A new way to negotiate the differences between the Hindu, Christian and Buddhist traditions will be proposed during a public lecture by a Vanderbilt Divinity School professor on March 10.
John Thatamanil, assistant professor of theology, will deliver the 2009 Mafoi Carlisle Bogitsh University Seminar in Religion and Culture at 7 p.m. in Benton Chapel at Vanderbilt Divinity School, 411 21st Ave. S.
The lecture, “How Many Ultimate Realities Are There? Religious Diversity and the Trinity,” is free and the public is invited. A reception will follow.
Christian theologians have long sought a way to understand religious diversity without explaining diversity away. In this lecture, Thatamanil will propose three ways to approach the subject – mystery, contingency and relation – that can help us understand and learn from the different traditions without erasing difference or dismissing unity.
The event, hosted by the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture at Vanderbilt, will be streamed live and recorded for podcasting on VUCast, the website of Vanderbilt News Service, at www.vanderbilt.edu/news/.
The Mafoi Carlisle Bogitsh University Seminar in Religion and Culture is supported by a gift from Burt Bogitsh, professor of biology, emeritus, and his family in honor of Mafoi Carlisle Bogitsh.
Media Contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu