Congratulations to the 2022 Winner

of the Frederick J. Streng Award for Excellence in Buddhist-Christian Studies

Peter Baekelmans

The Hidden God: Towards a Christian Theology of Buddhism

 (Angelico Press, 2022)

Peter Baekelmans’s The Hidden God: Towards a Christian Theology of Buddhism considers patterns, associations, and confluences on a large scale. Baekelmans addresses the question of divinity from the perspective of functional analogies, that is, how certain categories actually work in practice, from the functions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to the eternal interpenetrating nature of emptiness and form to the quality (and dynamic) of “thusness” (tathatā) and, most importantly, to the status of Buddha-nature (tathāgata-garba). To all these he shows how they can be compared to Christian functional correlatives. Often, studies in comparative theology can become so focused on the value of honoring the alterity of the religious other that the results they yield are all-too modest. Baekelmans retains the necessary respect for both Buddhist and Christian cosmologies, philosophical principles, theological dogmas and so on. But he undauntingly pushes toward a more unifying perspective. Widely knowledgeable of Christian theology and Western philosophy, he guides the reader into a dialogue with the depths of versions of Mahayana, particularly esoteric schools less known in the West. Baekelmans not only shows the Christian how to make better sense of Buddhism, he also demonstrates the fruitfulness of comparative studies for Buddhism itself. Both sides become enriched by the dialogue and, as he shows, both sides can not only grow in discovery of their own tradition reconsidered by the comparative project but can also grow in reverence for the religious other.

The Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies is now receiving nominations for the 2023 Frederick Streng Book Award for Excellence in Buddhist-Christian Studies. Nominations must be received by March 1, 2023.
The criteria for nominating and making the award are:

1. The subject matter of the book should be inspired by and relevant to Buddhist-Christian relations, but subject matter is not narrowly limited to books on dialogue or to books that are half on Christianity and half on Buddhism.

2. The scholarship must be original and the writing clear. The book must make an important contribution to issues relevant to the context of Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

3. Books can be considered for nomination within five years of their publication date (i.e. the 2023 award must be for a book published in 2017 or later).

Nominations can be made by any person, by contacting Peter Feldmeier (peter.feldmeier@utoledo.edu). Nominations should include book volume title, author’s full name, publisher, year of publication, and a brief letter of support regarding the nomination. Also, full contact information should be included for the person making the nomination, including institutional affiliation (if applicable). Publishers of books must be willing to supply review copies to members of the committee for evaluation in order for the book to be considered. Questions should be directed to Peter Feldmeir via email.