The Concept of God, the Origin of the World, and the Image of the Human in the World Religions, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2001
A Discourse of the World Religions Series, Vol. 1

All religions make statements about God or the Absolute and about "the beginning": about the beginning of the world and the beginning and nature of the human person. Propositions about God, the human person, and the world, statements about God's eternity or process of becoming, about the status and nature of the human person as the "image of God", and about the beginning of the world are woven into "religious speculations about the beginning". The theology, anthropology, and cosmology of the world religions determine the image of the human person and the image of the world in the world cultures shaped by the different religions. They stand in a tense relationship with the anthropologies and cosmologies of modern science, which in turn challenge the religions to deepen their image of the human person.
With this volume leading thinkers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam provide the reader with a first-hand source for understanding the five world religions and their teaching about God, the human person, and the origin of the world.

The Conflict of Religions and the Mission of a Philosophy of the World Religions: Introduction.- The Origin of the World, the Concept of God, and the Image of the Human Person in Hinduism.- The Concept of God, the Image of the Human Person, and the Origin of the World in Buddhism.- Imago Dei in Judaism: Early Rabbinic Literature, Philosophy, and Kabbalah: The Teaching about God, the Human Person, and the Beginning in Talmudic and Kabbalistic Judaism.- Discussion of the Concept of God, the Origin of the World, and the Image of the Human Person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.- Creation, the Concept of God, and the Nature of the Human Person in Christianity.- God, Creation, and the Image of the Human Person in Islam.- Discussion of God, Creation, and the Image of the Human Person in Christianity and Islam.- On the Conceptions of God, the World, and the Human Person in Five World Religions: An Attempt at a Synthesis from a Buddhist Perspective.- The Concept of God, the Origin of the World, and the Image of the Human Person in the World Religions: An Attempt at a Synthesis From a Christian Perspective.- Discussion of a Possible Synthesis of the Ideas of the World Religions.- Conversation between the Representatives of the World Religions after the Conclusion of the Public Discourse.- Contributors.- Index of Persons.