The Meeting of Opposites?
Hindus and Christians in the West
Andrew Wingate
Andrew Wingate is Canon Theologian of Leicester Cathedral and a Chaplain to The Queen. In 2009, he was awarded the OBE for his work in interfaith relations. He has been a theological teacher for long periods in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and at Queen’s College in Birmingham. He was Principal of the international College of the Ascension at Selly Oak, Birmingham, before moving to Leicester in 2000, where he founded the St Philip’s Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi Faith Society, a local, national and international project. He has been immersed both in Islam and in Hinduism, and is an honorary lecturer now at De Montfort University. This book comes out of 30 years of experience with Hindus in India and in the West. He studied in Oxford and Birmingham Universities, and his doctorate in Birmingham was on issues of interreligious conversion in South India, published by ISPCK/SPCK. He has written six books, including the much-used, and now in its fourth printing, Celebrating Difference, Staying Faithful: How to Live in a Multi-Faith World (Darton, Longman & Todd, 2005).
For
my family – my three grown-up children Joanna, Jenny and Matthew, and my wife Angela – with thanks for their sharing the Indian journey with me, and hence my involvement with Hindus
Contents
1 Today Islam, tomorrow Hinduism? Challenges for Christians in the West
The churches in India and their interaction with Hinduism
Interfaith dialogue and the Indian churches
Questions of mission, evangelism and conversion
3 Three bhakti movements in the UK, and Christianity: 1. ISKCON (Hare Krishna movement)
Murugan Temple, Manor Park, London
Conclusion
6 The Swaminarayan Sampradaya movement
Who was Swaminarayan? History of the movement
Challenges, possibilities and difficulties for Christians in relating to this movement
7 Three geographical studies: 1. Leicester, England
Introduction to the case studies
Leicester
Hindus in Leicester
Some Christian responses
8 Three geographical studies: 2. The United States
My journal
Vedanta
Academics and universities
ISKCON
Indian temples
Interfaith initiatives and reflections
9 Three geographical studies: 3. Sweden
Overview
ISKCON in Sweden
Other Hindu temples
Four individual informants in Stockholm
Yoga in Sweden
Summary
Leicester Hindu–Christian Forum
Hindu–Christian national forum
11 Theological, spiritual and missiological challenges
The question of God/gods
The question of ‘idols’
The area of grace: works and the link with karma
The uniqueness of Christ and the cross
The challenge of certain ideas
The nature of salvation and ways to salvation
Scriptural dialogue
Hindu–Christian groups
12 Afterword: the meeting of opposites?