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8 - Multiscripturalism

from Part II - Problematics of Scripture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2018

Steven G. Smith
Affiliation:
Millsaps College, Mississippi
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Summary

Given the current state of awareness of the world’s scriptures, anyone serious about scriptural guidance will be interested in evaluating the possibility of following multiple scriptures without deceptively separating the divine goal from the “many paths.” “Global theology” proposals have tended to avoid the question of scripture. Multiscripturalism is already weakly in force in an ordinary East Asian religious pattern of multiple religious belonging and in Abrahamic acknowledgements of “rays of Truth” in all the world’s traditions (Nostra Aetate), but a strong commitment to multiple scriptures like that of Raimon Panikkar is hard to reconcile with the usual understanding of the authority of scriptures and traditions. Yet it seems that supposed incompatibilities of belief, cultural intelligibility, and community membership can be overcome by individual learning and spiritual adjustments; in fact, such adjustments are not infrequently made (I give examples from my own multiscriptural experience). Multiscripturalism arguably lies on the main path of development of literate guidance, supporting a more robustly cosmopolitan sensitivity to diverse identifications of ultimate appeal and right attitude.
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Scriptures and the Guidance of Language
Evaluating a Religious Authority in Communicative Action
, pp. 266 - 292
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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  • Multiscripturalism
  • Steven G. Smith
  • Book: Scriptures and the Guidance of Language
  • Online publication: 05 October 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108580441.009
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  • Multiscripturalism
  • Steven G. Smith
  • Book: Scriptures and the Guidance of Language
  • Online publication: 05 October 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108580441.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Multiscripturalism
  • Steven G. Smith
  • Book: Scriptures and the Guidance of Language
  • Online publication: 05 October 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108580441.009
Available formats
×