A Multitude of Blessings: A Christian Approach to Religious Diversity

By Cynthia M. Campbell

Book Overview

In A Multitude of Blessings, Cynthia Campbell clearly and engagingly explores the ancient but timely issue of religious diversity, drawing on both biblical and theological sources. Analyzing Old Testament texts, she provides a close reading of several key passages that express God's steadfast love for humankind and show that diversity is part of God's overall plan for human culture. In the New Testament, she turns to several influential texts and familiar passages to which Christians have often pointed as proof of the exclusive truth or superiority of Christianity over other religious traditions. By putting these texts in their respective contexts and by examining the roles of religious "others" in the New Testament, Campbell demonstrates that God's grace extends far beyond a chosen people and that knowledge of God is not limited to Christian believers. Campbell ultimately affirms that religious diversity is part of God's providential care for humankind. Therefore, she urges Christians to be modest in their claims to truth, to be open to interfaith dialogue, and to work with others for justice and peace.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0664229565
• ISBN13: 9780664229566
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

True Ecumenism!

Cynthia Campbell's "A Multitude of Blessings" is an excellent book, a must read for anyone interested in what has become of Christian ecumenism over the years. The book is well organized, perceptively written, and will present new "talking points" for anyone who is interested in furthering the activities that might be entitled "true ecumenism." For a minister and the President of a prestigious seminary, I was especially delighted with what I would call the "philosophical" development of her reflections. The book is both easy to read and hard to put down. If you need to jump start your ecumenical reflections, this book is a good place to start; if you are an experienced ecumenist, you will find a new enthusiasm for your work.

from Westminster John Knox Press

What is a Christian to make of religious diversity? How does one affirm faith in Jesus Christ and seek to live according to the teachings of Christian faith and at the same time live with neighbors who are not Christian? This book is written for Christians who are concerned to make sense of this challenge of living with religious diversity. For the most part, the author does not write about other religious traditions, the ways they approach reality and understand God, or the moral claims they make; this is not a book about "comparative religions." What the author does is present one way that Christians can think about this topic from the standpoint of her faith tradition.