Lynn de Silva

Lynn Alton de Silva
de Silva in the 1970s
Born(1919-06-16)16 June 1919
Kurana, British Ceylon
Died22 May 1982(1982-05-22) (aged 62)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Resting placeColombo, Sri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Methodist minister and Director of the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue
Known forBuddhist and Christian interfaith dialogue
TitleReverend Doctor
SpouseLakshmi Sirima née Mendis
Children4

Lynn Alton de Silva (16 June 1919 – 22 May 1982) was a Sri Lankan theologian and Methodist minister. He was the founder and editor of one of the first theological journals on Buddhist-Christian encounter called Dialogue (1961–1981),[1][2] chief translator for the revision of the Old Testament of the Sinhalese Bible published as New Sinhala Bible (1973–1982), and director of the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue (EISD)[3] in Sri Lanka (1962–1982). Lynn de Silva is widely regarded as one of the foremost Christian practitioners of Buddhist-Christian dialogue in Sri Lanka, and also as one of the pioneers in this dialogue.[4]

Lynn de Silva's book titled Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices in Sri Lanka (de Silva 1974) was mentioned in two journals in the early 1980s as being unparalleled as an introduction to Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Possibly his most notable contribution to theology is the book titled The Problem of the Self in Buddhism and Christianity (de Silva 1979),[5] in which he points out an age-old misconception held by Buddhists and Christians that the notion of an immortal soul is a biblical teaching. This book is considered by Schmidt-Leukel to be one of the classics in Buddhist-Christian dialogue, and one which has become well known among those actively involved in this dialogue. The book was also included in John Hick's Library of Philosophy and Religion series.

Lynn de Silva's father and three of his brothers were Methodist ministers. According to Walter Small, Lynn de Silva and his brothers Fred and Denzil were among the most significant Methodist writers during the period 1931–1964 in Sri Lanka.[6][7] After entering active service in the Methodist ministry in 1946, de Silva pursued his tertiary education, obtaining qualifications including a Bachelor of Divinity degree, two Master's degrees, and a Doctor of Theology degree. In addition to serving in the ministry, de Silva participated for twenty years in the dialogical and ecumenical activities of the World Council of Churches, and he was Executive President of the Presidium of the National Council for Religion and Peace in Sri Lanka (1979–1980). He died shortly after this role while addressing an audience at a conference, having continued to work until the end. In 1999, the Study Center building of the EISD was dedicated to the memory of Lynn de Silva and Rev. G. B. Jackson, the first director of the EISD.

  1. ^ Schmidt-Leukel, Perry (2003), "Buddhism and Christianity: Antagonistic or Complementary?", Studies in World Christianity (in German), 9 (2): 265–279, doi:10.3366/swc.2003.9.2.265
  2. ^ Fr. Aloysius Peiris S.J. became co-editor when the journal started its New Series in 1974.
  3. ^ formerly called the Study Center for Religion and Society
  4. ^ There are numerous references to Lynn de Silva as such a pioneer. Some examples are the following:
    [1] (de Alwis 1982, pp. 29, 34);
    [2] Schmidt-Leukel, Perry, ed. (2005), Buddhism and Christianity in Dialogue (The Gerald Weisfeld Lectures 2004), SCM Press, p. 12, ISBN 9780334040088;
    [3] (Buddhist-Christian Studies 1983, p. 157);
    [4] Ariarajah, S. Wesley (1991), Hindus and Christians: A Century of Protestant Ecumenical Thought, The Netherlands: Rodopi, pp. 132, 148, ISBN 90-5183-206-0;
    [5] (Mitchell 1980, p. 543);
    [6] England, John C. (1988), "Towards the Charting of Asian Theologies" (PDF), Inter-Religio, 14: 55–62, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2004, retrieved 12 May 2008;
    [7] Dyrness, William A. (1990), Learning about Theology from the Third World, Zondervan, p. 132, ISBN 0-310-20971-4;
    [8] Ford, David & Muers, Rachel (2005), The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology Since 1918, Blackwell Publishing, pp. 691–692, ISBN 1-4051-0277-2;
    [9] Yong, Amos (2008), Hospitality and the Other: Pentecost, Christian Practices, and the Neighbor, Faith Meets Faith Series, Orbis Books, p. 82, ISBN 978-1-57075-772-3;
    [10] Veilleux, Armand (1985), "New Pilgrims or Cultural Gyrovagues?", Monastic Studies (In Honour of Dom Jean Leclercq), 16: 215–225;
    [11] Lai, Whalen; Von Bruck, Michael (2001), Christianity and Buddhism: A Multicultural History of Their Dialogue, Faith Meets Faith Series, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, p. 41, ISBN 1-57075-362-8;
    [12] England, John C.; Kuttianimattathil, Jose; Mansford, John; Quintos, Lily A.; Suh Kwang-Sun, David; Wickeri, Janice (2002), Asian Christian Theologies: A Research Guide to Authors, Movements, Sources. Volume 1: Asia Region, South Asia, AustralAsia, vol. 1, ISPCK in association with Claretian Publishers, p. 118, ISBN 1-57075-481-0;
    [13] McLeod, Hugh (2006), World Christianities C. 1914-c. 2000, Cambridge University Press, p. 503, ISBN 978-0-521-81500-0;
    [14] Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2008), "Lynn de Silva", The Encyclopedia of Christianity, 5 (Si–Z), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing: 866, ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2;
    [15] Smith, David L. (2014), Theologies of the 21st Century: Trends in Contemporary Theology, Wipf & Stock, pp. 334–336, ISBN 9781625648648.
  5. ^ Pieris S.J., Aloysius (1982), "Rev. Dr. Lynn A. de Silva: A Tribute", Dialogue, 9, Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue: 1–3
  6. ^ Small, Walter J. T. (1971), A History of the Methodist Church in Ceylon, 1814–1964, Wesley Press, p. 531
  7. ^ The most significant Methodist writer during this period, according to (Small 1971, pp. 529, 530, 531), is Rev. D.T. Niles. Some others include Rev. C.H. S. Ward and Rev. J. Simon de Silva. The following quote from (Small 1971, p. 531) describes the works by Fred and Denzil: "Fred, who was for over 10 years Editor of "Methodist Witness" (Sinhalese) as well as of the Church Record, has had two books published by the C.l.S., "Christhiani Wivahaya" and "Vishudi Kamaya" and one by Gunasena’s, "Why to People Suffer?", as well as a number of pamphlets, including "Trouble in God’s world". Denzil has written "Sohon Ethara"".