Religion without Violence: The Practice and Philosophy of Scriptural Reasoning

Ochs, Peter (Author)/ Ford, David F. (Foreword)

ISBN 10: 1532638949 / ISBN 13: 9781532638947

Published by Cascade Books, 2019

About this Item

244 pages. 6.00x0.69x9.00 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1532638949

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Religion without Violence: The Practice and Philosophy of Scriptural Reasoning
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1532638949
• ISBN 13: 9781532638947
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.53 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

In 1992, Peter Ochs and a few Christian and Muslim colleagues began to gather small groups, in and outside the classroom, to practice close and attentive reading of the sacred Scriptures of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions. The hope was that members of different religions could hear one another through the patient, respectful reading of each other's Scripture. Hearing each other, participants might enter into interreligious relationships that might point a way to the peaceful engagement of religions--especially those who, after September 11, 2001, too often found themselves at each other's throats. It was a hope for religion without violence. Nearly thirty years later, this practice of study-across-difference has seeded an international movement, now named Scriptural Reasoning. The movement nurtures cooperative study among students, scholars, and congregants devoted to distinctly different religious and value traditions. In Religion without Violence, Ochs reflects on the practical and philosophic lessons he has learned from hosting hundreds of Scriptural Reasoning engagements. He introduces the "scriptural pragmatism" of Scriptural Reasoning." He painstakingly recounts instances of successful scriptural reasoning and warns where and how it might fail. He provides guidance on how to introduce and facilitate Scriptural Reasoning in the classroom. He shows how reading out of the "hearth" of a faith can contribute to peace building across religions. And, drawing on the resources of rabbinic tradition, Augustine, and Charles Peirce, he moves beyond practice to reflect on the implications of Scriptural Reasoning for discerning what kinds of "reasoning" best address and help repair societal crises like religion-related violent conflict.

About the Authors

Peter Ochs is Edgar M. Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies at the University of Virginia. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from Yale University and an MA in Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is author of over forty journal articles and reviews in theology an philosophy and has previously edited a volume enitled Understanding the Rabbinic Mind: Essays on the Hermeneutic of Max Kadushin.

David F. Ford is Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University.