Keywords:
Modernity, freedom, critical thinking, history, dialogue, hermeneutics of suspicion, post-modernity, global village, Christianity, knowledge
Abstract
Written for the people shearing the same reality, the same mental world of Modernity, this paper starts from the premise that we, as human beings, are not always consciously aware of the world we live in, of its constantly changing characteristics or attributes. It has already been demonstrated that our knowledge is contextual and limited. Thus, in order to accurately depict at least some of the attributes of Modernity, and consequently, to observe the major paradigm shift towards an age of dialogue, entailed by this expending-modernity, it became necessary to describe the values promoted by Modernity. In this paper we aim at discussing notions such as freedom, critical-thinking, history and the increasing need to be in dialogue with those who think differently from us, values which guide us mentally and determine our actions through Modernity.
Author Biography
Leonard Swidler
Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue at the Religion Department, Temple University, Philadelphia. Editor and co-founder (with Arlene Swidler) of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies (quarterly), 1964-. Founder and Director of the Institute for Interreligious, Intercultural Dialogue, 1978-. Editor of the book series: Religions In Dialogue, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990-. Founder and Chair of Consortium for Interreligious Dialogue, in March, 1994- . Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Global Dialogue Institute, 1997-.
Dialogue for Reunion (1962), The Ecumenical Vanguard (1965), Freedom in the Church (1969), Bloodwitness for Peace and Unity (1977), Aufklärung Catholicism 1780- 1850 ( 1978), Biblical Affirmation of Women (1979), Küng in Conflict (1981), The Passion of the Jew Jesus (1984). Editor and author of: Toward a Universal Theology of Religion (1987), A Catholic Bill of Rights (1988), Yeshua: A Model for Moderns (1988), After the Absolute: The Dialogical Future of Religious Reflection (1990), Death or Dialogue. From the Age of Monologue to the Age of Dialogue (1990), For All Life. Toward a Universal Declaration of a Global Ethic: An Interreligious Dialogue (1999), The Study of Religion in an Age of Global Dialogue (2000).
