Please join us for our 2024 Forgiveness Symposium:
The Jain-Christian Interreligious Dialogue on Forgiveness
This year (2024), We organize the Forgiveness Symposium titled, Jain-Christian Interreligious Dialogue on the concept, philosophy, and practices on the notion of Forgiveness in both Jain and Christian religious traditions. The symposium will have two parts. First, there will be two keynote speakers representing both Jain and Christian traditions, who will deliver a talk on the concept on forgiveness in each tradition as well as with a focus on interreligious aspect. The keynote talks will be followed by a Respondents’ Forum session in which select invited students of CST will respond to the talks of the keynote speakers. The second part of the symposium is aimed at providing students with the opportunity to present on the theme of forgiveness with an interreligious perspective. A call for paper announcement will be circulated to invite abstracts.
Saturday, October 19, 2024
10am to 3pm Pacific
via Zoom
Please register below:
Program:
10:00 am – 10:07 am PST:
Moment of Centering, Introduction to the CST 2024 Forgiveness Symposium
10:07 am – 10:15 am PST:
Presidential Address by Grant J. Hagiya, President of Claremont School of Theology & Professor of Leadership and Innovation
10:15 am – 10:45 am PST:
Keynote Address – I by Christopher Key Chapple
Title: Forgiveness in Interfaith Perspective: Self Reflection and Taking Moral Inventory
Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology and founding Director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. A specialist in the religions of India, he has published more than twenty books, including the recent Living Landscapes: Meditations on the Elements in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Yogas and The Samkhya System: Accounting for the Real (SUNY Press 2020, 2024). He serves as advisor to multiple organizations including the Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale), the Jain Studies Centre (SOAS, London), the South Asian Studies Association, and the International School for Jain Studies (Pune).
10:50 am – 11:20 am PST:
Keynote Address – II by Kah-Jin Jeffery Kuan
Title: “Forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you”: Forgiveness in the Christian Tradition
Dr. Kuan served as the President of Claremont School of Theology from 2013 t0 2023. He currently serves the school as President Emeritus, Professor of Hebrew Bible, and Chief Strategy Officer. Before coming to CST, he was Dean and Professor of Hebrew Bible of the Theological School at Drew University. His research and teaching interests include ancient Israelite and Near Eastern history, Asian and Asian American hermeneutics, the Book of Job, as well as approaches to biblical instruction for the churches. As a theological educator, he is a strong proponent of religious pluralism and passionately committed to justice issues in the global and local contexts. He currently serves on many boards, including the Advisory Council of Arihanta Institute, the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, the In Trust Center for Theological Schools, the International Association of Methodist-related Schools, Colleges and Universities, and United Methodist Higher Education Foundation. Since 2018, he has served as a co-convener of the National Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, co-sponsored by the National Council of Churches, Hsi Lai Temple, University of the West, Claremont School of Theology, and The Guibord Center.
11:20 am – 11:30 am PST:
Break
11:30 am – 12:45 pm PST:
Respondents’ Forum Session
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm PST:
Lunch Break
1:45 pm – 2:50 pm PST:
Students’ Paper Presentation and Q&A
Chellamuthu Rajamani
MA Student, Engaged Jain Studies, Claremont School of Theology and Arihanta Institute
Presentation Title: “The Essence of Forgiveness: A Comparative Study of Wesleyan Spirituality and Jain Forgiveness Practices”
Komal Jain
MA Student, Engaged Jain Studies, Claremont School of Theology and Arihanta Institute
Presentation Title: “How can one become anger-free by applying the first quality of Das Lakshan, Uttam Kshama, which means Supreme Forgiveness?”
Moderators
Ruth Chadd, PhD Student, Philosophy of Religion (Process Studies), Claremont School of Theology
Ruth Chadd is a PhD candidate in Philosophy of Religion – Process Studies at Claremont School of Theology. She holds an MA Religion (Comparative Studies) from Claremont School of Theology. Her PhD research focuses on the intersections of science, comparative philosophy of religion and aesthetics in conversation with process thought. In addition to serving at CST as a Research and Teaching Assistant while completing her dissertation, she is also an Adjunct Professor of Religion and Philosophy in the Department of Social Sciences at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon where she teaches undergraduate courses in comparative religious studies and philosophy. Ruth was the former Director of the Library & Archives at the Center for Process Studies (2022-2023). She is the Co-Editor of the forthcoming God and the World in Crisis: Process Thought in Global Context (with Dr. Jeffery Long and Dr. Roland Faber).
Venu Mehta, Assistant Professor of Jainism & Comparative Spiritualities, Claremont School of Theology
Venu Mehta, an Assistant Professor of Jainism & Comparative Spiritualities at the Claremont School of Theology, specializes in Jainism with a primary focus on Jain regional-vernacular devotional literature, narratives, and practices. Her PhD dissertation investigates the devotion to the Jain goddess Padmāvatī among the Śvetāmbar Mūrtipūjak Jains in Gujarat. Additionally, her work explores the Jain concept of forgiveness, and the various ways in which the Jain practice of aparigraha’s co-relates with human dignity, sustainability, and Gandhian approach to economy. Her recent research and publication also delve into Jain-Hindu comparative theologies/spiritualities, particularly regarding goddesses. In addition to teaching specialist courses on Jainism, she also instructs courses on South Asian traditions, comparative spiritualities, and gender and women in spiritual practices.
