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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > General > Philosophy of religion
This volume, now with a substantial new Introduction, represents
one of the most lucid, compact and reliable introductions to
Derrida and deconstruction available in any language. Responding to
questions put to him at a roundtable held at Villanova University
in 1994, Jacques Derrida leads the reader through an illuminating
discussion of the central themes of deconstruction. Speaking in
English and extemporaneously, Derrida takes up with unusual clarity
and great eloquence such topics as the task of philosophy, the
Greeks, justice, responsibility, the gift, community, and the
messianic. Derrida refutes the charges of relativism that are often
leveled at deconstruction by its critics and sets forth the
profoundly affirmative and ethico-political thrust of his work. The
roundtable is marked by an unusual clarity that continues into the
second part of the book, in which one of Derrida's most influential
readers, John D. Caputo, elaborates upon Derrida's comments and
supplies material for further discussion. This edition also
includes a substantial new Introduction by Caputo that discusses
the original context of the book and traces the development of
deconstruction since Derrida's death in 2004, from the rise of new
materialisms to return to religion. Long one of the most lucid and
reliable introductions to Derrida and deconstruction available in
any language, and an ideal volume for students, Deconstruction in a
Nutshell will also prove illuminating for those already familiar
with Derrida's work.
The Rationality of Theism is a controversial collection of brand new papers by thirteen outstanding philosophers and scholars. Its aim is to offer comprehensive theistic replies to the traditional arguments against the existence of God, offering a positive case for theism as well as rebuttals of recent influential criticisms of theism.
Which is more reasonable: believing in God or not believing in God? Can any of the usual arguments actually show that God does or does not exist?
The Rationality of Theism is a controversial collection of brand new papers by thirteen outstanding philosophers and scholars. Its aim is to offer comprehensive theistic replies to the traditional arguments against the existence of God, offering a positive case for theism as well as rebuttals of recent influential criticisms of theism.
Part One addresses foundational issues about religious language and epistemology. Part Two focuses on the traditional arguments for God's existence, including the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and miracles. In Part Three, the contributors turn their attention to the two main arguments against theism: the divine attributes and the argument from evil.
Overall, the book contends that theism rather than atheism offers the more rationally plausible and defensible explanatory viewpoint. It will be of serious interest to anyone studying or working in philosophy of religion.
This work is designed to answer the perennial questions asked about the great religious traditions in the contemporary age. It focuses upon those religions that continue to demand the attention of the Western world. Following an introduction on the philosophy of religion, attention is focused on Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam which are religions that have had (and probably continue to have) the greatest number of followers in Western society. In addition to the lasting impact that religion has had in society, we are witnesses to the development of secularism on the one hand and the revival of religious sentiment on the other, thus chapters on modernity postmodernism, and what is sometimes referred to as 'fundamentalism' have also been included. The distinctive feature of the book is its modern feel. Each chapter brings the reader up-to-date with recent developments and commentaries upon recent religious thought, theology and religious-political movements. Moreover, the length of the chapters permits a detailed analysis which is so often lacking in books on world religions.
Being Reconciled is a radical and entirely fresh theological treatment of the classic theory of the Gift in the context of divine reconciliation. It reconsiders notions of freedom and exchange in relation to a Christian doctrine which understands Creation, grace and incarnation as heavenly gifts, but the Fall, evil and violence as refusal of those gifts. In a sustained and rigorous response to the works of Derrida, Levinas, Marion, Zizek, Hauerwas and the 'Radical Evil' school, John Milbank posits the daring view that only transmission of the forgiveness offered by the Divine Humanity makes reconciliation possible on earth. Any philosophical understanding of forgiveness and redemption therefore requires theological completion. Both a critique of post-Kantian modernity, and a new theology that engages with issues of language, culture, time, politics and historicity, Being Reconciled insists on the dependency of all human production and understanding on a God who is infinite in both utterance and capacity. Intended as the first in a trilogy of books centred on the gift, this book is an original and vivid new application of a classic theory by a leading international theologian.
Being Reconciled is a radical and entirely fresh theological treatment of the classic theory of the Gift in the context of divine reconciliation. It reconsiders notions of freedom and exchange in relation to a Christian doctrine which understands Creation, grace and incarnation as heavenly gifts, but the Fall, evil and violence as refusal of those gifts. In a sustained and rigorous response to the works of Derrida, Levinas, Marion, Zizek, Hauerwas and the 'Radical Evil' school, John Milbank posits the daring view that only transmission of the forgiveness offered by the Divine Humanity makes reconciliation possible on earth. Any philosophical understanding of forgiveness and redemption therefore requires theological completion. Both a critique of post-Kantian modernity, and a new theology that engages with issues of language, culture, time, politics and historicity, Being Reconciled insists on the dependency of all human production and understanding on a God who is infinite in both utterance and capacity. Intended as the first in a trilogy of books centred on the gift, this book is an original and vivid new application of a classic theory by a leading international theologian.
The assumption that Christianity in India is nothing more than a
European, western, or colonial imposition is open to challenge.
Those who now think and write about India are often not aware that
Christianity is a non-western religion, that in India this has
always been so, and that there are now more Christians in Africa
and Asia than in the West. Recognizing that more understanding of
the separate histories and cultures of the many Christian
communities in India will be needed before a truly comprehensive
history of Christianity in India can be written, this volume
addresses particular aspects of cultural contact, with special
reference to caste, conversion, and colonialism. Subjects addressed
range from Sanskrit grammar to populist Pentecostalism, Urdu
polemics and Tamil poetry.
The late Platonist philosopher Damascius both resumed and
rejuvenated the long Greek thinking about time. In distinguishing
between different takes on time, by Plato, Aristotle and his
Neoplatonist predecessors, Damascius offered novel perspectives on
time, which can be seen as anticipating modern and contemporary
theories, such as the distinction between the A and B series of
McTaggart's analysis and presentism. The greatest merit of his
philosophy of time, however, is his deep reflection on what it is
for a living being to have its being in becoming3/4 as it happens
with us human beings3/4 and how this relates to stillness,
temporality and temporalization. Time is interpreted by Damascius
not merely as a concomitant of the celestial motions, nor as an
abstract entity existing in the human soul, but as a power of
ordering, which is active at different levels. Damascius' time
comprises the biological and the historical time but is also the
time that pertains to the essence and the activity of heaven, in
which there is neither past nor future. The present book explores
the richness of Damascius' thought by going into the fundamental
concepts of his philosophy of time: the indivisible now and the
present time, the flowing now and the non-flowing now, the flowing
time and the whole of time, in which past, present and future
coincide. Damascius fully developed his thoughts about time in his
treatise On Time, which is lost. The preserved fragments of this
treatise are translated and annotated in an Appendix.
This book presents the first accessible analysis of Spinoza's
Tractatus Theologico-politicus, situating the work in the context
of Spinoza's general philosophy and its 17th-century historical
background. According to Spinoza it is impossible for a being to be
infinitely perfect and to have a legislative will. This idea,
demonstrated in the Ethics, is presupposed and further elaborated
in the Tractatus Theologico-politicus. It implies not only that on
the level of truth all revealed religion is false, but also that
all authority is of human origin and that all obedience is rooted
in a political structure. The consequences for authority as it is
used in a religious context are explored: the authority of
Scripture, the authority of particular interpretations of
Scripture, and the authority of the Church. Verbeek also explores
the work of two other philosophers of the period - Hobbes and
Descartes - to highlight certain peculiarities of Spinoza's
position, and to show the contrasts between their theories.
This volume presents a wide-ranging selection from the writings of
a leading contemporary philosophical theologian, Vincent Brummer.
In his many books and articles Brummer has demonstrated how the
tools of philosophical analysis are not only fruitful but also
essential for dealing with the central issues of systematic
theology. The title of this volume, Meaning and the Christian
Faith, highlights two characteristic themes that recur throughout
the many writings of Vincent Brummer. Much of his work has been
devoted to exploring the meaning of the Christian faith, and
especially of its central claim that God is a personal being whose
fellowship believers may enjoy. On the other hand, Brummer has also
shown that religious belief should not be understood as an
explanatory theory but rather as a way in which believers
understand the meaning of their lives and their experience of the
world and direct their lives accordingly. Thus in the Christian
tradition believers claim that their lives are meaningful because
they seek to attain ultimate happiness in the love of God. In the
introductory sections throughout this volume Vincent Brummer
describes how he came to pay attention to the various themes dealt
with in his writings and explains why he came to deal with them in
the ways he did.
Recent discoveries in physics, cosmology and biochemistry have captured the public imagination and made the Design Argument - the theory that God created the world according to a specific plan - the object of renewed scientific and philosophical interest. This accessible but serious introduction to the design problem brings together new perspectives from prominent scientists and philosophers including Paul Davies, Richard Swinburne, Sir Martin Rees, Michael Behe, Elliot Sober and Peter van Inwagen. It probes the relationship between modern science and religious belief, considering their points of conflict and their many points of similarity. Is the real God of creationism the 'master clockmaker', who sets the world's mechanism on a perfectly enduring course, or a miraculous presence who continually intervenes in and alters the world we know? Are science and faith, or evolution and creation, really in conflict at all? Expanding the parameters of a lively and urgent debate, God and Design considers how perennial questions of origin continue to fascinate and disturb us.
Recent discoveries in physics, cosmology and biochemistry have captured the public imagination and made the Design Argument - the theory that God created the world according to a specific plan - the object of renewed scientific and philosophical interest. This accessible but serious introduction to the design problem brings together new perspectives from prominent scientists and philosophers including Paul Davies, Richard Swinburne, Sir Martin Rees, Michael Behe, Elliot Sober and Peter van Inwagen. It probes the relationship between modern science and religious belief, considering their points of conflict and their many points of similarity. Is the real God of creationism the 'master clockmaker', who sets the world's mechanism on a perfectly enduring course, or a miraculous presence who continually intervenes in and alters the world we know? Are science and faith, or evolution and creation, really in conflict at all? Expanding the parameters of a lively and urgent debate, God and Design considers how perennial questions of origin continue to fascinate and disturb us.
Why Faith Matters is an articulate defense of religion in
America. It makes the case for faith and shows its relationship to
history and science. Refuting the cold reason of atheists and the
hatred of fanatics with a vision of religion informed by faith,
love, and understanding, Rabbi David J. Wolpe follows in a literary
tradition that stretches from Cardinal Newman to C. S. Lewis to
Thomas Merton--individuals of faith who brought religion and
culture together in their own works. Wolpe takes readers through
the origins and nature of faith, the role of the Bible in modern
life, and the compatibility of God and science, concluding with a
powerful argument for the place of God, faith, and religion in
today's world.
This is a groundbreaking, highly original work of postmodern feminist theology from one of the most important authors in the field. The Face of the Deep deconstructs the Christian doctrine of creation which claims that a transcendent Lord unilaterally created the universe out of nothing. Catherine Keller's impassioned, graceful meditation develops an alternative representation of the cosmic creative process, drawing upon Hebrew myths of creation from chaos, and engaging with the political and the mystical, the literary and the scientific, the sexual and the racial. As a landmark work of immense significance for Jewish and Christian theology, gender studies, literature, philosophy and ecology, The Face of the Deep takes our originary story to a new horizon, rewriting the starting point for western spiritual discourse.
This nine-volume set reprints valuable early works introducing the
philosophy and practices of Yoga to a Western audience, and
provides key analysis by some of its leading practitioners. Indian,
Taoist and Buddhist yogas are examined, and their relation to the
West, including Christianity.
Can nature be evil, or ugly, or wrong? Can we apply moral value to nature? From a compellingly original premise, under the auspices of major thinkers including Mary Midgley, Philip Hefner, Arnold Benz and Keith Ward, Is Nature Ever Evil? examines the value-structure of our cosmos and of the science that seeks to describe it. Science, says editor Willem B. Drees, claims to leave moral questions to aesthetic and religious theory. But the supposed neutrality of the scientific view masks a host of moral assumptions. How does an ethically transparent science arrive at concepts of a 'hostile' universe or a 'selfish' gene? How do botanists, zoologists, cosmologists and geologists respond to the beauty of the universe they study, reliant as it is upon catastrophe, savagery, power and extinction? Then there are various ways in which science seeks to alter and improve nature. What do prosthetics and gene technology, cyborgs and dairy cows say about our appreciation of nature itself? Surely science, in common with philosophy, magic and religion, can aid our understanding of evil in nature - whether as natural catasrophe, disease, predatory cruelty or mere cosmic indifference? Focusing on the ethical evaluation of nature itself, Is Nature Ever Evil? re-ignites crucial questions of hope, responsibility and possibility in nature.
Can nature be evil, or ugly, or wrong? Can we apply moral value to nature? From a compellingly original premise, under the auspices of major thinkers including Mary Midgley, Philip Hefner, Arnold Benz and Keith Ward, Is Nature Ever Evil? examines the value-structure of our cosmos and of the science that seeks to describe it. Science, says editor Willem B. Drees, claims to leave moral questions to aesthetic and religious theory. But the supposed neutrality of the scientific view masks a host of moral assumptions. How does an ethically transparent science arrive at concepts of a 'hostile' universe or a 'selfish' gene? How do botanists, zoologists, cosmologists and geologists respond to the beauty of the universe they study, reliant as it is upon catastrophe, savagery, power and extinction? Then there are various ways in which science seeks to alter and improve nature. What do prosthetics and gene technology, cyborgs and dairy cows say about our appreciation of nature itself? Surely science, in common with philosophy, magic and religion, can aid our understanding of evil in nature - whether as natural catasrophe, disease, predatory cruelty or mere cosmic indifference? Focusing on the ethical evaluation of nature itself, Is Nature Ever Evil? re-ignites crucial questions of hope, responsibility and possibility in nature.
In a thoroughly updated second edition of his popular and engaging
book, John D. Caputo revisits Augustine's ancient question "what do
I love when I love my God?" and presses it into service in the
post-modern world. Accessible but without compromising the big
ideas, he raises the question of what religion means today in the
face of widespread religious violence after 9/11, of spreading
secularization, the dazzling discoveries of contemporary cosmology,
and the eerie advent of the "post-human" world. All along sculpting
the idea of a post-modern, post-secular "religion without
religion," which turns on the "mystical element" of our lives, he
wonders what the future of traditional religion will be, or whether
it even has one. On Religion will fascinate anyone interested in
the challenges religion faces in the contemporary world. It offers
an ideal starting point from which undergraduate and postgraduate
students, teachers, and lecturers can explore religion and
philosophy today.
Based on field-work in Taiwan, this book examines the ancient, indigenous religious cult of Tudi Gong both as a religio-social phenomenon and as an appropriate medium for exploring and analysing the social changes that have been occurring in contemporary Taiwan, and the people's strategic adaptations to these changes. In this comprehensive ethnography of Tudi Gong, Dell'Orto engages in a theoretical discussion of the practices, processes and strategies of ethnography and ethnographic writing, and contributes to the construction of an anthropology of place by analysing a number of key concepts related to the notion of place and space. The study combines the use of personal ethnography with raconteurs' own accounts as a way of tracing senses of place and memories of the past. This is a pioneering foundation text for an anthropology of non domestic place and space and brings the most important recent work of social geographers into the field of anthropology. eBook available with sample pages: 0203221117
The expulsion from Spain did not only result in the destruction and dispersion of Spanish Jewry but led to a crisis in Jewish faith. Don Isaac Abravanel provided a systematic treatment of the main philosophical and theological beliefs of Judaism in an attempt to resolve the inner doubts of his co-religionists. In their Italian exile his son Judah too recognized that Jews were now living in a new cultural world, but he forged a different road for Jews to pursue in their entry into the culture of the Renaissance. This book presents a picture of one family facing the challenges of a new era in Jewish history.
'This is a fascinating series of lectures given at St Andrews University, circling around the theme of whether the Christian era is over, and what might happen next ... Each lecture is short and readabe, and provides an excellent example of the author's thought.' - Keith Ward, Church Times
'This is a fascinating series of lectures given at St Andrews University, circling around the theme of whether the Christian era is over, and what might happen next ... Each lecture is short and readabe, and provides an excellent example of the author's thought.' - Keith Ward, Church Times
The two theories of divine love that are examined in this book have their foundations in Greek, Jewish, Christian and Muslim ideas. Al-Ghazâlî (12th century) was influenced mainly by Plato and Ibn Sina's teachings, while al-Dabbâgh (13th century), who accepted some Ghazâlîan notions, developed a theory of divine love that can be traced back to Neoplatonism. Both scholars created complete theories of divine love that include definitions of love, its causes and signs, the ways to love God, God's love for man, and kinds of love. The book will interest students of theology, philosophy and mysticism in general, and students of Islam in particular.
Translated by: Maurice Friedman
'For both seekers and academics, Gurdjieff: The Key Concepts is a valuable, even-handed, organized and thorough guide to the considerable and ever growing Gurdjieffian corpus.' - Lynn Quirolo, Stopinder: A Gurdjieff Journal For Our TIme
'Sophia Wellbeloved's Gurdjieff: The Key Concepts is an essential guide for students of Gurdjieff. It will also be of serious interest to students and scholars of all the Western transformational traditions. This book breaks new ground and further serious analysis of Gurdjieff's contribution to the Western cultural trajectory cannot be far in the future.' - Lynn Quirolo, Stopinder: A Gurdjieff Journal For Our TIme
'This book would be an essential addition to any library maintaining an intrest in esoteric traditions or contemporary alternative spirituality.' - Kevin Tingay, Journal of Theosophical History
'It is well referenced and places Gurdieff in the context of other esoteric teachers and groups of the 20th century.' - Kevin Tingay, The Christian Parapsychologist
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