Customer Reviews

Christianity and the Doctrine of Non-Dualism

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There is great merit in this work as a support in facilitating once again the expression of non-dualism (advaita) within the Christian milieu as this doctrine once did in the West. This book could also broaden the current understanding and outlook of the Christian tradition which has become more and more eclipsed in the present era due to modernity and post-modernity's indefinite trend toward "progress" and secularization that radically contrasts from earlier epochs that were firmly rooted in the sacred. Such a perspective is polarized either to discredit the Christian tradition altogether believing that it has somehow failed the terrestrial masses or to provoke fundamentalism asserting a pseudo monopoly on truth itself--blinded by the assumption that the only authentic religion is Christianity ipso facto negating the possibility of all other spiritual traditions as 'paths that lead to the same summit'. Beyond such polarities the reader will be pleased to find that this book fosters religious pluralism, tolerance, inquiry and dialogue from a non-reductionistic point of view and yet simultaneously acknowledges the 'transcendent unity of religions.'

Even coming from a strong interest in Vedanta, I found this book extremely dense, seemingly arguing details of Christian theology in long, complicated sentences full of jargon and untranslated Latin. Moreover, the book takes great pain to be "politically correct" against Catholic theology and dogma, leaving the impression that without this there is no possiblity of Truth. This prejudice colors my perception the the text. All this is not to say that there are not a few diamonds in the all details, but as might be said in a business setting, there is a great deal of paralysis by analysis here.