Jump to content

Paul F. Knitter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul F. Knitter
Born
Paul Francis Knitter

(1939-02-25)February 25, 1939(age 85)
Chicago,Illinois,US
SpouseCathy Cornell (m.c. 1984)[1]
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplineTheology
Institutions
Main interestsReligious pluralism

Paul Francis Knitter(born February 25, 1939) is an Americantheologian.He is currently anemeritus professoratUnion Theological Seminary,where he has served as the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture since 2007.[2][3]He is also Emeritus Professor of Theology atXavier UniversityinCincinnati,where he taught for 28 years before moving to Union.[4]Knitter is known for his work onreligious pluralismandmultiple religious belonging,particularly regardingBuddhism and Christianity.

Life and career[edit]

Knitter was born inChicago,Illinois.Ordained as a priest in theRoman Catholic Churchshortly after theSecond Vatican Council,he holds a licentiate from thePontifical Gregorian Universityin Rome (1966), as well as a doctorate from theUniversity of Marburg,Germany (1972). Knitter received permission to leave the priesthood in 1975, becoming a professor of theology at Xavier.[5]He married Cathy Cornell, a Buddhist meditation teacher, in 1984.

Since publishing his book,No Other Name?(1985), Knitter has been widely known for hisreligious pluralism.Knitter, who identifies as a "Buddhist Christian," explores the phenomenon ofmultiple religious belonginginBuddhism and ChristianityinWithout Buddha, I Could Not Be a Christian(2009).

In 1984, Knitter was one of 97 theologians and religious persons who signedA Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion,calling for pluralism and discussion within theCatholic Churchregarding thechurch's position on abortion.[6]

Knitter is a board member of CRISPAZ (Christians for Peace in El Salvador).[7]

Criticism[edit]

Along with his friend and colleague, the Protestant philosopher of religionJohn Hick,Knitter came under criticism of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then-prefect ofCongregation of the Doctrine of the Faithand laterPope Benedict XVI,for "relativism."[8]Similar concerns have been raised by other theologians.Catherine Cornille,addressing Knitter's claim that Jesus is not the "only" savior inJesus and the Other Names,comments: "Not only are the religious views of different traditions at times directly opposed or mutually exclusive, but the very claim of ultimacy of one religion necessarily precludes the truth of the claims of others."[9]Robert Magliolacriticizes Knitter's proposed "one universal Spirit" concept, asserting that it perpetuates the modernist idea of "equable holism" or "openness" (the "modern idol" ) rather than the "jagged, asymmetrical" nature of reality.[10]Critiquing Knitter's views onreligious double belonging,Joseph A. Brackenargues that "in ethical reflection one should begin with the recognition of the Otherness of the Other" rather than with "the sustained meditation by the self on one's moral responsibility for others":[11]

In a review ofJesus and Buddha: Friends in Conversation,Magliola critiqued Knitter andRoger Haight's discussion of the possibility of double belonging in Catholicism and Mahayana Buddhism.:

Mahayana Buddhism affirms theTwo truths doctrine,mundane truth and Ultimate truth, are mystically identical, i.e., "form is emptiness and emptiness is form." Catholic Christianity, for its part has teachings such as... the presence of God in all things via "essence, presence, and power," but matter and form are never regarded as absolutely identical. Thus, in regard to the Ultimate, Mahayanist affirmation of the absolute identity (via theDharmakāya) and Catholic rejection of the absolute identity (at any level or degree) are two tenets that irreducibly contradict each other.[12]

Works[edit]

Thesis[edit]

  • Knitter, Paul F. (1974).Towards a Protestant Theology of Religions(PhD). Marburger Theologische Studien. Vol. 11. Marburg: N.G. Elwert.ISBN9783770804856.OCLC611481104.

Books[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Knitter, Paul F. (2009).Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian.London: Oneworld (published 2013). p. xvi.ISBN978-1-78074-248-9.
  2. ^"Paul F. Knitter".Union Theological Seminary. Archived fromthe originalon January 5, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 20,2010.
  3. ^"Faculty Emeriti/ae".Union Theological Seminary.RetrievedMarch 16,2018.
  4. ^"Paul F. Knitter Biographical Summary".Friends Theological College. Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2009.Retrieved20 January2010.
  5. ^Steinfels, Peter (9 October 2009)."A Look at Christianity, Through a Buddhist Lens".The New York Times.
  6. ^Keller, Rosemary Skinner; Ruether, Rosemary Radford; Cantlon, Marie (2006).Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America.Vol. 3. Indiana University Press. pp. 1104–1106.ISBN978-0-253-34688-9.
  7. ^"Board of Directors | CRISPAZ".
  8. ^"Relativism: The Central Problem for Faith Today | EWTN".
  9. ^Catherine Cornille,The im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue,New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing, 2008, p.87.
  10. ^Journal of American Academy of Religion,Vol. 78 Issue 4 (Dec. 2010), P. 1218.
  11. ^Joseph A. Bracken's review ofJesus and Buddha: Friends in Conversation
  12. ^Robert Magliola,Dilatato Corde,Vol 6, Issue 2 (July-Dec. 2016), at DIMMID dimmid.orgVol. VI, No. 2 (July-Dec., 2016)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_F._Knitter&oldid=1234576537"