ABSTRACT
Brahman: A Comparative Theology is a critique of systematic theology from the comparative perspective. The book is intended to fulfill the need for a wider theology than the traditional systematic, a theology unafraid to engage in constructive dialogue across religious boundaries. Constructive dialogue occurs every day, of course, but the approach adopted here displays a fundamental shift across the whole of systematic theology. The genre of systematic theology is chosen because its choice and treatment of topics afford the greatest return on cross-cultural inquiry. Systematic theology is historically a Christian genre and is for that reason a comfortable and natural starting point of inquiry for a Westerner. It is the task of the book to show that systematic theology is highly adaptable to cross-cultural criticism. Systematic theology has much to offer in its favor by its comprehensive and orderly treatment of topics. But systematic theology grows and is transformed in response to fresh insights from the Indian tradition and others. Thus, in a series of dialectical moves, systematic theology undergoes critique as the “wisdom of the East” is applied to each of its topics in turn.
