Search results for ""Author Rupert Shortt""

Are the world’s major spiritual traditions sources of greater discord than harmony? Or are conflicts widely blamed on faith differences fundamentally social and political? In this succinct but richly reflective book, Rupert Shortt offers even-handed guidance on one of the most disputed questions of our time. Among much else he sheds light on the contrast between good and bad religion, and on why the distinction is of urgent relevance in an era increasingly described as post-secular.

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'A masterclass.' - Church Times 'A penetrating, concise and informed critique of Richard Dawkins. This is now the best starting point for anyone wanting to assess his views on science and faith.' - Alister E. McGrath 'A great read. Rupert Shortt demolishes Richard Dawkins’s arguments with consummate elegance.’ - Julia Neuberger ‘A bracing demonstration that a Christian can myth-bust an atheist quite as effectively as vice versa.’ - Tom Holland In his latest book Outgrowing God, Richard Dawkins tries to show that all religious belief is intellectually nonsensical and thus highly damaging in practice. But does he even understand what he rejects? In this incisive rebuttal, Rupert Shortt exposes the main flaws in Dawkins’s arguments – his weakness for crude caricatures, selective way with evidence, ignorance of philosophy and history as well as theology, and even his questionable interpretations of science. At the same time Outgrowing Dawkins demonstrates the coherence of a mature, self-critical faith and its contribution to human progress.

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How can a supposedly all-powerful and all-loving God permit evil and suffering on a grand scale?The question has assailed people across cultures at least as far back as the biblical Book of Job. To sceptics, it forms clinching evidence that all talk of providence is childish -- or even a dangerous delusion. Writing clearly and concisely but avoiding simplistic answers, Rupert Shortt argues that belief in a divine Creator is intellectually robust, despite apparent signs to the contrary. Having cleared the ground, he goes on to show how a Christian understanding, in particular, points the way forward through terrain where raw feeling, intellectual inquiry and the toughest trials of the spirit often overlap.The Hardest Problem takes its place alongside the work of C. S. Lewis as an essential guide to one of life's deepest dilemmas for a new generation of readers.

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A call for Christianity to recover its confidence.

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How can a supposedly all-powerful and all-loving God permit evil and suffering on a grand scale?The question has assailed people across cultures at least as far back as the biblical Book of Job. To sceptics, it forms clinching evidence that all talk of providence is childish -- or even a dangerous delusion. Writing clearly and concisely but avoiding simplistic answers, Rupert Shortt argues that belief in a divine Creator is intellectually robust, despite apparent signs to the contrary. Having cleared the ground, he goes on to show how a Christian understanding, in particular, points the way forward through terrain where raw feeling, intellectual inquiry and the toughest trials of the spirit often overlap.The Hardest Problem takes its place alongside the work of C. S. Lewis as an essential guide to one of life's deepest dilemmas for a new generation of readers.

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Although parts of the Western world now appear almost totally secularised, Christianity remains the most potent worldview on earth alongside Islam. In this compelling book, Rupert Shortt gracefully argues that Christianity is a much more coherent, progressive body of belief - philosophically, scientifically and culturally - than often supposed by its critics. Alert to the menace posed by religious fundamentalism, as well as to secularist blind spots, he shows how a self-critical faith is of huge consequence to wider human flourishing, including through promoting peace and environmental sustainability

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