“Theology” means “discourse about god.” Christian theology is a reflection on the Christian faith in which God takes a central place. Therefore, the Christian theology of other religions seeks to understand if and how “God” as Christians call their experience of Him may be present in the thought, devotion, and ritual of those other religions. Christian theology of Buddhism is then a Christian reflection on the Buddhist faith in “god” or “gods.” Now, Buddhist teaching contains many seeming contradictions (as does Christian teaching). Accepting these, and looking for clues to understand how they came about and how they might be reconciled, is not only an intellectual challenge but also a religious duty.
The Hidden “God” feels like a detective story, taking the reader along on an exacting investigation of the manifold themes, concepts, and persons of the different Buddhist faith traditions in order to discern whether they can be related to the Christian understanding of who God is. The result, which is both complex and simple, will enable readers to take steps toward uniting both religions in the mystery that God or the Dharma is.
Praise
“This book is courageous and necessary: courageous because it breaks a taboo of placing interreligious dialogue on a theological level; necessary because it brings to light a sincere comparative study of the relationship between faith and practice—which is common ground for all the great spiritual traditions.”
“The ‘god’ question is almost absent from Buddhist scriptures and teachings, yet everywhere present in the searching eyes of a Christian. Peter Baekelmans is well equipped to tackle this elusive question owing to his many years in Japan and long acquaintance with several branches and schools of Buddhism.”
“As Peter Baekelmans is a renowned theologian and scholar of Buddhism, whom I consider the Christian expert on esoteric Buddhism—both theoretically and practically—the reading of this challenging work will be deeply illuminating.”
—MARTIN REPP
author of The One God and the Other Gods
“The Hidden ‘God’takes us along with the author on a journey to the discovery of Buddhism and its many facets. His path-breaking manner of comparing Buddhism to his native Christianity with a view to enhancing the understanding of both is immensely respectful.”
—ALICIA GUINOT
Europe Books
“This book is courageous and necessary: courageous because it breaks a taboo of placing interreligious dialogue on a theological level; necessary because it brings to light a sincere comparative study of the relationship between faith and practice—which is common ground for all the great spiritual traditions. This is the more necessary in the case of Buddhism, which, in the West, is increasingly secularized and confined to the field of psychophysical well-being disciplines.”
“The ‘god’ question is almost absent from Buddhist scriptures and teachings, yet everywhere present in the searching eyes of a Christian. Peter Baekelmans is well equipped to tackle this elusive question owing to his many years in Japan and long acquaintance with several branches and schools of Buddhism. On the Christian side, his approach is both academic and theological: a scholar and a believer, which allows him to consider the ‘god’ question in Buddhism from different and sometimes surprising angles without losing sight of the global picture.”
“In The Hidden ‘God,’ Peter Baekelmans develops a Christian theology of Buddhism in the sense of a Christian reflection on the Buddhist faith in ‘god’ (or ‘gods’). As he is a renowned theologian and scholar of Buddhism, whom I consider the Christian expert on esoteric Buddhism—both theoretically and practically—the reading of this challenging work will be deeply illuminating.”
—MARTIN REPP
author of The One God and the Other Gods: A Historical and Systematic Introduction to Ecumenical Theologies of Religion
“Peter Baekelmans’ The Hidden ‘God’takes us along with the author on a journey to the discovery of Buddhism and its many facets. His path-breaking manner of comparing Buddhism to his native Christianity with a view to enhancing the understanding of both is immensely respectful. He has undertaken an arduous task. Many have tried it, and many have failed. Remarkably, this book is simple in its completeness, pointing out what has been right before our eyes all along even while opening up a limitless horizon.”
—ALICIA GUINOT
Europe Books
About the Author
PETER BAEKELMANS, born in 1960 in Brasschaat, Belgium, has dedicated his life to the study of religions. He holds an MA in Comparative Religion (Lugano, Switzerland), an MA in Buddhist Studies (Koyasan, Japan), and a PhD/STD in Theology of Religions (Nagoya, Japan). He worked twenty years as a CICM missionary at different parishes and universities in Japan where he also practiced in-depth Zen meditation and Shingon rituals at Buddhist monasteries. He is presently the director of SEDOS (Rome), as well as guest professor at KU Leuven (Belgium), where he teaches Hinduism, Buddhism, and Eastern religions on the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. As a Roman Catholic priest-theologian, he seeks to bring religions closer to each other also on a theological level.
