Faith in the Plural

In a time of religious violence, a dialogical theology of a Jewish cast provides a means for overcoming religious fanaticism. "Faith in the Plural" presents a deed-centered dialogical theology rooted in Jewish dialogical philosophy. It is suggested that the search for dialogical elements in religious sources and traditions and the lively contact with religious others offer remedies for religious aberrations.

Dialogical theology from a Jewish vantage point perceives relatedness amidst unique particularity. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of all religions with respect for the specificity of each and every religion. It is argued that it is possible to understand each other since we live in one world and that one testifies to the Transcendent in openness to and learning from the religious other. Central in this pluralized theology is the term "trans-difference," which denotes differences in cultures and religions and goes beyond them in communication and in the search of peace. In "trans-difference," one recognizes the right to be different and the necessity of being related.

Prof. Ephraim Meir is Professor emeritus of modern Jewish Thought at Bar-Ilan University and President of the International Rosenzweig Society. For several years, he was the Levinas guest Professor for Jewish Dialogical Studies and Interreligious Theology at the Academy of World Religions, University of Hamburg. In the second half of 2018 he was a research fellow at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton. His latest monograph, entitled Old-New Jewish Humanism, was published by Idra in 2018.