Why do bad things happen, even to good people? If there is a God, why aren't God's existence and God's will for humans more apparent? And if God really does miracles for some people, why not for others? This book examines these three problems of evil - suffering, divine hiddenness, and unfairness if miracles happen as believers claim - to explore how different ideas of God's power relate to the problem of evil. Keller argues that as long as God is believed to be all-powerful, there are no adequate answers to these problems, nor is it enough for theists simply to claim that human ignorance makes these problems insoluble. Arguing that there are no good grounds for the belief that God is all-powerful, Keller instead defends the understanding of God and God's power found in process theism and shows how it makes possible an adequate solution to the problems of evil while providing a concept of God that is religiously adequate.

How to reconcile belief in God and Darwinism? What is the nature of divine action in an evolutionary world? These questions are central to studies of science and religion, and the topic has recently been thrown into high relief by the current resurgence and spread of Creationism and Intelligent Design theories. Intended for those with little previous knowledge of the debate, this Reader explores the compatibility of evolutionary theory and divine action, bringing together the key writings and setting them in context. It covers methodology in the study of science and religion, the fundamental principles of evolutionary biology, and areas of conflict and ways of finding common ground between God and Evolution. It aims to offer a broad spread of opinion, with extensive selections from the theistic critics of Darwinism, including scientific creationists and intelligent design theorists, as well as critics of theism coming from the perspective of scientific materialism. Neglected but important voices such as feminist scholars are featured, along with many of the best known writers in the field.Editorial introductions frame the selections and explain their significance to the debate, making this the ideal resource for students coming to the subject for the first time and for everyone wishing to understand more about this bitterly contested debate.

Kenny writes By profession I am a philosopher: and in the present century philosophers in this country have been keen to emphasise not only the difficulty of stating God's will on particular issues but the difficulty for human beings of saying anything intelligible at all about the nature of God. It is probably true to say that the majority of philosophers in this country in the last fifty years have been atheists of one kind or another. In his masterly introduction, Kenny explains the autobiographical background to this important new book. For some years, Kenny was a Roman Catholic priest, he lost his faith and resigned from the priesthood. This was something of a cause celebre and Kenny gave a full account of this development in his book The Path From Rome. But, as this book demonstrates, he has never been able to let go of God and he continues to struggle with the intellectual problems of theism and the possibility of believing in God, especially in an intellectual climate dominated by Logical Positivism. In this book Kenny revisits the Five Ways of Aquinas and argues that they are not so much proofs as definitions of God.; He is also in constant dialogue with Wittgenstein for, K

In inter faith relations, the Trinity is often seen as an embarrassing or irrelevant problem. This study proposes a different approach, seeing Trinitarian thought as a resource for dialogue. Drawing on the suggestions of Paul Tillich and Raimundo Panikkar, the author identifies six key issues to be addressed in Trinitarian dialogue. These are traced in two historical examples: the encounters of patristic Christianity with Greek philosophical religion, and of medieval Christianity with Islam. The final chapter draws lessons from these experiences to suggest a reshaping of Christian dialogue with Hindus, Muslims and other people of faith.

Picturing God demonstrates the importance of confronting our unconscious selves and allowing our images of God - both positive and negative - to surface. Such inner exploration reveals not only relevant insights about ourselves, but also pulls us beyond our private pictures of God toward a truer view of the living God. Picturing God shows us how to explore our unconscious selves and how this spiritual exercise can change the whole of our lives: how we respond to God, how we relate to others, and how we view ourselves.

Conversations with God took its readers on an inspirational journey, teaching them how to conduct a dialogue with God and reach a better understanding of themselves, others and the world we all inhabit. In Neale Donald Walsch's latest book, they will travel further on this journey towards a greater relationship, and ultimately friendship, with God.

How can one think and name an inconceivable and ineffable God? Christian mystics have approached the problem by speaking of God using "negative" language - devices such as grammatical negation and the rhetoric of "darkness" or "unknowing" - and their efforts have fascinated contemporary scholars. In this text, Thomas A. Carlson reinterprets premodern approaches to God's ineffability and postmodern approaches to the mystery of the human subject in light of one another. The recent interest in mystical theological traditions, Carlson argues, is best understood in relation to contemporary philosophy's emphasis on the idea of human finitude and mortality. Combining both historical research in theology (from Pseudo-Dionysius to Aquinas to Eckhart) and contemporary philosophical analysis (from Hegel and Nietzsche to Heidegger, Derrida, and Marion), this text should interest philosophers, theologians, and other scholars concerned with the possibilities and limits of language surrounding both God and human subjectivity.

For more than 250 years, this simple classic of inspiration has guided readers of all faiths to the open-hearted acceptance of God's will that is the sure path to serenity, happiness, and spiritual peace.

Provides logical reasons for being an atheist. Carefully examining the debate in Anglo-American analytic philosophy regarding God's existence, this book presents a comprehensive critique of the arguments for the existence of God and a defense of arguments against the existence of God, showing in detail their relevance to atheism.

Traces the doctrine of the Holy Spirit through the New Testament pointing out that true maturity is achieved only in day-to-day obedience, bible study, and prayer. Merrill Unger corrects many contemporary errors and misconceptions.

Outsiders have long attributed to the Middle East, and especially to ancient Egypt, meanings that go way beyond the rational and observable. The region has been seen as the source of civilization, religion, the sciences and the arts; but also of mystical knowledge and outlandish theories, whether about the Lost City of Atlantis or visits by alien beings. In his exploration of how its past has been creatively interpreted by later ages, Robin Derricourt surveys the various claims that have been made for Egypt - particularly the idea that it harbours an esoteric wisdom vital to the world's survival. He looks at 'alternative' interpretations of the pyramids, from maps of space and time to landing markers for UFOs; at images of the Egyptian mummy and at the popular mythology of the 'pharaoh's curse'; and at imperialist ideas of racial superiority that credited Egypt with spreading innovations and inventions as far as the Americas, Australia and China. Including arcane ideas about the Lost Ten Tribes of biblical Israel, the author enlarges his focus to include the Levant.His book is the first to show in depth how ancient Egypt and the surrounding lands have so continuously and seductively tantalised the Western imagination.

What is God? Does he exist? Can we know? The God Confusion offers a down-to-earth beginner's guide for anyone interested in these questions. It does not evangelise for God and religion or, indeed, for atheism, secularism and science. Instead, it explores in a witty yet objective and balanced way the idea of God and the strengths and weaknesses of the standard arguments for his existence. It argues from a sceptical, empiricist perspective that the philosophical reasoning at the heart of these arguments is logically incapable of moving beyond speculation to any kind of proof. It concludes that the only credible philosophical position is agnosticism. The God Confusion defends science generally and the theory of evolution in particular. It argues that if religion is not to appear increasingly outdated and ridiculous in the eyes of free-thinking, educated people, it must accommodate science and accept that science has replaced the old God of the gaps as an explanation of natural phenomena.Concluding that God may or may not exist, on the grounds that science, philosophy and theology are inherently incapable of proving or disproving his existence, The God Confusion acknowledges that religious faith based on a deliberate commitment to live as though there is a moral God is a coherent notion and a worthwhile, even prudent enterprise. At the same time, it rejects the idea of inner certainty as mere wishful thinking, arguing that it is not a coherent basis for belief and is simply bad faith.

Some of the brightest scientific minds of our time, from Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawking, have made incredible insights into the earliest origins of the universe, but have failed to ultimately discover why there is something rather than nothing why we exist. In A Case for the Existence of God, Dean L. Overman examines the latest theories about the origins of the universe and explains why even the most sophisticated science can only take us so far. Ultimately we must make a leap of faith to understand the world, and Overman argues that a leap into theism provides the most satisfying conclusions. Overman explores fundamental questions about why our world exists and how it functions, using principles of logic, physics, and theology. In a time when religion and science are often portrayed as diametrically opposed, A Case for the Existence of God presents a refreshing view of the interplay between science and religion and makes a compelling case for the existence of God and his role in our world.

Explores ways in which Trinitarian theology interfaces with major themes of systematic theology. The driving force of Trinitarian Soundings in Systematic Theology is that all of theology is to be shaped in view of the doctrine of the Trinity. To borrow a statement from Robert Jenson, the Trinity "is not a separate puzzle to be solved but the framework within which all theology's puzzles are to be solved". This book explores ways in which Trinitarian theology interfaces with major themes of systematic theology. Given that there are few systematic theologies done 'trinitarianly', the collective project will serve as a road map that suggests a path to follow in the formulation of each particular doctrine. Trinitarian Soundings in Systematic Theology is unique as it presents the major themes of systematic theology from a Trinitarian perspective through the contributions of leading and emerging scholars in the field. The study promises to become an important work for those interested in theology, as its contributors include veteran theologians like Colin Gunton, Robert Jenson, James Houston, Georg Pfleiderer and Stanley Grenz. Additionally, this volume includes contributions from a few younger theologians who are employing this Trinitarian focus with renewed zeal. In all, this collection represents an exciting exploration in systematics, showing how profitable it is to approach all aspects of the faith from a self-consciously Trinitarian perspective.

This volume presents a new interpretation of a centuries-long debate in Christianity: how to reconcile the existence of evil in the world with the goodness of an omnipotent God. In Augustinian doctrine, evil is the absence of good, God is omnipotent, and individuals are predestined to salvation or damnation. We are powerless to influence God's bestowal of grace by either word or deed: in short, God owes us nothing. Augustine's view was attacked as unduly harsh by the 4th-century monk Pelagius, whose followers believed that humans can earn grace through good acts. The Church condemned this teaching as heresy, but controversies concerning evil, free will, divine omnipotence, grace, and predestination continued over the centuries. In the 17th century, the theologian Jansenius returned to Augustinian doctrine and created his own heresy: he repudiated free will, accepted predestination and taught that God is free to bestow grace upon the wicked and withhold it from the good; because of original sin, no one is deserving of grace. Renowned as a philosopher with deep religious sensitivities, Kolakowski confronts this controversy. He argues that the teachings of Jansenius and Augustine both reflect the very principles and spirit upon which the Church was founded, and to reject one is to reject the other. His central thesis is that by condemning Jansenism, the Church also found a way to abandon its 1000-year adherence to the doctrines of Saint Augustine. Kolakowski continues this critical encounter with an examination of Pascal, whose powerful moral philosophy has roots in Jansenism. Pascal affirmed the divine omnipotence of God in his famous Wager: if God does not exist, nothing is lost by not having faith; if God does exist, the believer gains eternal life through faith. Kolakowski interprets the Wager as a sign of the limitations of reason and a necessity for a mystical faith. Pascal's religion is thus true both to the spirit of Jansenius and of Augustine.

Christians face a conundrum when it comes to naming God, for if God is unnamable, as theologians maintain, he can also be called by every name. His proper name is thus an open-ended, all-encompassing list, a mystery the Church embraces in its rhetoric, but which many Christians have found difficult to accept. To explore this conflict, Valentina Izmirlieva examines two lists of God's names: one from "The Divine Names," the classic treatise by Pseudo-Dionysius, and the other from "The 72 Names of the Lord," an amulet whose history binds together Kabbalah and Christianity, Jews and Slavs, Palestine, Provence, and the Balkans.
This unexpected juxtaposition of a theological treatise and a magical amulet allows Izmirlieva to reveal lists' rhetorical potential to create order and to function as both tools of knowledge and of power. Despite the two different visions of order represented by each list, Izmirlieva finds that their uses in Christian practice point to a complementary relationship between the existential need for God's protection and the metaphysical desire to submit to his infinite majesty--a compelling claim sure to provoke discussion among scholars in many fields.

Judaism and Christianity have different meanings for the concept of `God.' These religions rely on different transmitted texts. Different words - in the biblical Hebrew, biblical Greek, biblical Latin, biblical English - contribute to confusion in meaning. For example, what does `elohim' mean? Is there a difference between `Yah' and `Yahweh'? This book examines this confusion in meaning in the biblical texts. This confusion is at the heart of the divorce of Judaism and Christianity. Despite this, we can have a new way of understanding the concept "God", by which one may re-examine and support a minority point of view in rabbinic tradition, known as the "two powers in heaven" doctrine. Given this revision, there is ample reason for enlightened renewal of a "messianic" interpretation of both Jewish and Christian faiths. This book, therefore, speaks to theologians, philosophers of religion with interests in Jewish and Christian religious traditions, students of philosophy, and informed believers.

This work provides a careful historical analysis of the methods and contents of the 'De Trinitate' of Boethius and the 'Expositio' of Aquinas. It is also the first comprehensive philosophical and theological analysis of Aquinas' 'Expositio' to be based on the modern critical edition of the Latin text and in the light of mid- and late-20th-century advances in thomistic scholarship. In this study the author locates the reconstruction of Boethius undertaken by Aquinas, and radically documents the dialectical themes of 'agnosia' and 'remotion' in this work. Such documentation aims to provide a higher level of understanding of the structure of the 'cu Expositio' than is possible with mid-20th-century approaches which have emphasized participationist, analogical and transcendental thematics.

Highly acclaimed in Sweden where it was first published in both hardcover and paperback editions, A Concealed God poses two intriguing questions:

-- Does God truly exist?

-- If so, is the concept of God logical and in agreement with the knowledge of the world that science has provided to date?

The God presented by most religions doesn't make sense in today's world; we have little room for miracles. Furthermore, there are irreconcilable aspects in the world's religions. Must we abandon our faith or belief in God? Perhaps not, says popular Swedish thinker Stefan Einhorn. We can behave as scientists do when they run experiments only to obtain contradictory results. They ask themselves whether there might not be a logical conclusion that binds all the results together and leads to the most probable explanation.

Einhorn hypothesizes that if God truly exists, then many different religions would have discovered this. He finds a common denominator in the concept of a hidden God in seven major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. But even with this shared belief, can we know if God exists? Did humankind create the idea of God to answer the unexplainable? What about evil and suffering, the absence of meaning in life, loneliness and insecurity? And most importantly, how do we search for a concealed God?

Most religions share common principles for the search for "that which is concealed, " including meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Whatever route is chosen, the search for God may bring us some answers. Einhorn concludes that two themes are central to the search: one is that God is both concealed and simultaneously omnipresent; theother is that only with utter humility and an awareness of our inability to fully understand may we approach the divine.

In the end, there are no definite answers. But the search sheds light on the many paths to enlightenment offered by the world's religions.

Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt/M., New York, Wien.

In his new book, Science of God: Truth in the Age of Science, Kevin Sharpe proposes a method for doing theology which does not divorce it from the practical applications of science. Not only does this work establish that theology ought to be empirical in what it says about the world and God's relationship to it, but it also outlines a clear method for doing this. Science and theology can each share the same empirical method when each attempts a description of any part of reality, it is relying on its own essential assumptions, or lens. When applied to theology, the method assumes the existence of God and then seeks the nature of God using falsifiable and verifiable techniques. Starting with the sciences that examine happiness - particularly biology, genetics, and psychology - Science of God seeks to understand the spiritual nature of humans and, through it, the nature of God.