Christine Mangala Frost, The Human Icon: A Comparative Study of Hindu and Orthodox Christian Beliefs (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2017), xv + 349 Pps., $40.59.
Christine Mangala Frost is a Guest Lecturer and Research Associate at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge, where she edits and presents their outreach programme, The Way. Born in India and raised Hindu, she converted first to Anglicanism and then, in 1997, to Orthodox Christianity. She is the author of several journal articles on interfaith issues, as well as three novels. In this title, she notes that despite the history that divides them, Hinduism and Orthodox Christianity have much in common. In The Human Icon, Frost explores how both religions seek to realize the divine potential of every human being, and the differences in their approach. Frost, who has experienced both the extraordinary riches and the all-too-human failings of Hinduism and Orthodox Christianity from the inside, is perfectly placed to examine the convergences and divergences between the two faiths. Inspired by a desire to clear up the misunderstandings that exist between the two faiths, The Human Icon is a study in how two faiths, superficially dissimilar, can nevertheless find meeting points everywhere. The powerful intellectual and spiritual patristic traditions of Orthodox Christianity offer a rare tool for revitalizing too-often stalled dialogue with Hinduism and present the chance for a broader and more diverse understanding of the oldest religion in the world. Frost explores the impact of Hindu thought on Indian Christianity and considers the potential for confluence. With a breadth of interest that spans Hindu bhakti, Orthodox devotional theology, as well as meditational Yoga and hesychastic prayer, Frost offers a fresh perspective on how the devotees of both faiths approach the ideal of divinization, and presents a thoughtful, modern methodology for a dialogue of life. Comprised of seven distinct chapters, this title covers what it means to inhabit a Hindu world, Orthodox Christianity in India, the quest for the divine in both Orthodox Christianity and Hinduism, and divinization in Vedānta and theosis in Orthodox Christianity. Moreover, she locates the problem of evil and suffering with respect to karma and the cross, the body and the body of Christ, and the relation of Orthodox spiritual elders and Hindu holy men. All in all, this is a potent text for a comparative approach to these seemingly diverse faiths.
Bradford McCall
Claremont School of Theology