Encounters in Faith

Designed for College Students Taking Their First Course in Comparative Religion

What does it mean to be religious? Are there universal lessons that most religions point to? What does spiritual transformation look like? What is the soul?

Christian spirituality and comparative theology scholar Peter Feldmeier explores the relationship between Christianity and other religious traditions in an effort to rethink and shape the notion of faith.

In this text, Feldmeier explores Christianity and mysticism and investigates the role of spiritual masters and their mentoring of religiously serious people. He also examines Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism and considers the notion of the soul. He discusses the Zen vision of life, as well as native traditions, particularly those of the Americas, and the New Age movement. In each chapter, Christianity acts as a dialogue partner as the text models for readers how one can reimagine one's own religious tradition.

By introducing the ethos of a range of religions, Feldmeier offers a rich and full exploration of the spiritual connection among religions, as well as reveals how religious understanding that employs both head and heart expands and challenges sometimes narrow doctrinal beliefs.