The central Christian belief in salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remains one of the most intractable mysteries of Christian faith. Throughout history, it has given rise to various theories of atonement, many of which have been subject to critique as they no longer speak to contemporary notions of evil and sin or to current conceptions of justice. One of the important challenges for contemporary Christian theology thus involves exploring new ways of understanding the salvific meaning of the cross.
In Atonement and Comparative Theology, Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African Religions reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement by pointing to analogous structures of sin and salvation, drawing attention to the scandal of the cross as seen by the religious other, and re-interpreting aspects of the Christian understanding of atonement. Together, they illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection.
Daniel A. Madigan, S.J., is Jeanette W. and Otto J. Ruesch Family Distinguished Jesuit Scholar, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Senior Fellow of the Al-Waleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and Faculty Fellow of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University. He is also an Honorary Professorial Fellow of Australian Catholic University. From 2000 to 2007, Madigan was the founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Religions and Cultures at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Since 2012, he has been Chair of the Building Bridges Seminar, an annual week-long study session for Muslim and Christian scholars invited from all over the world.