It is ‘confessional’ in that the comparative theologian is a...

It is ‘confessional’ in that the comparative theologian is a committed believer within his or her own tradition and the purpose of comparative theology is to seek a deeper understanding of his or her faith, but that this process of understanding now includes engagement with another religious tradition.

The theologian will still hold to the faith claims of his or her own tradition and critically appraise others, challenging and rejecting, as well as accepting some of the ideas encountered.[^33] In this book Clooney considers what a number of Hindu and Christian theologians have had to say about five central theological themes: rational proofs for the existence of God, the nature of God, the possibility of divine embodiment and the relation of revelation to reason.

Thus, for instance, he considers and compares the fact that theologians in both Christian and Hindu traditions have developed forms of the cosmological proof for the existence of God, as well as accounts that reject this proof.[^34] All these arguments are of interest and importance to any theologian who seeks to resolve this particular issue: Since the arguments cross cultural and religious boundaries, theologians of all traditions regardless of their faith positions must decide where they stand on…