Philosophy of religion Books

Book SynopsisIn this lively series of conversations with writer Michel Treguer, René Girard revisits the major concepts of mimetic theory and explores science, democracy, and the nature of God and freedom. Girard affirms that “our unprecedented present is incomprehensible without Christianity.” Globalisation has unified the world, yet civil war and terrorism persist despite free trade and economic growth. Because of mimetic desire and the rivalry it generates, asserts Girard, “whether we’re talking about marriage, friendship, professional relationships, issues with neighbours or matters of national unity, human relations are always under threat.” Literary masters including Marivaux, Dostoevsky, and Joyce understood this, as did archaic religion, which warded off violence with blood sacrifice. Christianity brought a new understanding of sacrifice, giving rise not only to modern rationality and science but also to a fragile system that is, in Girard’s words, “always teetering between a new golden age and a destructive apocalypse.” Treguer, a sceptic of mimetic theory, wonders: “Is what he’s telling me true...or is it just a nice story, a way of looking at things?” In response, Girard makes a compelling case for his theory.

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Book SynopsisThose who anticipated the demise of religion and the advent of a peaceful, secularized global village have seen the last two decades confound their predictions. René Girard’s mimetic theory is a key to understanding the new challenges posed by our world of resurgent violence and pluralistic cultures and traditions.Girard sought to explain how the Judeo-Christian narrative exposes a founding murder at the origin of human civilization and demystifies the bloody sacrifices of archaic religions. Meanwhile, his book Sacrifice, a reading of conflict and sacrificial resolution in the Vedic Brahmanas, suggests that mimetic theory’s insights also resonate with several non-Western religious and spiritual traditions.This volume collects engagements with Girard by scholars of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism and situates them within contemporary theology, philosophy, and religious studies.

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Book SynopsisContinental and postmodern thinking has misidentified the source of violence as originating from Western metaphysics. It has further failed to acknowledge the Judeo-Christian source of its ethic-the ethic of concern for victims.In this volume Duane Armitage attempts a critique of continental philosophy and postmodernism through the lens of Rene Girard's mimetic theory. This critique is directed primarily at the philosophies of Nietzsche and Heidegger, both among the foremost representatives of continental and postmodern thought. Armitage argues that Girard's engagement with Heidegger and Nietzsche radically alters many of the axioms of current postmodern continental philosophy, in particular the overcoming of metaphysics on the theoretical level and continental philosophy's tacit commitments to (neo-)Marxism on the practical level.Detailed attention to the implications of Girard's philosophical thought results in a paradigm shift that deals perhaps a deadly blow to continental and postmodern thinking. Armitage further argues that Girard's thinking solves the very problems that continental and postmodern thinking sought (but failed) to solve, namely the problems of violence and victimization, particularly within the context of the aftermath of the Second World War. Ultimately, this volume shows that at the heart of postmodern thinking lies an entanglement with the violent sacred.Trade ReviewDuane Armitage masterfully deploys Girard to show that Nietzsche, Heidegger, and the continental and postmodern philosophy that are based on their ideas are rooted in an unacknowledged celebration of ritual violence, one explicitly formulated in terms of power in Nietzsche and less transparently in Heidegger’s critique of reason, metaphysics, and theology." —David H. Calhoun, professor of philosophy, Gonzaga University

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Book SynopsisThe protagonist of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time observes with wonder the comings and goings of the crows that roost in the belfry of the village church in Combray, his childhood home. For RenÉ Girard, one of Proust’s great interpreters, their mysterious flight, first departing from and then returning to the vertical axis of the steeple, suggests the movement of modern history—the crisis of aristocratic models, the growing servitude of individuals possessed by mimetic desire, and the final irruption of authentic transcendence. In this rich exploration of Girard’s insights, his French editor and longtime collaborator BenoÎt Chantre brings Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans into dialogue with both Proust and Girard in order to push to its logical endpoint the idea of a back-and-forth movement from chaos to order. History, Chantre argues, has been driven mad by the revelation of its sacrificial engine. The only way out lies in a transformation internal to the crisis itself—only that faith which is capable of hearing the One who speaks in the Law makes it possible to avoid the perpetual ups and downs of rivalry. Acting and revealing Himself at the heart of history, an intimate model “hidden since the foundation of the world” deals a fatal blow to the circle of sin. Authentic transcendence coincides with the eschaton, the moment when—according to Saint Paul—historical time implodes into eternity.

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Book SynopsisLeading Girardian theologian Scott Cowdell seeks to resolve a long-standing challenge to mimetic theory: that it entails a fundamental brutishness—an ontological violence. Girard’s account of scapegoating violence, seen as providing the initial stability for our species to emerge and consolidate, hardly seems compatible with Christian belief in God’s good creation, with violence only appearing after a subsequent Fall. The brilliant but controversial theologian John Milbank has long raised this concern about Girard, grounded in a remarkably sophisticated (though seldom fathomed) philosophical theology. Unpacking Milbank’s program, along with Girard’s recasting of Continental philosophy in light of mimetic theory, Cowdell finds a way between two apparently irreconcilable positions. With irenic spirit but analytic tenacity, he probes for ways through Milbank’s arguments while pressing on growth points in Girard’s. Cowdell’s proposals involve reframing divine creation in light of salvation history, reimagining divine participation by thinking Christ and evolution together, and developing a semiotic approach to mimetic theory that delivers ontological peace hermeneutically. Cowdell shows how Girard’s vision of human transformation through faith in Christ reveals a different world beyond ontological violence while preserving the divine participation that Milbank champions.

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1843 under the pseudonym “Johannes de silentio” (John of Silence), Soren Kierkegaard’s richly resonant Fear and Trembling has for generations stood as a pivotal text in the history of moral philosophy, inspiring such artistic and philosophical luminaries as Edvard Munch, W.H. Auden, Walter Benjamin and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre. Retelling the biblical story of the binding of Isaac, Kierkegaard expounds on the ordeal of Abraham, who was commanded to sacrifice his son in an exceptional test of faith. Disgusted at the self-certainty of his own age, Kierkegaard investigates the paradox underlying Abraham’s decision to allow his duty to God to take precedence over his duties to his family. Now, in a new era of immense uncertainty and dislocation, renowned Kierkegaard scholar Bruce H. Kirmmse, in his accessible translation and engaging introduction, eloquently brings this classic work to a new generation of readers, demonstrating Kierkegaard’s enduring power to illuminate the terrible wonder of faith.

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Book SynopsisThe enduring "black legend" of the Italian Counter-Reformation, which has held sway in both scholarly and popular culture, maintains that the Council of Trent ushered in a cultural dark age in Italy, snuffing out the spectacular creative production of the Renaissance. As a result, the decades following Trent have been mostly overlooked in Italian literary studies, in particular. The thirteen essays of Innovation in the Italian Counter-Reformation present a radical reconsideration of literary production in post-Tridentine Italy. With particular attention to the much-maligned tradition of spiritual literature, the volume’s contributors weave literary analysis together with religion, theater, art, music, science, and gender to demonstrate that the literature of this period not only merits study but is positively innovative. Contributors include such renowned critics as Virginia Cox and Amedeo Quondam, two of the leading scholars on the Italian Counter-Reformation. Published by University of Delaware Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press. Trade Review"The essays in this collection aim at revisiting and problematizing in an interdisciplinary context the output of the Counter-Reformation period. As the brilliant contribution by Virginia Cox argues, the time has come to reevaluate the output of both men and women of the period, and to make room for the highly forgotten religious production. The other essays in the book maintain that it is time to stop judging the period as one of cultural involution. Instead we should start seeing it as one of creative innovation, a period in which the response to the Church’s desire for purging sensuality and licentiousness fostered the rewriting of various genres into more spiritual venues." -- Valeria Finucci, Duke University, author of The Prince’s Body: Vincenzo Gonzaga and Renaissance MedicineTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Foreword by Amedeo Quondam IntroductionPart I: Foundations Re-Thinking Counter-Reformation Literature by Virginia Cox Scientific Discovery in Florentine Painting of the Counter-Reformation: Cigoli's Martyrdom of St. Lawrence (1590) and Stigmatizations of St. Francis (1596 and 1602) by Lisa BourlaPart II: Gender The Armed Maiden of the Sixteenth Century and the Unmaking of Tasso's Clorinda by Gerry Milligan The Fair Warrior in the City of Florence: Maddalena Salvetti's Poems to Christine of Lorraine by Anna Wainwright Devotion, Desire, and Masculinity in the Spiritual Verse of Angelo Grillo by Shannon McHughPart III: Theater Performing Drama: Theater as Spiritual Practice in the Works of Fabio Glissenti by Eugenio Refini "Deggio ferma tener la santa fede": Representing the Priest in Pastoral Drama in Counter-Reformation Italy by Lisa Sampson Playing Milan: Secular Drama, Sacred Reform, and the Family Andreini by Sarah Gwyneth RossPart IV: Bologna: A City Case Study Bologna, Marian City in the Drawings of Francesco Cavazzoni (1559-1616) by Gabriella Zarri Violence in Early Modern Bologna: A Provisional Appraisal by Monica CalabrittoPart V: Emotion and Expression Tasso's Poetic Self-Commentary, His Dialogues, and a New Philosophical Syncretism: The Last Phase of the Renaissance Love Treatises by Armando Maggi Girolamo Mei, Early Opera, and Experience by Joseph Perna "Sottoporsi agli occhi del mondo nelle stampe": Sarra Copia Sulam and the Venetian Press by Lynn Lara Westwater Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisEveryone is a philosopher, and how we live reveals what we most deeply believe. If you and God were asked the same question, would you both respond in the same way? Are Christians right to believe what we do? In We Are All Philosophers, John M. Frame takes seven major questions of philosophy and compares the Bible's answers with common philosophical ones: What is everything made of? Do I have free will? Can I know the world? Does God exist? How shall I live? What are my rights? How can I be saved? We Are All Philosophers carries all the marks of John Frame's books: he appeals to Scripture frequently and carefully. He writes elegantly and simply, a byproduct of having mastered the complicated philosophical topics he surveys.

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Book SynopsisHermann Cohen (1842–1918) was among the most accomplished Jewish philosophers of modern times—if not the single most significant. But his work has not yet received the attention it deserves. This newly translated collection of his writings—most of which are appearing in English for the first time—illuminates his achievements for student readers and rectifies lapses in his intellectual reception by prior generations. It presents chapters from Cohen’s Ethics of Pure Will, conflicting interpretations of Cohen by Franz Rosenzweig and Alexander Altmann, and finally the eulogy to Cohen delivered at graveside by Ernst Cassirer. Containing full annotations and selections that concentrate both on the philosophical core of Cohen’s writings and the politics of interpretation of his work at the time of his death and after, Hermann Cohen truly brings to light all of Cohen’s accomplishments.   Trade Review“This new collection is a great gift for our time. Hermann Cohen was Germany’s great philosopher of Judaism and champion of Kantian ethics at the turn of the twentieth century. He drew powerful affinities between Kant’s moral philosophy and Jewish ethics, emphasizing how both point towards perpetual peace. In our divided world today, struggling for a universal ethics, Cohen’s writings offer powerful reasons to hope and strive for a world of peace and wellbeing.” -- Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University“This superb anthology of texts by and about Hermann Cohen shows how confronting his work is indispensable to understanding still-vital controversies about the heritage of Enlightenment philosophy, the compatibility of Judaism and modernity and the challenge it faced with the rise of existentialism and the "new thinking." This landmark collection, brilliantly introduced and curated by Samuel Moyn and Robert Schine, is more than a sweeping reappraisal of a thinker who both revived Kant's project and modernized Jewish philosophy. It is a timely invitation--even a compelling summons--to pursue a path all but forgotten and yet of paramount importance for our own times." -- Vivian Liska, University of Antwerp“It is difficult to overstate the importance of the task undertaken by Moyn and Schine in this book. For the first time ever, key chapters in Ethik des reinen Willens are available in English. This volume also collects and translates major essays by Ernst Cassirer, Franz Rosenzweig, and Alexander Altmann that have done so much to shape Cohen’s reception in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. With expert introductions and annotations, this book will be a landmark event in discussions of Cohen in the English-speaking world.” -- Robert Erlewine, Illinois Wesleyan University“This is the most comprehensive collection of Hermann Cohen’s writings currently available in English. Cohen’s Introduction to the Ethics of Pure Will is a gem in its own right. It brilliantly testifies to the enduring importance of Cohen’s ethics in its relation to religion and to law. The volume also features articles of Cohen on Kant and on the significance of Judaism for the progress of Religion. Cohen’s legacy is attested by Ernst Cassirer in the first place, but also by Franz Rosenzweig, whose famous Introduction to Cohen’s Jewish Writings appears here in full: a translation was long overdue. The volume will undoubtedly become an essential resource for those interested in nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy – and in modern Jewish thought.” -- Myriam Bienenstock, Université de ToursTable of ContentsIntroduction, Note on Translation, Part 1: The Ethics of Pure Will, Introduction, God, Part 2: Essays, Internal Connections of Kantian Philosophy to Judaism, The Social Ideal in Plato and the Prophets, The Significance of Judaism for the Religious Progress of Humanity, Autonomy and Freedom, Part 3: Coda, Franz Rosenzweig, “Introduction to Hermann Cohen’s Jewish Writings” (1924), Alexander Altmann, “Hermann Cohen’s Concept of Correlation” (1962), Ernst Cassirer, “Hermann Cohen: Words Spoken at His Grave on April 7, 1919”

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Book SynopsisHermann Cohen (1842–1918) was among the most accomplished Jewish philosophers of modern times—if not the single most significant. But his work has not yet received the attention it deserves. This newly translated collection of his writings—most of which are appearing in English for the first time—illuminates his achievements for student readers and rectifies lapses in his intellectual reception by prior generations. It presents chapters from Cohen’s Ethics of Pure Will, conflicting interpretations of Cohen by Franz Rosenzweig and Alexander Altmann, and finally the eulogy to Cohen delivered at graveside by Ernst Cassirer. Containing full annotations and selections that concentrate both on the philosophical core of Cohen’s writings and the politics of interpretation of his work at the time of his death and after, Hermann Cohen truly brings to light all of Cohen’s accomplishments.   Trade Review“This new collection is a great gift for our time. Hermann Cohen was Germany’s great philosopher of Judaism and champion of Kantian ethics at the turn of the twentieth century. He drew powerful affinities between Kant’s moral philosophy and Jewish ethics, emphasizing how both point towards perpetual peace. In our divided world today, struggling for a universal ethics, Cohen’s writings offer powerful reasons to hope and strive for a world of peace and wellbeing.” -- Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University“This superb anthology of texts by and about Hermann Cohen shows how confronting his work is indispensable to understanding still-vital controversies about the heritage of Enlightenment philosophy, the compatibility of Judaism and modernity and the challenge it faced with the rise of existentialism and the "new thinking." This landmark collection, brilliantly introduced and curated by Samuel Moyn and Robert Schine, is more than a sweeping reappraisal of a thinker who both revived Kant's project and modernized Jewish philosophy. It is a timely invitation--even a compelling summons--to pursue a path all but forgotten and yet of paramount importance for our own times." -- Vivian Liska, University of Antwerp“It is difficult to overstate the importance of the task undertaken by Moyn and Schine in this book. For the first time ever, key chapters in Ethik des reinen Willens are available in English. This volume also collects and translates major essays by Ernst Cassirer, Franz Rosenzweig, and Alexander Altmann that have done so much to shape Cohen’s reception in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. With expert introductions and annotations, this book will be a landmark event in discussions of Cohen in the English-speaking world.” -- Robert Erlewine, Illinois Wesleyan University“This is the most comprehensive collection of Hermann Cohen’s writings currently available in English. Cohen’s Introduction to the Ethics of Pure Will is a gem in its own right. It brilliantly testifies to the enduring importance of Cohen’s ethics in its relation to religion and to law. The volume also features articles of Cohen on Kant and on the significance of Judaism for the progress of Religion. Cohen’s legacy is attested by Ernst Cassirer in the first place, but also by Franz Rosenzweig, whose famous Introduction to Cohen’s Jewish Writings appears here in full: a translation was long overdue. The volume will undoubtedly become an essential resource for those interested in nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy – and in modern Jewish thought.” -- Myriam Bienenstock, Université de ToursTable of ContentsIntroduction, Note on Translation, Part 1: The Ethics of Pure Will, Introduction, God, Part 2: Essays, Internal Connections of Kantian Philosophy to Judaism, The Social Ideal in Plato and the Prophets, The Significance of Judaism for the Religious Progress of Humanity, Autonomy and Freedom, Part 3: Coda, Franz Rosenzweig, “Introduction to Hermann Cohen’s Jewish Writings” (1924), Alexander Altmann, “Hermann Cohen’s Concept of Correlation” (1962), Ernst Cassirer, “Hermann Cohen: Words Spoken at His Grave on April 7, 1919”

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Book SynopsisAt a moment of cultural and political crisis, with forces of reaction seemingly ascendant throughout the West, it's fair to ask what use does anyone have for America, God, or any other similar fictions? What use does theological language have for the radical facing the apocalypse? Among the subjects considered: the need for an Augustinian left, legacies of American violence, speaking in tongues, the humanities facing climate change, the maturity of realizing that you will die, how to sail towards Utopia, and witches. 'Ed Simon’s essays help readers to understand how we got to this complicated moment in American religious history. Deft, thoughtful, and creatively told.' Kaya Oakes, author of Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture

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Book SynopsisEcclesiastes is among the most poetic books of the Old Testament, full of famous and resonant verses: 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity'; 'A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance'; 'I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind'. It is traditionally attributed to King Solomon (r. 970-930 BC), who advises us to avoid seeking happiness in worldly things and focus instead on the eternal truths. The book poses many vital questions: Is life nonsense and suffering or bliss? Is there any meaning to our actions under the sun? What will happen at the end? Is there any advantage to wisdom? Why can't a just regime be established? What are the relationships between happiness and wealth? What is the source of emotions and what do we know about desires? Can knowledge of death serve as a guide to life? King Solomon does not instruct us to think like him, nor does he guide us towards a particular path. Ecclesiastes sends us on a journey into The Valley of Great Questions: Abel, man, world, labor, advantage, sun, goodness, time, light, evil spirit, wisdom, love, fear of God, death, and more... Haim Shapira's rich and rigorously informed analysis allows King Solomon's voice to speak to us across the millennia, offering remarkably up-to-the-minute insights for people of all faiths and none. If you want advice about living a better life (and to learn about the meaning of life), would it not be wise to receive it from King Solomon – the wisest man of all time?

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Book SynopsisIn a series of analyses dealing with issues of basic human concern such as love, hope, joy, beauty, desire, suffering, evil, and death, Steven DeLay articulates an existence of faith in Christ. With attention to the Bible and works of art (Caravaggio, Doré, Pissarro, Poussin, Rembrandt, and Rodin), DeLay explores the depths of the human experience, offering a descriptive account of our personal encounter with God. A contribution to the longstanding tradition of edifying Christian works, In the Spirit extols the glory of being human in light of God’s word.

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Book SynopsisA central but rarely explored mystery of human existence and subjective consciousness was recognized by Blaise Pascal several centuries ago: Why am I me and not you or anyone else? Science can explain why there is (objectively) a person here, but not why that person is (subjectively) me. This relates to the more widely debated mind/body problem, more currently known as the "Hard Problem of Consciousness." Moving on to human culture, including religion and the arts, this book asks whether these are the direct result of Darwinian evolution or, rather, of the nature of human consciousness. Do the mysteries of our consciousness, of our existence, have a role to play?

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Book SynopsisIn A Conversation with an Atheist, Daniel McKenzie takes on the thorny topic of God. Countering religion’s simple faith-based answers to life’s biggest questions, McKenzie uses everyday logic and the teachings of non-dual wisdom to make a clear case for God-knowledge over God-belief. The book begins with a contentious dialog between an atheist and a sage who shares a vision of God that isn’t in conflict with reality. Taking inspiration from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita (The Song of God), the author shows that in order to understand God we must first see it as two different operating principles before seeing it as a unified whole - what he calls God 1 and God 2. The result is a cognitive shift that changes not only our view of God but also how we view ourselves and our connection to each other and the cosmos.

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Book SynopsisA path to belief for the 21st century citizen who cannot embrace either the traditional religions of the past or the emerging religions of the new spirituality

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Book SynopsisReligion, Science and Moral Philosophy in the Huguenot Enlightenment makes two significant contributions to existing scholarship on the Enlightenment. Firstly, as an author, journalist, translator, and inexhaustible letter writer, the Huguenot pastor and secretary of the Berlin Academy of Science, Samuel Formey, was involved in most of the philosophical debates in the European Republic of Letters during the second half of the eighteenth century. This is the first monograph dedicated solely to Formey’s multifaceted work. Secondly, the book recasts the concept of Religious Enlightenment by considering Formey as a pastor-philosopher whose concept of philosophy included revealed religion instead of perpetuating the image of him as an ‘enemy of Enlightenment’ who opposed the philosophy of his time by referring to religion. More precisely, the book explores the notion of the compatibility between reason and faith in Formey’s thought on the existence of God, the freedom of will, divine providence and other questions relating to religion and metaphysics. It shows how Formey altered his portrayal of the relation between reason and faith depending on the genre and immediate context of his writings. The broader contextualisation of Formey’s arguments in German rationalist philosophy and Calvinist theology unveils not only the overlaps between Wolffianism and eighteenth-century Calvinism but also gives an impression of the diversity of the thought of Huguenot pastors and philosophers during the Enlightenment.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction Reason and faith in the Enlightenment The Huguenots and the Enlightenment Religious Enlightenment Method and structure of the book Formey’s concept of philosophy and its relationship to religion Philosophy as a universal science of reason The epistemological foundations of Christian philosophy The Christian philosopher in the French debate about the ‘true’ philosopher Formey in the Berlin Huguenot Enlightenment, or how to reconcile the pastor and the philosopher Early Huguenot socialisation Acquaintance with Wolffianism Formey’s transition from pastor to professor of philosophy Preaching like a philosopher and philosophising like a preacher Philosophical preaching between Calvinist homiletic reform and Wolffianism Formey’s transformation of philosophical sermons into moral philosophical essays Secularisation of morality The existence of God and the superiority of metaphysics Rationalism against scepticism: Formey’s dictionary entry for ‘God’ Metaphysics against physico-theology: Formey’s revision of the teleological proof of God Formey and Maupertuis on metaphysics Newtonians against Wolffians: Perception of the debate by two groups of contemporaries Pre-established harmony and fatalism Popularising Wolff’s philosophy: Formey’s Belle wolfienne Formey’s multi-vocal criticism of pre-established harmony and the nexus rerum The origins of Formey’s criticism The debate on free will An empirical science of the soul Free will between absolute necessity and liberty of indifference The free will debate at the Berlin Academy Providence, moral duties and optimism The Berlin Academy’s 1751 prize essay competition on the theme of providence The ‘real’ theory of fortune: Formey and the winning essay The debate between Formey and Boullier about Leibnizian optimism Natural law, morality and science Formey on Rousseau’s Discours sur les sciences et les arts Formey’s scientific moral philosophy Divine and natural law in Formey’s moral philosophy Conclusion – Religious Enlightenment between Calvinism and Wolffianism Bibliography Archival material Primary sources Secondary sources

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Book SynopsisNew essays on Thomas Traherne challenge traditional critical readings of the poet. Thomas Traherne has all too often been defined and studied as a solitary thinker, "out of his time", and not as a participant in the complex intellectual currents of the period. The essays collected here take issue with this reading, placing Traherne firmly in his historical context and situating his work within broader issues in seventeenth-century studies and the history of ideas. They draw on recently published textual discoveries alongside manuscripts which will soon be published for the first time. They address major themes in Traherne studies, including Traherne's understanding of matter and spirit, his attitude towards happiness and holiness, his response to solitude and society, and his Anglican identity. As a whole, the volume aims to re-ignite discussion on settled readings of Traherne's work, to reconsider issues in Traherne scholarship which have long lain dormant, and to supplement our picture of the man and his writings through new discoveries and insights. Elizabeth S. Dodd is programme leader for the MA in theology, ministry and mission and lecturer in theology, imagination and culture at Sarum College, Salisbury; Cassandra Gorman is lecturer in English at Trinity College, Cambridge. Contributors: Jacob Blevins, Warren Chernaik, Phoebe Dickerson, Elizabeth S. Dodd, Ana Elena González-Treviño, Cassandra Gorman, Carol Ann Johnston, Alison Kershaw, Kathryn MurphyTrade ReviewThese essays offer a timely interjection that carves out new approaches to Traherne scholarship, makes insightful observations regarding neglected texts, richly contextualizes his writing.and points to future avenues for enquiry. * MODERN LANGUAGE REVIEW *Groundbreaking....Every part [of the book] expands our thinking about a figure who deserves closer attention. * ENGLISH *Ranging across seventeenth-century philosophy, theology, politics and science, these essays in this volume shine new light on some perennial themes in Traherne studies....a major contribution to [the] field. * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *Table of ContentsIntroduction: 'A lover of all Things ... An Active ey' (Select Meditations I.82): Traherne in Context Foreword: Traherne and Historical Contingency - Julia Smith 'The Lanthorns Sides': Skin, Soul and the Poetry of Thomas Traherne - Phoebe Dickerson No Things But In Thoughts: Traherne's Poetic Realism - Kathryn Murphy Thomas Traherne and 'Feeling Inside the Atom' - Cassandra Gorman 'Consider it All': Traherne's Revealing of the Cosmic Christ in The Kingdom of God - Alison Kershaw Crossing the Red Sea: The Ceremonial Law, Typology and the Imagination - Warren Chernaik Sectarianism in The Ceremonial Law - Carol Ann Johnston Thomas Traherne and the Study of Happiness - Ana Elena González-Treviño 'Innocency of Life': The Innocence of Thomas Traherne in the Context of Seventeenth-Century Devotion - Elizabeth S. Dodd Afterword - Jacob Blevins

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Book SynopsisI am eager for your company on this journey,' writes Maurice Sinclair. 'Our aim is to discover what happens when the wisdom of man, as expressed in schools of philosophy down the ages, meets the wisdom of God, as revealed in Scripture. We want to find out if this interaction will be a perfect blending, or an uneasy truce, or a dramatic explosion!' With freshness and insight, Sinclair surveys a panorama of earthly wisdoms across the full course of human history, and around the world, to the present day. He helps us to grasp some principal ideas from key philosophers, without the intricacies or abstractions, and with a minimum of technical language. Throughout, he keeps in mind wisdom 'from above', from the eternal perspective of God’s revelation in Christ. Taking the long view, the history of wisdom turns out to be 'his story'. In this fast-paced and accessible volume, Sinclair's essential purpose is to encourage us to seek wisdom for love's sake - a wisdom and a love that are as practical as they are visionary - and to marshal the reasons for our hope in Christ.

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Book SynopsisMany people believe that science provides facts while religion is just opinion or beliefs. This book explores the structure and value of science and religious experience, and demonstrates how similar they are and how equally valuable and valid they are. After defining different forms of knowledge, e.g. biological, personal, moral, religious, the author explains how the structures of both the humanities and the sciences involve what we grasp through our senses, and how we interpret those impressions first by description, then by evidence collected, then by reason and understanding -- all based on the foundation of basic beliefs. One can no more prove scientific theory or that Moses heard God's call, for each is upheld by a believing community. For factual claims are interpretations in both science and religion. In this work, objective science is examined against the subjective world of personal relations, the humanities and religion. Many scientists and religionists acknowledge a hierarchy of different forms of knowledge, e.g. empirical, chemical, personal and religious. Some fundamentalists (both scientific and religious) focus on one form of knowledge, when a range of forms of knowledge would provide a more balanced multi-focal perspective.Trade Review"This is a fascinating read as well as an invaluable resource for students and teachers, a comprehensive account of a vast and complex subject." -- Marianne Rankin, Chair of the Alister Hardy Society, in the BASR Bulletin, 2008.Table of ContentsSources of Uplifting Experiences; How Do We Know What Knowledge Is?: A European Search for Objective Knowledge; How Do We Know What Knowledge Is?: An American Search for Personal Knowledge; Are There Different Kinds of Knowledge?; Changing Views of Scientific Knowledge; The Integrity of Science; Forgotten Knowledge; Is All Knowledge Relative?; Religion and Transcendence; Religious and Mystical Experience Empirical Studies; Religious and Mystical Experience Humanist Studies; Religious and Mystical Experience The Model Builders; Religious Experience and Interpretation; Religious Experience; Philosophy and Religious Experience; Gathering Threads; The Wallas Models of Religious Experience in Context; Science and Religious Experience; Glossary; Index.

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Book SynopsisMany people believe that science provides facts while religion is just opinion or beliefs. This book explores the structure and value of science and religious experience, and demonstrates how similar they are and how equally valuable and valid they are. After defining different forms of knowledge, e.g. biological, personal, moral, religious, the author explains how the structures of both the humanities and the sciences involve what we grasp through our senses, and how we interpret those impressions first by description, then by evidence collected, then by reason and understanding -- all based on the foundation of basic beliefs. One can no more prove scientific theory or that Moses heard God's call, for each is upheld by a believing community. For factual claims are interpretations in both science and religion. In this work, objective science is examined against the subjective world of personal relations, the humanities and religion. Many scientists and religionists acknowledge a hierarchy of different forms of knowledge, e.g. empirical, chemical, personal and religious. Some fundamentalists (both scientific and religious) focus on one form of knowledge, when a range of forms of knowledge would provide a more balanced multi-focal perspective.Trade Review"This is a fascinating read as well as an invaluable resource for students and teachers, a comprehensive account of a vast and complex subject." -- Marianne Rankin, Chair of the Alister Hardy Society, in the BASR Bulletin, 2008.Table of ContentsSources of Uplifting Experiences; How Do We Know What Knowledge Is?: A European Search for Objective Knowledge; How Do We Know What Knowledge Is?: An American Search for Personal Knowledge; Are There Different Kinds of Knowledge?; Changing Views of Scientific Knowledge; The Integrity of Science; Forgotten Knowledge; Is All Knowledge Relative?; Religion and Transcendence; Religious and Mystical Experience Empirical Studies; Religious and Mystical Experience Humanist Studies; Religious and Mystical Experience The Model Builders; Religious Experience and Interpretation; Religious Experience; Philosophy and Religious Experience; Gathering Threads; The Wallas Models of Religious Experience in Context; Science and Religious Experience; Glossary; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis is an exciting book, breaking new ground and in particular the stale confrontation between atheism and religion. Calling on his experience in industry and his interest in faith and values, Geoff Crocker offers a fresh interpretation of religion as strong myth from which to create personal and social values. He argues that contemporary atheism, whilst a valid hypothesis, destroys a source of values without offering any alternative. The result is moral nihilism and a materialist self centred consumer society.This he argues is much less than a full understanding of human life and society. He starts by tracing the development of philosophy to an atheist position, arguing that metaphysical concepts, an aspect of faith, are essential to human life. He then suggests a reinterpretation of the religious texts as myth, offering a wide range of examples on themes of justice, love, the market, the role of the state, fear, resurrection and sibling rivalry. This book will appeal both to secularists who are looking for believable interpretation of faith and to Christians looking for a relevant interpretation of faith.Trade ReviewGeoff Crocker seeks to steer a pathway between traditional theistic religion and other non-rationalistic approaches whilst refusing to settle for the nihilism and amorality implicit in much postmodern culture and thought. Here is a new and clear voice in popular philosophy which deserves a hearing by religious and non-religious readers seeking to make sense of our world today. (Paul Roberts,Dean of Non-residential Training, St Michael's College, Llandaff, Cardiff) Geoff Crocker brings a fresh voice to the God debate, arguing that Biblical mythology and critical thinking need not be enemies. Eloquent and persuasive. (David Boulton, Author of The Trouble with God and Who on Earth was Jesus?)

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Book Synopsis[Husserl] better than anybody, compelled us to realize the painful dilemma of knowledge: either consistent empiricism, with its relativistic, skeptical results (a standpoint which many regard discouraging, inadmissible, and in fact ruinous for culture) or transcendental dogmatism, which cannot really justify itself and remains in the end an arbitrary decision. I have to admit that although ultimate certitude is a goal that cannot be attained within the rationalist framework, our culture would be poor and miserable without people who keep trying to reach this goal, and it hardly could survive when left entirely in the hands of the skeptics. - From the author's conclusion.Trade Review'Kolakowski's Husserl and the Search for Certitude consists of his three Cassirer Lectures, delivered at Yale in 1974. In broad, general terms, he places Husserl in the tradition of philosophers, from Descartes to the Logical positivists, who were engaged in the attempt to discover some knowledge which was certain and indubitable. His final view is that such a quest must fail. But he also argues that unless it is undertaken, the tension and disharmonies which exist between the claims of the skeptics and relativists on the one hand, and those who believe in the possibility of absolute certainty on the other, must come to an end. And since he believes that this tension is to a large extent the source of all culture and intellectual life, we should be disastrously impoverished if the search were finally given up. . . . [Kolakowski's] purpose is to show the ways in which Husserl pursued, and inevitably failed to reach, his goal, and to justify, at least in part, the claim he made for his philosophy, that is was the defense of culture and civilization. The lectures are elegant, persuasively clear and delightful.' - Mary Warnock, Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsFirst lecture: The end -- Second lecture: The means -- Third lecture: The achievements.

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Book SynopsisA series of important papers over the topics raised by Pope John Paul II in 'Fides et Ratio.' Contributors include Jude Dogherly, Rev. Servais Th. Pinckaers, O.P., William Hoye, Mario Enrique Sachhi, Benedict Ashley, O.P., Grace Goodell, Louis Chammings, Peter Hodgson, John Haldane, Steven Baldner, Vittorio Possenti, Hohn Hittnger, Christopher Martin, remi Brague, Michael Sherwin, O.P., Roger Poivet, Jennifer Hockenbury, John O'Callaghan, Alejandro Llano, and others.Trade Review"... This collection of Essays then is for readers who genuinely want to enter into the spirit of Fides et Ratio, and think through for themselves the central question of how faith and reason interact. ... A must for every thinking Catholic..." - Fr Paul Shaw, 'Faith Magazine', Nov-Dec 2001Table of ContentsInroduction by Ralph McInerny 1. Passchendaeles of the Mind (Opening Homily) by Rev. Michael Sherwin, O.P. 2. John Paul II, Defender of Faith and Reason by Jude Dougherty 3. The Place of Philosophy in Moral Theology by Rev. Servais Pinckaers, O.P. 4. The Immutability of the Sense of Dogmas and Philisophical Theories by Rev. Leo Elders S.D.V. 5. Truth and Truths. A crucial Distinction in The Encyclical Letter 'Fides et Ratio' by William Hoye 6. The Exaltation of Metaphysics in John Paul II's 'Fides et Ratio' by Mario Enrique Sacchi 7. The Validity of Metaphysics: The Need for a Solidly Grounded Metaphysics by Rev. Benedict Ashley,O.P. 8. The Social Foundation of Realist Metaphysics by Grace Goodell 9. Technology and Wisdom: Metaphysical Stakes of the Information Society by Louis Chammings 10. Global Warming and Nuclear Power by Peter Hodgson 11. The Diverstiy of Philosophy and the Unity of it Vocation: Some Philosophical Reflections on 'Fides et Ratio' by John Haldane 12. Christian Philosophy, Gilson and 'Fides et Ratio' by Steven Baldner 13. Contemporary Philosophy Facing 'Fides et Ratio' by Angelo Campodonico 14. The Problem of Nihilism in 'Fides et Ratio' by Vittorio Possenti 15. The Scientific Revolution and Contemporary Discourse on Faith and Reason by William Carroll 16. 'Fides et Ratio': Exorcizing the Ghost of Descartes by John Hittinger 17. Conceptions of Reason by Christopher Marting 18. The Angst of Reason by Remi Brague 19. The Third Millenium and the Philosophical Life: Or "Celsus Don't Despair" by Rev. Michael Sherwin, O.P. 20. 'Fides et Ratio' and the Graceful Redemption of Philosophy by Jennifer Hockenbury 21. 'Consolatio Philosophiae: Philosophy Consoling and Consoled by Steve Snyder 22. Faith, Reason, and Logic by Roger Pouivet 23. Faith and Reason: Aquinas's Two Strategies by Cyrille Michon 24. The Boldness of Reason and the Obedience of Faith by Alejandro Llano 25. 'Fides et Ratio', Political Philosophy, and Thomas Aquinas by Mary Keys 26. 'Verbum Mentis': Philosophical or Theological Doctrine by John O'Callaghan 27. Entrusting Ourselves: 'Fides et Ratio' and Augustine's 'De utilitate credendi' by Ann Gardiner 28. Death, Immortality and Resurrection by Peter Hunter, O.P.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"I would certainly recommend a careful study of these papers. In todays's wourld it is imperative that we have well informed Catholics able to dialogue and, at times, argue with atheistic scientific culture." - Marisa March, 'Faith Magazine', Feb 2002Table of ContentsScience and Faith: Introduction 1. Alpha and Omega: Reconciling Science and Faith, Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M.Cap. 2. Faith and the Structure of Life, Michael J. Behe 3. Faith and the Structure of the Cosmos, Stephen M. Barr 4. Faith and Biogogical Reductionism: Darwin as a Religious Reformer, F.F. Centore 5. Faith and Procreation: The Fight for the Future, Germain Kopaczynski, O.F.M.Conv. 6. Faith and the Therapeutic Culture, William Kilpatrick 7. Socialization: A Theological Perspective, Cynthia Toolin 8. Science, Faith, And Atheism, Don DeMarco 9. An Uscientific Postscript on Catholicism in an Age of Science, Archbishop George Pell Notes

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Book SynopsisChurch attendance in the United Kingdom has dropped dramatically in numbers since the end of the Second World War and no longer can the country be called Christian. To many people, moral values are no longer of prime importance and the incidence of crime has reached new heights; while violence has plumbed sickening depths of depravity. In the media, as in life, profanity abounds. People's reasons and perhaps excuses for devotion and worship in Church are diverse, sometimes simple and at times complicated. If non-attenders knew that many regular church-goers were not part of a 'saved' elite withdrawing from the real world, but ordinary social animals like themselves, with the same basic nature, who would admit to one or many of the 50 Reasons set out in this book, then perhaps such a realization might encourage them to return to a place of worship again or to attend for the first time. Therein is the purpose of this book. 50 Reasons comprises twenty-five chapters, each of which contains at least two reasons for going to Church.Trade Review"A thought-provoking book and immensely readable. Deserves to be widely read. Above all, the book issues challenge after challenge." -- The Sentinel"Charging up the spiritual batteries, to face another week, discovering all we need to know about good, simply meeting people briefly with kindred spirits, and many other reasons, can be found in this stimulating book." -- The Scotsman

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Book SynopsisThe Human Phenomenon by the priest, paleontologist, and geologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is his book of the Earth, a discovery and an epic journey to open the way out for humanity in a time of world conflict and to release the spirit of the Earth. As Virgil led Dante, so Teilhard guides his reader back in spacetime to experience the birth of our planet as it emprisons the human future in its globe and motion, then forward, through the emergence of life, the birth of thought and socialization, and the unique mode of human unfolding as humanity covers the whole planet in an entirely new membrane, the Noosphere.Trade Review"This book has a magic quality you don't find in writing in the science world. This translation will in the future be the basic text for any serious study of Teilhard in the English language." -- Thomas Berry, co-author of The Universe Story."Sarah Appleton-Weber has gifted English-speaking admirers of Teilhard and his thought with a superb new translation. Readers will find this new translation worth a fresh read. Appleton-Weber's introduction to the work opens to readers, including Teilhard scholars, the meaning and relevance not only of his vision but also of phrases and words that he used to help bring his vision into focus. Her introduction and copies of key diagrams used by Teilhard are of great value and make this new translation critical: it is of substantial value for communicating the vision of Teilhard." -- ZygonTable of ContentsContents: Foreword by Brian Swimme; Teilhard's Transforming Thought; The Stuff of the Universe; The Inside of Things; The Juvenile Earth; The Appearance of Life; The Expansion of Life; Mother Earth (Demeter); The Birth of Thought; The Deployment of the Noosphere; The Modern Earth; The Collective Way Out; Beyond the Collective: The Hyperpersonal; The Ultimate Earth; Epilogue: The Christian Phenomenon; Summary or Postface: The Essence of the Human Phenomenon; Appendix: Some Comments on the Place and Role of Evil in an Evolving World; Index.

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Book SynopsisReligion is an essential part of our humanity. We all follow some form of religion, in the original meaning of the word. But organised religion establishes definitions, boundaries and hierarchies which the founders would be amazed by. This is perhaps more true of Christianity than most other religions, due to the short life of Jesus, his sudden death, the lack of any contemporary records. His teaching about the kingdom of God is great; it could see us through our time on earth. But his followers watered it down and soon lost it altogether. It became a kingdom in heaven for the few, rather than one here and now for everyone. The Church, or Churches, that resulted became increasingly irrelevant, even a hindrance, to seeing it realised. Many will always find security and truth in the traditions that developed, and good for them. But for those who can't, for those who have given up on religion or never thought it worth considering, the original teachings are worth another look. If we could recover them and live by them, we could change ourselves and the world for the better. We could bring God back to earth.

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Book SynopsisPierre Teilhard de Chardin's spiritual masterpiece, The Divine Milieu, in a newly revised translation by Sion Cowell, is addressed to those who have lost faith in conventional religion but who still have a sense of the divine at the heart of the cosmos. The heavens declare the glory of God,' sings the Psalmist. Teilhard would agree. We are surrounded,' he says, by a certain sort of pessimist who tells us continually that our world is foundering in atheism. But should we not say rather that what it is suffering from is unsatisfied theism?' He sees a universe in movement where progress is the spiritualisation of matter and its opposite is the materialisation of spirit. Teilhard opts for progress. The Divine Milieu is the divine centre and the divine circle, the divine heart and the divine sphere. The Divine Milieu is written for those who listen primarily to the voices of the Earth: its purpose is to provide a link to traditional Christianity (as expressed in Baptism, Cross and Eucharist) in order to demonstrate that the fears prevalent in contemporary world society as it abuses its very foundation -- Mother Earth -- may be better understood by the Gospel path. Teilhard's primary purpose is to show a way forward, which he sees as the Christian religious ideal'.Trade Review"Reading this work reminds us that the 'secular' realm is usually constructed by religious people in an attempt to gain exemption from the task of attentive seeking." -- David Grumett, Times Literary Supplement, May 28, 2004."Reflections of the spiritualisation of matter move beyond gravity to remind us of physical exuberance and the joy of growth...There is a beautiful limpidity about the translation...A great contribution to Teilhard Literature." -- The Scientific and Medical Network Review."The volume includes a scholarly and most helpful Foreword by Jesuit scholar Thomas M. King, who outlines the life of Teilhard de Chardin and helps the reader to understand the context in which The Divine Milieu was written. He writes of a Jesuit Priest whose work did not sit easily with the Roman Catholic hierarchy of the early twentieth century. He portrays a man in some spiritual turmoil, living through events of great magnitude, who is seeking to make sense of all that is around him and of his own reaction to those events. The Divine Milieu was not written for those who were comfortable in their Catholic faith, but for the doubters and waverers - those for whom classical expressions of religious faith had long lost their meaning. I commend this volume." -- Rev. Adrian Burdon, Reviews in Religion and Theology.Table of ContentsATM/Cash Cards; Credit Cards; EFTPOS/Debit Cards; Competition, Innovation and Performance: The Evolution of the Bank Card Business; Smart Cards; Index.

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Book SynopsisWritten by an experienced author with a strong background in both History and Earth Sciences, this text explores the philosophic implications of the dramatic developments now under way in astrophysics and astrobiology. How close may this progress, empirical and theoretical, bring us to a definitive understanding of ultimate realities? What could it connote for the future of the great religious obediences? What might it mean for the evolution of a planetary consciousness that could be the key to the survival of our overburdened world? Are there not alarming possibilities, yet also very positive ones? Discussion takes full account of hard science in a manner accessible to lay people, where the arguments and observations presented are set firmly in a deep historical perspective. A fundamental conclusion and imperative for the coming century is that there are some shaky but tangible grounds for believing we are poised to enter an era in which relations much improve within and between the great religious obediences; between them and philosophical agnosticism -- to the many who subscribe to no established faith but who would lay claim to a broad ethical concern and spiritual aspiration; and between all of these and the natural sciences. Throughout, the author provides compelling examples of cosmic norms -- rooted in Earth Science, Astronomy/Astrophysics and Historical Example -- to demonstrate the issues Mankind faces in coming to terms with the Universe, of which we are but a small part.Table of ContentsPart 1 - The Heavens in History; Part 2 - The Life Dimension; Part 3 - Utopia Lost?; Part 4 - A Dissolving Heritage; Part 5 - From Here From Eternity; Index.

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Book Synopsis"The Thoughtful Guide to God" presents a rational approach to notions of God and soul for those who are disenchanted with organized religion. Reviving concepts of the divine that go back to the earliest human civilizations of both East and West, it shows how ideas have evolved from early scriptural revelations, through the rationalization of the Greek philosophers, to the developments of modern physics. Few works bring together ideas from so many disciplines-from religion, philosophy and science, with all the supporting detail. Packed with references for further reading, it provides a bridge between science and religion, and between many of the different religions of the world. All the terms and concepts are explained so that they are accessible to the general reader. The discoveries of Newton and Galileo, through to Einstein and contemporary scientists, and the ideas of God from a number of Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Hindu thinkers, are presented with brief biographical background to put these personalities in context. Their thoughts are fused with those of Greek and later philosophers that have shaped society in Western Europe to provide a unifying concept of the divine as Communal Soul- a one-world view which it is essential should convince more of the population in the materialist West if Earth and humankind are to survive into the 22nd century.

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Book SynopsisBenjamin Whichcote once said that “only madmen and fools arepleased with themselves: no wise man is good enough for his ownsatisfaction.” While Whichcote’s wise man accepts thisdisparity, the madmen and fools suffer from a deluded self-satisfactionwhich, one can assume, might make them dangerous. The twenty-four briefchapters of Imperfection develop this governing idea as itrelates to the present state of the God debate, modern ethnic conflictsin which religion is a marker of identity, and the idea of freedom inrelation to the uncertainties of self-determination. Human beings are imperfect creatures who nonetheless have ideas aboutperfection. Grant argues that the most interesting and creative thingspeople do are shaped in the gap between these two poles. Aretrospective view of his work over forty years, Imperfectiondisplays the scope of his insights and reveals an important Canadianpublic intellectual.Table of ContentsContents preface xi introduction 1 part i Imperfection 1 Plato and the Limits of Idealism 9 2 The Van Gogh Letters: The Art of the Unfinished 17 3 The Trouble with Visions31 4 Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, and Regressive Inversion 41 5 Osama, Theo, and the Burnt Fool’s Bandaged Finger 49 6 What the Buddha Didn’t Say 57 7 Not So Good News: The Gospel According to Mark 67 part ii Self 8 Immortal Souls and State Executions 79 9 The Eyes Have It: Seeing One’s Self and Others 89 10 The God of Battles and the Irish Dimension of Shakespeare’sHenry V 99 11 Crucifying Harry: Victims, Scapegoats, and the Northern IrelandTroubles 107 12 Talking to the Cyclops: On Violence and Self-Destruction 115 13 Doing Nothing About It: Taoism, Selflessness, and Non-Action121 14 Cliff Jumpers and Delta Dwellers: On Religious Language andCommitment 133 part iii Freedom 15 Dr. Johnson, Freedom, and the Book of Psalms 145 16 Sex, Society, and Romeo and Juliet 155 17 Cartoons from Denmark and the March of the Zombies 165 18 Vergil and the Almighty Dollar 173 19 Endgame in Sri Lanka: Dharmapala’s Legacy andRajapaksa’s War 183 20 Jung and The Secret of the Golden Flower 195 21 Kieslowski’s Red: Fraternity in the Making 205 bibliographical notes 225

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Book SynopsisThe Glory of God's Grace offers the first full-length comprehensive study of Thomas's teaching on deification in its scriptural, patristic, philosophical, developmental, and systematic context. Daria Spezzano traces Thomas's theology of deification throughout the Summa, exploring in depth how the notion of deification links his treatments of the divine missions and image, the journey to beatitude through the moral life, adopted sonship through Christ and his sacraments, and the deiform worship of the beatific vision.Also examined are Thomas's other works, in particular his Scripture commentaries, as well as the evolution of his thought. Spezzano argues that Thomas's theology of deification in the Summa theologiae demonstrates his mature vision of God's loving and sapiential ordering of predestined human persons to communion with himself by a progressive participation in the divine likeness and activity, accounting for both the primacy of divine causality in all its modes and the fullness of graced human freedom.The fruit of this theology is ultimately doxological: the deification of adopted sons gives praise to God's glory by fully manifesting God's gracious plan to share the divine life with rational creatures.

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Book SynopsisVaught identifies the place where religion and philosophy meet--and he does so in constant conversation with Augustine, Hegel, Heidegger and Jaspers. Vaught argues that both religious and philosophical discourse assume one of four modes: figurative, analytical, systematic, and analogical. Any real innovation occurs by moving from one mode of discourse to another. Vaught also explores the relationship among ""space,"" ""time,"" and ""place"" as well as ""mystery,"" ""power,"" and ""structure."" Remarkably, Vaught shows how the category of ""place"" serves as the intersection of both triads. In the end, ""place"" is the orientation that guides the discussions of Being and God, where philosophy and religion are joined.Trade ReviewOnly someone as well-versed in Anglo-American analytical philosophy's demand for rigor and clarity could tread so nimbly where such philosophers rarely venture, namely, in relating Being and God to time and space as well as relating Continental philosophers such as Hegel and Heidegger to ancient and medieval philosophers. Vaught offers a grand philosophical vision with deft attention to detail, promising medieval philosophy as the bridge that can span mystery and structure, metaphor and realism, Being and God. --Dan R. Stiver, Hardin-Simmons University and author of Theology After RicoeurCarl Vaught is one of the very few philosophers to have a deep, participative knowledge of religious life coupled with a command of both metaphysics and philosophy of language. For years he has been developing a metaphysics of analogy for understanding God as Being. At the same time he has elaborated an extraordinary interpretation of Augustine. Now he demonstrates a remarkable subtlety in distinguishing and connecting different types of religious and theological discourse. In this book he brings all these together to present a genuinely systematic philosophical theology. A splendid dividend is that he uses the systematic position and its language to reflect back on the history of Western philosophy, with remarkable insights. Metaphor, Analogy, and the Place of Places makes Vaught's position a major contender in contemporary philosophical theology and philosophy of religion. At the very least, after this book, no one can claim that philosophy and religion are not integral to each other. --Robert C. Neville, School of Theology, Boston UniversityHe holds that both philosophy and faith start in childhood with the power of imagination, in advance of reflection... The distinction between imagination and reflection prompts people to seek wholeness and unity... Recommended. -- CHOICETable of Contents Preface List of Abbreviations PART ONE: The Relation Between Religion and Philosophy 1. The Origins, the Context, and the Language of Religion and Philosophy 2. A New Conception of the History of Philosophy 3. Athens and Jerusalem PART TWO: Augustine, Hegel, Heidegger, and Jaspers 4. The Rhetoric of Augustine's Confessions 5. Immanence and Transcendence in Augustine's Confessions 6. Hegel and the Problem of Difference 7. Being and Existenz in Heidegger and Jaspers PART THREE: Mystery, Power, and Structure 8. The Quest for Wholeness 9. Being and God 10. Metaphor, Analogy, and the Nature of Truth Notes Index

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Book SynopsisHomo Abyssus is one of the most significant works of Catholic philosophy in the twentieth century. In this speculative appropriation of Aquinas, Ferdinand Ulrich lays out a vision of being as an image of divine goodness, drawing out as-yet-undiscovered treasures from Aquinas’s texts through a fundamental engagement with modern philosophy, above all Hegel and Heidegger. One of the most unique features of this vision is, as Hans Urs von Balthasar observed, “It stands face-to-face with the innermost mysteries of Christian revelation, and opens them up, without ever departing from the strictly philosophical sphere. In this respect, it overcomes the baleful dualism between philosophy and theology perhaps more successfully than any previous attempt.”The first part of the book offers a fundamental metaphysics, expounding in detail the basic structure of being in the light of creation ex nihilo interpreted as an act of radical generosity. This discussion presents novel insights into traditional themes such as the real distinction between essence and existence, participation, causality, and the analogy of being; and it explores from the same perspective of radical generosity themes associated more with modern philosophy, such as the relationship between being and nothingness, the ontological difference, and being and time. The second part of the book is a speculative anthropology, which proposes to think through the constitution of the human being as a kind of dynamic exemplar of the meaning of being: man not only shows the meaning of being, but co-enacts it in his relation to himself, to the world, and to God.In addition to offering the first major work of Ulrich to appear in English, this translation includes a substantial introduction by Martin Bieler, and a helpful lexicon to help elucidate the book’s unusual vocabulary.

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Book SynopsisThis book analyzes the different conceptions of authenticity that are behind conflicts over who and what should be recognized as authentically Jewish. Although the concept of authenticity has been around for several centuries, it became a central focus for Jews since existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre raised the question in the 1940s. Building on the work of Sartre, later Jewish thinkers, philosophers, anthropologists, and cultural theorists, the book offers a model of Jewish authenticity that seeks to balance history and tradition, creative freedom and innovation, and the importance of recognition among different groups within an increasingly multicultural Jewish community. Author Stuart Z. Charmé explores how debates over authenticity and struggles for recognition are a key to understanding a wide range of controversies between Orthodox and liberal Jews, Zionist and diaspora Jews, white Jews and Jews of color, as well as the status of intermarried and messianic Jews, and the impact of Jewish genetics. In addition, it discusses how and when various cultural practices and traditions such as klezmer music, Israeli folk dance, Jewish yoga and meditation, and others are recognized as authentically Jewish, or not. Table of ContentsIntroduction Part 1: Theoretical Perspectives on Jewish Authenticity Chapter 1: The Changing Faces of Jewish Authenticity Chapter 2: Recognition and Authenticity: From Sartre to Multiculturalism Part 2: Authentically Jewish Religion Chapter 3: Orthodoxy and the Authentic Jew Chapter 4: Reforming Tradition and the Spiritual Quest Chapter 5: Authentic Experience and Spirituality: Meditation, Yoga, Kabbalah Chapter 6: The Messianic Heresy and the Struggle for Authenticity Part 3: Authentic Jewish Peoplehood Chapter 7: Creating Authentic Jewish Culture in Israel Chapter 8: Shtetl Authenticity: From “Fiddler” to the Revival of Klezmer Chapter 9: Becoming Jewish: Intermarriage and Conversion Chapter 10: Authentically Jewish Genes Part 4: Struggles for Recognition and Authentication Chapter 11: Lost Jewish Tribes in Ethiopia Chapter 12: Black Jews in the United States Chapter 13: Crypto-Jews of the Southwest Chapter 14: Newly-Found Jews and the Regimes of Recognition Conclusion Bibliography About the Author

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Book SynopsisThese essays consider the three traditional theological virtues—faith, hope, and love—alongside their opposites—doubt, despair, and hate, from a scholarly perspective. The volume includes contributions not just from philosophers of religion, but also from psychologists, sociologists, and film and literature scholars, to paint a complex and nuanced picture of these virtues, both of how we might understand them, and how we can hope to embody them ourselves. While these virtues make up a core part of the Christian tradition, the chapters here go far and wide in search of different cultural conceptions of these universal human concerns. Inquiries are made into these virtues within Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic thought, alongside philosophers including Aristotle, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Levinas, and Murdoch. The resulting tapestry is often beautiful, sometimes horrific, but always thoroughly human. This text appeals to students and researchers working in these fields. Chapter [9] is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Virtue and ViceTroy DuJardinI: Faith and Doubt2. Faith (and Doubt?) Among the VirtuesJennifer Herdt3. Restoring Faith, Curing Doubt: Krsna’s Instruction in the Bhagavad Gita Francis Clooney4. Faith, Doubt, and the Buddhist Path of Enlightenment Dale S. Wright 5. Kierkegaard on Faith, Doubt, and Uncertainty C. Stephen Evans6. Wilfred Cantwell Smith: Scholar, Mentor, and HumanistCharles KimballII: Hope and Despair7. Dante’s Commedia: from Despair to Hope to GloryPeter Hawkins 8. Radical Hope, Despair and Time: Responses to NietzscheRyan Coyne9. Hope but not Optimism: The Kantian Mind at the End of All Things Andrew ChignellIII: Love and Hate10. How to ‘Love Thy Neighbor’: Lessons from G.W.F. Hegel on Conflict and ReconciliationMolly Farneth11. Making Lovers: Emmanuel Levinas and Iris Murdoch on Moral FormationStephen Bush12. Empathy and its CriticsPaul Bloom13. What Muslim Scholars Talk About When They Talk About LoveMarion Katz14. Bhakti and Accidental Grace: Hate as Love in the Hindu TraditionWendy Doniger15. Obedience and Love in Christian EthicsRobert Merrihew Adams16. The Happiness of Promise: Ferdinand Holler and Alexander Nehamas on Love and CareFannie Bialek

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Book SynopsisThis book investigates the compatibility between the doctrine of divine simplicity (DDS, hereafter) and divine free action primarily in the works of Avicenna and Anselm with an analytical approach. The book has three main objectives: (1) to thoroughly analyse both philosophers’ views on DDS, divine free will, and their compatibility; (2) to put them into the context of the contemporary discourse of the philosophy of religion, by investigating whether it is possible to have freedom without the ability to do otherwise (as proposed by both philosophers for divine free will) with a reference to the prominent contemporary discussions initiated by Harry Frankfurt’s counterexamples; and (3) to show the plausibility of the agent-causal view for divine freedom (as defended by Anselm and Avicenna) by briefly sketching an alternative account based on Anselmian intuitions (the meta-awareness account) which can avoid the reasons-explanation objection and the luck objection against the libertarian agent-causal view.Table of Contents1 Introduction 2 Avicenna and Anselm on God and Divine Simplicity 3 Avicenna’s Account of Free Will and Divine Freedom 4 Anselm’s Account of Free Will and Divine Freedom 5 Divine Simplicity and Divine Freedom 6 Divine Freedom, Agent-Causal Power, and Reasons- Explanation 7 Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThis book addresses the question of how to properly handle Dōgen’s texts, a core issue that became critical during the Meiji period in which the philosophical appropriation of Dōgen became apparent inside and outside of the monastery. In present day Dōgen studies, most scholarship is informed by a number of factions representing Dōgen. The chapters herein address: the Zennist (j. zenjōka) emphasising practice, the Genzōnians (j. genzōka) shifting the attention to the close reading of Dōgen’s texts, the laity movement opening up both the texts and the practice to people in modern society, and the Genzō researchers (j. genzō kenkyūka) searching for the authenticity and truth of Dōgen’s writings. The book aims to clarify the rightful place of Dōgen: in the monastery, in denominational studies, or in modern academic philosophy? It brings forth various viewpoints on Dōgen, and analyzes the relations of these viewpoints from the premodern to modern times. The collected volume appeals to students and researchers in the field while establishing hermeneutic standards of reading and proposing new, original, and critical interpretations of Dōgen’s texts.Chapter From Uji to Being-time (and Back): Translating Dōgen into Philosophy is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.Table of ContentsSteve Heine: A Critical History of Interpretations of an Ambiguous Shōbōgenzō SentenceAldo Tollini: Dōgen and the Buddhist WayGeorge Wrisley: Dōgen as Philosopher, Dōgen’s Philosophical Zen.Ralf Müller: Incorporating Dogen as philosopher? The example of Nishida Kitaro.Eitan Bolokan: Interpretive Sensibilities in Do̅gen's “Genjo̅ko̅an”. Negotiating the Path Between Textual Authority and CreativenessRussell Guilbault: Dōgen as Philosopher, Metaphysician, and Metaethicist.Andrei Van der Braak: Philosopher, Religious Thinker or Theologian?: Engaging Dōgen beyond Zen ModernismLaurentiu Andrei: The Practice of Time and the Time of Practice. Dōgen and Marcus-Aurelius on Impermanence and SelfLaura Specker: Do Not Lose the Rice: Dōgen Through the Eyes of Contemporary Western Zen Women Leesa S Davis Deakin: Engaging with Dōgen’s texts: the nonduality of philosophy and religionZuzana Kubovčáková: Uji: Analysis of Dōgen’s Language Style as the Formation Ground for his PhilosophyRaji Steineck: From Uji to Being-time (and Back). Translating Dōgen into PhilosophyFelipe Cuervo: On Flowing While Being. The (Mereo)Logical Structure of Dōgen’s Conception of TimeRein Raud: Thinking the Now: Dōgen’s Thought between Philosophy and Praxis

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Book Synopsis1 Introduction: The Problem of Animal Suffering in the Philosophy of Religion.- Part I Versions of the Problem of Animal Suffering.- 2 The Shattered Framework: Christian Theology and the Challenge of Animal Suffering.- 3 Evidential Arguments from Evil.- 4 A Humean Argument from Animal Welfare.- 5 Does God Care about What People Think about God? Revisiting the Problem of Natural Nonbelief.- 6 Animal Suffering and Antitheodicy.- 7 Dissonant Theodicy: Theodicy and Anti-Theodicy in Irresolvable Tension.- Part II Theodicies.- 8 Premodern Theological Interpretations of Creational Suffering.- 9 Evolution and the Goodness of God.- 10 The Darwinian Problem of Evil and Christian Theodicy.- 11 “Red in Tooth and Claw”: Animal Suffering and the Corruption of Nature.- 12 Recent Work on the Neo-Cartesian Response to the Problem of Animal Suffering.- 13 Neo-Thomistic Theodicy.- 14 Soul-Making Theodicy.- 15 Islamic Theodicy.- 16 Judaism and the Suffering of Nonhuman Animals.- Part III The Axiological Status of Non-Human Animal Suffering.- 17 The Role of Emotional Suffering in the Animal Kingdom.- 18 Predatory Animals and Natural Evil.- 19 The Role of Parasitism in the Animal Kingdom.- Part IV  Non-Human Animal Minds.- 20 Non-Human Animal Minds and the Problem of Animal Suffering.- 21 Descartes Was Right, about Insects.- 22 Self-Awareness and Personhood in Non-Human Animals.- 23 An Anti-Theological Argument from Suffering.- Part V Analyzing Theodicies.- 24 Theodicy, Anti-Theodicy, and Ethics: Some Considerations.- 25 Christian Evolutionary Theodicies Assessed.

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Book SynopsisZwei der bedeutendsten um im Folgenden besonders einflussreichen Hörer des Religionsphilosophen und Theologen Ernst Troeltsch aus der Heidelberger Zeit, die Dichterin Gertrud von le Fort (1876–1971) und der Theologe Friedrich Gogarten (1887–1967), die sich 1911/12 begegnet waren, traten nach drei Jahren in einen zunehmend vertrauensvollen Briefwechsel und eine familiäre Beziehung zueinander. Ihre Korrespondenz reicht über die Kriegszeit, krisenhafte Kirchenzustände und die Verhältnisse im untergehenden Kaiserreich mit allen Facetten der Not und Orientierungslosigkeit hin zu den Anstrengungen theoretischer und religiöser Neugestaltung.Während le Fort bis zu Troeltschs Tod und darüber hinaus in geistig enger Beziehung zu dem prägenden Lehrer blieb, versuchte Gogarten im Umgang mit Schweizer Freunden die neuen Wege der sog. ‚dialektischen‘ Theologie mitzubestimmen, auch mit Buber und Guardini in Beziehung zu kommen. Die Dichterin trat mit rasch von der katholischen Öffentlichkeit rezipierten ‚Hymnen an die Kirche‘ (1924) hervor und arbeitete gleichzeitig nachdrücklich an der Edition von Troeltschs ‚Glaubenslehre‘ (1925). Als sie 1926 konvertierte, schien der Briefverkehr zu erlöschen. In ihm, wie in den beigegebenen Texten bildet sich subtil und eindrücklich ein dramatisches und erregendes Zeitgeschehen im überschaubaren Feld reflexiver Subjektivität ab.

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