Advaita is centred on forms of textual reasoning...

Advaita is centred on forms of textual reasoning, since it is driven on by exegetical and textual strategies for understanding and connecting sacred texts and sections of commentaries together.[^29] Second, and in the light of this, Clooney considers how Aquinas himself constructs the Summa Theologiae and how authoritative texts are important to his theological method, as well as the pedagogical character of the construction of the Summa as a whole.

He also considers the importance of a commentarial tradition on the Summa in Catholic Thomist theology. In this comparative section Clooney draws on modern Western discussions of hermeneutics and reading theory, in order to explore what it means to read the textual traditions of Advaita and Thomism together.[^30] Third, Clooney considers what implications this has for the faith and identity of the theologian and for his relation to his religious community.

The theology that emerges after Vedanta is for the most part simply a greater understanding of the textual character of both theological traditions. For a Christian Thomist theologian this may well mark a retrieval of an aspect of the Thomist tradition that has tended to be obscured by an emphasis on the Summa as simply a mine for doctrines and reasoned arguments rather than as a text to be read in its entirety.

The Christian theologian engaging with Advaita Vedanta has, meanwhile, a role as the mediator for such comparative engagement for the service of the whole community.[^31] In Hindu God, Christian God (2001), Clooney develops a somewhat different emphasis, this time exploring the work of reasoning about major themes across religious traditions.

Here Clooney describes comparative theology as ‘interreligous, comparative, dialogical and confessional.’[^32] These last two terms are important elements in understanding Clooney’s work as a whole and build on the approach taken in Theology After Vedanta . Comparative theology is ‘dialogical’ in that such theology should be accountable to others. What is said about them should be accurate and the goal is a genuine conversation between theologians and theologies.

The expectation of Christian theologians is that members of other religious traditions will also engage in the same type of theological conversation, using Christian texts as their other tradition for study.