Japan Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies: Report on the 2015 Annual Meeting

The 2015 annual conference of the Japan Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies was held at the Palace Side Hotel in Kyoto August 5–7. Four lectures and two papers were given on the theme of Nishida’s Philosophy and Christianity.

Lectures

• • “Absolute Nothingness and Creativity: Nishida’s Philosophy and the Theology of Creativity,” by Tanaka Yutaka (commentator: Hanaoka Eiko). Discussed the difference between J. S. Eriugena’s process philosophy based on absolute nothingness and A. N. Whitehead’s philosophy of creativity, from the perspective of Nishida’s denial of self in absolute nothingness.

• • “Nishida’s Thinking concerning Freedom,” by Katayanagi Eiichi (commentator: Mori Tetsuro). Discussed the topics of awareness among common people, the limits of awareness in nothingness, and the theory of religion in Nishida’s Study of the Good.

• • “Old Testament and Philosophy: A Philosophical Interpretation of the Story of Abraham’s Offering of Isaac in Genesis 22:1–19,” by Sekine Seizou (commentator: Keta Masako). Discussed the interpretations of the story of Isaac by Kierkegaard, von Rad, and Nishida, resulting in the philosophical interpretation that Abraham was able to truly meet God through his decision to “return” Isaac to God.

• • “Nishida’s Philosophy and Christianity” by Nagamachi Yushi (commentator: Inoue Katsuto). Discussed the logic of place and the logic of logos, Nishida and Christian spirituality, and the contact between self and Christ.

Papers

• • “Nishida’s Philosophy and Christianity: On Freedom and Love,” by Ishii Samoa (commentator: Imataki Norio). Compared the idea of love in Nishida’s italic>Study of the Good/italic> and his idea of the limits of awareness in nothingness with the idea of love in Christianity.

• • “Does Christianity accord with Formal Logic? Christianity Not Discussed in Nishida,” by Takahashi Katsuyuki (commentator: Tsuruoka Yoshio)