Society for Comparative Theology

 

October 16, 7- 9 p.m
Center for the Study of World Religions
42 Francis Avenue
Cambridge, MA

Prof. Jon Levenson will present on "Can Catholicism Validate Jewish Biblical Interpretation?"

Light refreshments will be provided, and we promise to conclude at precisely 9pm.

These meetings are open to all interested graduate students and faculty, from any of the BTI schools or other neighboring schools. The Society is a colloquium for faculty and graduate students of the Boston Theological Institute, as well as scholars in the greater Boston area. It meets on a regular basis ­ usually three times a year [fall, winter, spring] - for discussion and the presentation of current work by the Society's members.

Directions to CSWR are available at http://www.hds.harvard.edu/cswr/about/directions.html Parking for this event is available in the small lot on the left side, just before reaching the Divinity School at 45 Francis Avenue; since parking is limited, however, car pooling and public transportation are still encouraged.

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March 6th, 2008
Room 325
Boston University
School of Theology
745 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA

Professor Peng Guoxiang of Tsinghua University’s Philosophy, will talk with us about the continuing debate over the religious nature of Confucianism. Professor Peng is going to provide us with a text he recently presented at Columbia University on the topic of teaching about the great books in a rapidly globalizing world. Professor Peng has also been giving a series of lectures around the United States on the topic of “The Future of Confucianism?” He will link this material to the topic of most recent book, Confucian Tradition: Crossing Religion and Humanism (This is his own translation of the Chinese title; the book was published in 2007 by Peking University Press). Professor Peng has taught at Hawaii University and is presently a visiting scholar at the Harvard Yenching Institute. Few scholars have thought more about the complex question of the religious nature of Confucianism and its modern fate.

Light refreshments will be provided, and we promise to conclude at precisely 9pm.

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April 22, at 7 p.m. in McGuinn Hall, 5th floor lounge at Boston College

Topic: "Islamic Hagiography in Comparative Perspective."

Speaker: Professor John Renard

Suggested reading: "Comparative Theology: Definition and Method,” by Professor John Renard

Bio-blurb: PhD in Islamic Studies, Harvard NELC 1978, with focus on medieval Arabic and Persian religious literature, Sufism, art and architecture. Professor of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University for 30 years, teaching courses in Islamic religious studies, Buddhism, Hinduism, Comparative Theology and Medieval Seminar work for PhD in Historical Theology. Publications include Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment and Servanthood (California 2008), A Historical Dictionary of Sufism (Scarecrow/Rowman and Littlefield 2005) Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology (Paulist 2004), Seven Doors to Islam (California 1996) and Windows on the House of Islam (ed., California 1998). A companion anthology to Friends of God, Tales of God's Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation (ed.) is now being prepared for 2009 publication at University of California Press.

For anyone interested, Dr. Renard will also be speaking on the same day at 4:30 on the topic of "Heroes and Saints in Islamic Art and Literature" in McGuinn Auditorium.

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