Religious leaders often come together for a statement of their respective beliefs seeking a false satisfaction that they are working for world peace by a disparate series of talks meant to only emphasize differences among faith traditions. This book is a welcome departure from such meaningless exercises and hopes to create a tradition of “sharing wisdom” among the followers of different world religions.... Sharing Wisdom is not a simplistic putting together of the beliefs of different faith traditions but a systematic approach to bring about a culture of actively sharing wisdom without sacrificing the unique features of a particular faith tradition but trying to absorb more from the others.

Reading Religion

Alon Goshen-Gottstein has assembled a collection of gem-like essays on the theme of ‘sharing wisdom,’ with contributions from brilliant scholars on the nature of wisdom and whether it can be shared outside the traditions, in Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism, with a fine summary essay by the editor. The authors are critically sharp about the real differences among the traditions and work hard, as the result of working together, to address one another’s concerns. Love and forgiveness seem to be common conditions for sharing, though even these are interpreted in interestingly different ways. This volume is accessible to beginners and enlighteningly fresh for scholars.

Robert Neville, Boston University, Past President of the American Academy of Religion

How can religions engage with each other in a way that not only respects each other's integrity but also draws on their depths and brings them into fruitful conversation? Sharing Wisdom is a remarkable response to that question. The distinguished authors together tackle a series of difficult questions posed to their traditions, and they succeed in opening up a wisdom of multiple depths that resonate with each other. There are differences as well as agreements, but the outcome is to enhance mutual understanding and inspire both further conversation and practical collaboration. Alon Goshen-Gottstein has drawn the strands together with profound sensitivity and perceptiveness. He is now one of a very small number of senior global interfaith statesmen and stateswomen. Through the work of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, together with many publications, he offers a vision of how to bring religions together for good in ways that address some of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century.

David F. Ford, University of Cambridge