Griffiths, Paul J. 1955–

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Griffiths, Paul J. 1955–

PERSONAL:

Born 1955, in London, England; married Judith Heyhoe, 1975; children: Amy, John. Education: Oxford University, B.A., M.Phil.; University of Wisconsin at Madison, Ph.D., 1983. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, University Hall, MC 129, 601 S. Morgan St., Chicago IL 60607-7112.

CAREER:

University of Illinois at Chicago, Schmitt Chair of Catholic Studies, 2000—; previously taught at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, and the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

WRITINGS:

On Being Mindless: Buddhist Meditation and the Mind-Body Problem, Open Court (La Salle, IL), 1986.

(Editor, with others) Asanga, The Realm of Awakening: A Translation and Study of the Tenth Chapter of Asanga's "Mahayanasangraha," Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor) Christianity through Non-Christian Eyes, Orbis Books (Maryknoll, NY), 1990.

An Apology for Apologetics: A Study in the Logic of Interreligious Dialogue, Orbis Books (Maryknoll, NY), 1991.

On Being Buddha: The Classical Doctrine of Buddhahood, State University of New York Press (Albany, NY), 1994.

Religious Reading: The Place of Reading in the Practice of Religion, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Problems of Religious Diversity, Blackwell Publishers (Malden, MA), 2001.

Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology, Blackwell Publishing (Malden, MA), 2003.

Lying: An Augustinian Theology of Duplicity, Brazos Press (Grand Rapids, MI), 2004.

(Editor, with Reinhard Hutter) Reason and the Reasons of Faith, T & T Clark International (New York, NY), 2005.

The Vice of Curiosity: An Essay on Intellectual Appetite, CMU Press (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals including Journal of the American Academy of Religion.

SIDELIGHTS:

English-born writer and educator Paul J. Griffiths earned both his bachelor's degree in theology and a master's of philosophy in Sanskrit at Oxford University, then completed his education at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he earned his doctorate in Buddhist studies in 1983. Griffiths serves on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he holds the Schmitt Chair of Catholic Studies in the department of classics and Mediterranean studies. Prior to taking his post at UIC, he also taught at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and at the University of Chicago. His primary areas of academic and research interest include Christian philosophy and theology, Latin patristics, and the Gupta-period of Indian Buddhist thought. In addition to his academic endeavors, Griffiths contributes to a number of periodicals, such as the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. He has also written and/or edited numerous books on a range of topics related to religions, including Christianity and Buddhism.

Religious Reading: The Place of Reading in the Practice of Religion serves as a guidebook of sorts to developing a more religious life. Griffiths argues that regardless of the level of your personal spirituality, true religious thought cannot come just from one's own internalized emotions. It is, rather, an acquired way of thinking and reacting, and as a result can and must be learned as with any other lesson. The most logical way to develop this sort of religious knowledge is through proper reading that enables one to develop a level of devotion and to practice the mindset. Reading religious texts, however, is not sufficient in Griffiths's mind. He stresses the importance of both the pedagogy and the contents of the texts. In essence, he is preaching the acquisition of both the form and content of faith. Beyond this, he emphasizes the reading of other works of literature, but with a religious eye, keeping religion and faith in mind while reading the material in order to interpret it with the proper religious attitude. R.R. Reno, in a review for First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, declared that "analyzing the orthography of ancient texts, methods of citation, and the technology of writing, Griffiths makes a strong case for the central role of memory and recitation in first millennium Buddhist, and to a lesser extent, ancient Christian, religious reading." Reno concluded that "Griffiths has performed as a scholar of religion; he has shown very well how pre-modern Buddhists and Christians understood the role of reading in the acquisition, preservation, and extension of religious accounts. But as a Jeremiah, he has neither uncovered our self-deception, laying bare our waywardness, nor has he made clear the path toward faithfulness."

In Lying: An Augustinian Theology of Duplicity, Griffiths takes a look at the virtually unprecedented approach of Augustine of Hippo toward lying: he stated quite unequivocally that lying should never be allowed. Griffiths acknowledges that throughout centuries of philosophical thought, such a direct statement that something should be banned entirely is a type of absolutism more generally reserved for religious tenets. However, over the course of his book, Griffiths agrees with the stand that Augustine took, and goes on to explain what it means and why he believes it is such a sound and logical pronouncement. He also compares this stance to the arguments of other great philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Chrysostom, Jerome, Cassian, Aquinas, Kant, Newman, and Nietzsche, in order to provide readers with greater perspective on the subject. First, Griffiths explains exactly how Augustine defined a lie. From there, he follows with the order of existence and the order of loves. It is important for the reader to understand that Augustine considered language a gift from God, and therefore any abuse of that gift would be considered a sin against God as a result. Griffiths brings the discussion into the present day as well, looking at the nature of lying in modern society and analyzing the recent prevalence of duplicity. James Wetzel, in a review for the Journal of Religion, commented that "Griffiths gives us an Augustine who is more consistent but less profound than Augustine himself. I nevertheless find Griffiths's Augustine very welcome, in that his is a truth-seeking Augustine, born from the pen of a truth seeker." Writing for Books & Culture, Paige Hochschild remarked: "Griffiths's reading of Augustine is generally very good, and theologically subtle, but the scope of his argument extends far beyond an exegesis of Augustinian texts." C. Robert Nixon, reviewing for Library Journal, declared the book "an excellent piece of scholarship that will intrigue anyone interested in the issues of morality and ethics." J. Budziszewski, writing for First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, concluded that "Lying is a work of large flaws but also real merits; it deepens our pre-existing understanding of how gravely disordered the act of lying truly is. The worth of its accomplishment is not impaired by the fact that it claims to do much more than it does."

Reason and the Reasons of Faith, which Griffiths edited with Reinhard Hutter, is a collection of thirteen essays that resulted from a series of gatherings at the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey, in which a number of Christian theologians participated. The primary focus of each contribution is the relationship between reason and faith, concentrating on ways in which faith and adherence to Christian doctrine can support and clarify one's ability to reason. The essays vary from general to extremely detailed, and target a range of readers that includes both laymen and those who make faith their calling. Charles Seymour, in a review for Library Journal, praised the collection, commenting that "what results is a challenging mix." David Trenery, writing for the International Journal of Systematic Theology, commented that "as this collection shows, reason can only operate from a foundation of axiomatic beliefs that are dependent on faith as trust: the belief in an external world, on the power of human understanding and, for the Christian, in the belief that the creation is the expression of the love of God."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Anglican Theological Review, spring, 2005, Jarrett A. Carty, review of Lying: An Augustinian Theology of Duplicity, pp. 341-342.

Augustinian Studies, September 22, 2005, Robert P. Kennedy, review of Lying, p. 453.

Books & Culture, July 1, 2006, Paige Hochschild, "The Thing Which Is Not."

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, January 1, 2002, R.H. Nash, review of Problems of Religious Diversity, p. 896.

Christian Century, February 22, 2005, Charles M. Collier, review of Lying, p. 53.

Commonweal, October 22, 2004, "The Greatest Sin?," p. 36; January 27, 2006, "Aquinas to the Rescue," p. 24.

Expository Times, August, 2006, Hans Boersma, "A Reasoned Faith," p. 464.

First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, October 1, 1999, R.R. Reno, review of Religious Reading: The Place of Reading in the Practice of Religion, p. 70; October 1, 2004, J. Budziszewski, "Truth—or Consequences," p. 49; October 1, 2005, review of Reason and the Reasons of Faith, p. 68.

History of Religions, August 1, 1991, R.M.L. Gethin, review of On Being Mindless: Buddhist Meditation and the Mind-Body Problem, p. 81; Novem- ber 1, 1996, Roger R. Jackson, review of On Being Buddha: The Classical Doctrine of Buddhahood, p. 173.

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, February 1, 1997, Stephen H. Phillips, review of On Being Buddha, p. 66.

International Journal of Systematic Theology, January, 2007, David Trenery, review of Reason and the Reasons of Faith, pp. 103-106.

Interpretation, April 1, 2006, Robert Vosloo, review of Lying, p. 232.

Journal of Ecumenical Studies, September 22, 1990, Paul O. Ingram, review of Christianity through Non-Christian Eyes, p. 818.

Journal of Religion, April 1, 1988, Matthew Kapstein, review of On Being Mindless, p. 344; January 1, 1992, James L. Fredericks, review of Christianity through Non-Christian Eyes, p. 128; January 1, 1993, J.A. DiNoia, review of An Apology for Apologetics: A Study in the Logic of Interreligious Dialogue, p. 61; July 1, 1998, John S. Strong, review of On Being Buddha, p. 462; April 1, 2002, Francis X. Clooney, review of Religious Reading, p. 298; January 1, 2003, review of Problems of Religious Diversity, p. 100; July 1, 2006, James Wetzel, review of Lying, p. 496.

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, June 1, 2006, J. Joyce Schuld, review of Lying, p. 546.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, October 1, 1992, Alex Wayman, review of The Realm of Awakening: A Translation and Study of the Tenth Chapter of Asanga's "Mahayanasangraha"; July 1, 1996, John P. Keenan, review of On Being Buddha.

Library Journal, February 15, 2004, C. Robert Nixon, review of Lying, p. 132; May 1, 2005, Charles Seymour, review of Reason and the Reasons of Faith, p. 89; May 15, 2005, Charles Seymour, review of Reason and the Reasons of Faith, p. 125.

Modern Theology, October 1, 1992, Francis X. Clooney, review of An Apology for Apologetics, p. 404; October 1, 2001, Jim Fodor, review of Religious Reading, p. 529; July 1, 2002, David B. Burrell, review of Problems of Religious Diversity, p. 422; July 1, 2005, Oliver O'Donovan, review of Lying.

Reference & Research Book News, December 1, 1994, review of On Being Buddha, p. 3.

Religion, July 1, 2001, Stephen C. Berkwitz, review of Religious Reading, p. 286.

Religious Studies, June 1, 1992, review of An Apology for Apologetics, p. 283; March 1, 1996, review of On Being Buddha, p. 135.

Theological Studies, June 1, 2002, Bernardo J. Cantens, review of Problems of Religious Diversity, p. 435; June 1, 2006, David E. DeCosse, review of Lying, p. 464.

Theology Today, October 1, 2005, Kathryn Greene-McCreight, review of Lying, p. 421; January 1, 2007, George Newlands, review of Reason and the Reasons of Faith, p. 549.

Times Literary Supplement, July 17, 1987, Steve Collins, review of On Being Mindless, p. 776.

Virginia Quarterly Review, December 22, 2000, review of Religious Reading, p. 15.