Myth, mind, Messiah : exploring the development of the Christian responsibility towards interfaith dialogue from within Ken Wilber's integral hermeneutics
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Authors
Snyman, Kevin
Issue Date
2002-11
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Interfaith dialogue , Integral hermeneutics , Ken Wilber , Christian dialogical responsibility , Transpersonal theology , Interreligious dialogue , Holons , Holistic embrace , Pluralism , Structural-developmental dialogue , Mythic rationalism , Centauric theology , Stages of religious dialogue , AQAL approach
Alternative Title
Abstract
Interfaith dialogue is no luxury for Christians living in a pluralistic~ effervescent world of intenningling, multi-religious realities. Many Christians take seriously their responsibility towards interfaith dialogue. However, different Christians understand this responsibility in different ways, which often leads to acrimonious accusations of
unchristian dialogical approaches. The question is whether there is any means of ordering and assessing the Christian responsibility towards other religions in a mutually uplifting and increasingly holistic way? Ken Wilber provides an integral, or All-Quadrant, All-Level hermeneutics that may assist us with an answer. All holonswhich means everything in the "Kosmos" - emerge or arise in holarchical fashion. On one level, it is a whole, on the next transcendent level it is a part of the whole. This
process is infinite and is only ever released in One Taste/salvation/Nirvana/the Kingdom of God, or simply unqualifiable Suchness. Wilber provides an integrated methodology for understanding the process by which holons find their release in One Taste. The holon of Christian responsibility towards interfaith dialogue also emerges
through discreet, recognizable stages. Each stage is integrated into the next higher level. The lower levels are more fundamental since they exist as a part of the higher levels. However, the higher levels are more significant, since they have an increased capacity to explore aspects of dialogue previously hidden. The levels we explore are the mythic rational, the rational and the centauric. 'lbese levels emerge through four
interrelated dimensions or Quadrants: the Upper Left or spiritual/faith dimension of the person entering into dialogue, the Upper Right Quadrant or theology of dialogue that emerges, the Lower Left or communal and interpretive realm, and Lower Right which covers the social organizational patterns with which the person in dialogue chooses to associate him or herself. We define responsibility in tenns of these four
Quadrants: The response or theology (UR) of the person is dependent upon her response-ability, or interior faith development (UL), which is informed by the worldview (LL) of her faith community to whom she feels responsible, with the sociological patterns of her community (LR), to some extent, offers clues as to her stage of development.
Description
Citation
Snyman, Kevin (2002) Myth, mind, Messiah : exploring the development of the Christian responsibility towards interfaith dialogue from within Ken Wilber's integral hermeneutics, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1050>