The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament

By John J. Thatamanil

Book Overview

While traditional Christian thought and spirituality have always affirmed the divine presence in human life, Thatamanil argues we have much to learn from non-dualistic Hindu thought, especially that of the eighth-century thinker Sankara, and from the Christian panentheism of Paul Tillich. Thatamanil compares their diagnoses and prognoses of the human predicament in light of their doctrine of God or Ultimate Reality. What emerges is a new theology of God and human beings, with a richer and more radical conception of divine immanence, a reconceived divine transcendence, and a keener sense of how the dynamic and active Spirit at work in us anchors real hope and deep joy. Using key insights from Christian and Hindu thought Thatamanil vindicates comparative theology, expands the vocabulary about the ineffable God, and arrives at a new construal of the problems and prospects of the human condition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800637933
• ISBN13: 9780800637934
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishing
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Comments by Dr. John Gibson

The Immanent Divine is an intellegent and well-writen book which sould be of interest not only to theological prodessionals but also to laymen familiar with theological writing. It must have taken courage for the author to take on a comparison of two as seemingly divergent thinkers as Sankara and Tillich and so convincingly show how they may engage each other in comfortable dialogue. This book not only informs but also challenges one to think "out of the box."

A Dialogue between Hindu and Christian Thought

The Immanent Divine is written by one of the most thoughtful and well-informed religious scholars in America and in the world. An American citizen of Indian birth and a compassionate practicing Christian of powerful intellect, professor Thatamanil's book deserves a wide audience. His analysis of Hindu thought in relation to Christian faith is a stimulus for awakening the faith of ultimate concern rather than that of mere social conformity.