A Theology of Gratitude: Christian and Muslim Perspectives

Description

How, from a theological standpoint, should we make sense of gratitude? This rich interdisciplinary volume is the first concertedly to explore theologies of gratitude from both Christian and Muslim perspectives. While the available literature has tended to rhapsodize gratitude to God and others as both a virtue and an obligation, this book by contrast offers something new by detailing ways in which gratitude is complicated by inequality: even to the point of becoming a vice. Gratitude now emerges as something more than a virtue and other than merely transactional. It can be a burden, bringing about indebtedness and an imbalance of power; but it may also be a resonant source of reconciliation and belonging. Topics discussed cover the personal and political dimensions of gratitude, including such issues as justice, multiculturalism, racism, imperialism, grief, memory and hope. The book assembles, from different traditions, some of the leading theologians of our times.

Mona Siddiqui is Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 2011 she was awarded an OBE for services to interfaith relations. She is the author of many celebrated titles in religion, including - most recently - Christians, Muslims and Jesus (Yale University Press, 2013), My Way (IB Tauris, 2014) and Human Struggle (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Nathanael Vette is Issachar Postdoctoral Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His first book, Writing with Scripture: Scripturalized Narrative in the Gospel of Mark, will be published by T&T Clark in 2022 in the Library of New Testament Studies series.

'Accessible, engaging, and informative... With its concentration on the attitudes and practices of gratitude, the book deals with an important theme strangely neglected in theological writing. A particular strength is its interaction with recent psychological studies of gratitude; these are drawn into conversation with the historical traditions of both Christianity and Islam. The volume includes several distinguished scholars from both sides of the Atlantic, and its audience will include students of Christian and Islamic thought - especially those interested in recent comparative theology.' David Fergusson, University of Cambridge 'This pioneering comparative study in Christian and Muslim understandings of gratitude sets out to reconceptualise something often seen as a self-evident virtue into both 'a burden and a blessing' in human and societal relationships. The topic is one underexplored in the theological traditions of either religion beyond its fundamental role in the human relationship with the divine. The book makes an important and original contribution to comparative theology in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and also to the wider humanities - especially in their dialogue with the social sciences.' William F. Storrar, Director, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton 'Accessible, engaging, and informative... With its concentration on the attitudes and practices of gratitude, the book deals with an important theme strangely neglected in theological writing.' David Fergusson, University of Cambridge 'The book makes an important and original contribution to comparative theology in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and also to the wider humanities - especially in their dialogue with the social sciences.' William F. Storrar, Director, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton 'Accessible, engaging, and informative.' David Fergusson, University of Cambridge 'The book makes an important and original contribution to comparative theology in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and also to the wider humanities.' William F. Storrar, Director, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton