Divine Transcendence and the Possibility of Theological Dialogue between Christians and Muslims

Using the works of Christian and Muslim theologians, this article is a comparative study of the relationship between divine transcendence and revelation in the two religions to demonstrate how an understanding of divine transcendence can engender the proper disposition and motive for Christian-Muslim dialogue. It argues that a more robust understanding of the concept of divine transcendence, distinct from “negative theology,” among Christians and Muslims would invariably lead to doctrinal humility, which will, in turn, lead to a theological dialogue that is mutually transforming. Without doctrinal humility, which Catherine Cornille in her 2008 book, The Im-possibility of Interreligious Dialogue, defines as “the humble awareness of the limitation of one’s understanding,” this kind of productive dialogue remains elusive. Entering dialogue for the wrong reason or with the wrong disposition, such as wanting to assert the superiority of one’s religion, often leads to counter-productive consequences.