Blake W. Burlson is associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and a senior lecturer in world religions at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. With zest, the author begins with a series of important questions for this age of religious diversity:
• How does one understand a religion that is not one's own?
• What motivates an individual who is invested in one spiritual tradition to explore another spiritual tradition?
• Are some assumptions necessary in order for one to engage another religion with empathy?
In order to deal with these questions, it is necessary use a contemplative approach that emphasizes listening in depth to ourselves and to others. Allied with this contemplative approach is that of C. G. Jung, who has been called the phenomenologist of the soul. Burlson believes the greatest contribution of this psychological genius was his "challenge to cultivate awareness of our own interiority so that a convocation of souls becomes an authentic possibility."
In order to understand a religion other than your own, Burlson encourages his readers to explore scripture, belief, pilgrimage, and art. The last was by far the most interesting to us with its observations on creative reception of art and the important role of the open heart.
