Concepts of God

Is there a universal concept of God?Do all the great faiths of the world share a vision of the same supreme reality?In an attempt to answer these questions Keith Ward considers the doctrine of an ultimate reality within five world religions - Hinduism Buddhism Islam Judaism and Christianity. He studies closely the works of definitive orthodox writers from each tradition - Sankara Ramanuja Asvaghosa Maimonides Al-Ghazzali and Aquinas - to build up a series of 'images' of God a common core of belief.Ward discovers that while the great religious traditions of the world retain their differences there are convergences of thought at the deepest level with a broad similarity of structure in concepts of God. He concludes that a recognition of these beliefs as well as encouraging a clearer acceptance of the mystery of the divine might also lead to an increase in understanding and tolerance of other faiths to the enrichment of one's own.