Common Measures: Romanticism and the Groundlessness of Community, by Joseph Albernaz. Stanford University Press, 2024. 353 + xiv pp. Cloth, $70.00. ISBN: 9781503639720.

As an observant Jew who entered the academy later in life, I encounter many different ontologies and epistemologies quite different from my own, often finding those outlooks in competition with each other, and tensions arise when needing to commit ‘pen to paper’ as choices about whose worldview gets priority. This experimental piece tries to let two voices inside me speak, giving honor to the scholarly work I have read while not trying to let it define or dominate my Jewish outlook and way of viewing the world (ontology and epistemology). The scholar tries to stay true to scholarship, and the Rabbi stays true to his nature.

Bruce Lincoln once observed in his “Theses on Method” that something precious must have been lost in the arc of the development of religious studies as a discipline over the latter half of the twentieth century. Somewhere along the way, he felt, the gap between the observant scholar and the observed practitioner had been closed.

Dissent within and among religions can provoke much violence. Nicholas of Cusa encountered this and countered it with a differentiated theory of religion, implicit in his De pace fidei from 1453. I propose four different levels of interpretation: the dominant philosophical approach, inspired by a high trust in the intellect and enlightened by a self-critical epistemology; the anthropological foundation of all religion in the desire for truth, goodness, salvation and peace, in conjunction with the character of the human mind as a living image of the divine mind; the rational hermeneutical interpretation of particular religious ideas and texts in view of a philosophical theology, and finally its reintegration in the perspective of a Christian. This is in line with Cusanus’s epistemological perspectivism and allows for interreligious dialogue from enlightened religious perspectives instead of violence.

“Four Short Stories on CMU” presents an account of how Canadian Mennonite University embodies the significance of its mandate. Seeking to resist common bifurcations of “real university” and “faith-based university,” Cheryl Pauls takes inspiration in a phrase from CMU’s mission statement, “innovative Christian university.” In exploring the provocative potential of the phrase’s blend of inventiveness and faithfulness, Pauls draws connections across the university’s Four Commitments, their theological impulses, the substance of CMU education programs and scholarship, and dimensions of growing relevance to Canadian universities today. Through glimpses into the development and character of CMU, Pauls makes a case for the vitality of theologically generated impulses within the university sector today.

Based on my book of the same title, the article argues that community is one of the most ancient and accurate ways of defining church. The study is of the decline and shrinkage of the “local church” of the parish, with reflections on the drift from organized religion and with a range of examples of congregations which have resurrected themselves. This renewal has involved reinvention of mission, replanting the the community, repurposing buildings and property, among other activities. Given the Paschal mystery of death and resurrection, these congregations along with several important writers’ voices, point paths forward for communities of faith.

Where is God? Christian Faith in the Time of Great Uncertainty, Julián Carrón in conversation with Andrea Tornielli. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020. 162pp. Hb. CDN$19.95. ISBN-13: 9780228000969.

How to do Comparative Theology, edited by Francis X. Clooney and Klaus Von Stosch. Fordham University Press, 2018. 344pp., Pb. $40.00, ISBN-13: 9780823278411.

This study investigates the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in the context of the relationship between Islam and the state. FPI is an organization established after the reform era and is categorized as a radical mass organization. This study found that FPI considers Islam and the state as inseparable. The movement gained considerable attention with its demand that Ahok, a non-Muslim governor, be investigated for blasphemy. Although the organization has been disbanded, FPI continues to influence state life in Indonesia.