In 1997, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger predicted that the threat to the church posed by Marxism would be exceeded by the threat of Buddhism. Paul Knitter’s new book will do little to assuage any lingering fears Benedict XVI might harbor in this regard. (I, for one, do not share in this concern about Buddhism.) Nevertheless, Knitter has written a book about his Christian faith and (...)
April 09, 2010
Books
The Lotus Position
Without Buddha I Could Not Be a ChristianPaul F. Knitter Oneworld, $22.95, 336 pp.
The remainder of this article is only available to paid subscribers. If you’re not currently a Commonweal subscriber in print or online, an online-only subscription costs just $34 a year. Click here for immediate access.


How can Mr. Fredericks not share Pope Benedict XVi's concern about Buddhism, when he even spells out how Knitter ends up "recasting Jesus as a kind of Buddha"?!?
This review seems like just another promotion piece for the create-your-own-religion ideology that has become so popular. Whatever happened to the search for truth and its relevance in religious matters?
Knitter would do well to read Christian Moev's new book "The metaphysics of Dante's Commedy. There is enough "InterBeing" there to keep him busy a life time.I too have had an interest in Buddhism and have read all of Dumoulin etc. Thank God for books like Moev's that helps me appreciate the rich heritage I was lucky enough to be born to,outherwise I might not have found it.