Religion in a New Key, by M. Darrol Bryant
Religion in a New Key is a creative exploration of a new situation in the religious life of our time - the meeting of men and women of different faiths. Professor Bryant argues that this important religious phenomenon signals a new spiritual possibility for humankind. But we have yet to fully plumb its depths. Bryant explores the implications of interreligious encounter and dialogue for the study of religion and for our life as believing members of different religious communities. Religion in a New Key is relevant to the current tensions between different religious communities. Bryant believes that the experience of dialogue points the way to a new relationship between men and women of different faiths - a way already anticipated by Gandhiji. As Bryant knows from his own experience of dialogue, it leads to a new appreciation of the faith of others and to a recognition of our shared experience of faith across traditions. At the same time, it challenges us to go more deeply into our respective faiths. Dialogue, Bryant argues, can become the new key for the practice and the study of religion. This edition significantly extends the purposes of the original lectures by taking the reader more deeply into the dialogue of religions. The new essays include a further exploration of dialogue with special attention to the Muslim world, a moving account of dialogue as encounter in Buddhist monasteries in Korea and Japan and a vivid account of the Kumbha Mela, the world's largest religious event.