The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology is the first collection to consider the full breadth of natural theology from both historical and contemporary perspectives and to bring together leading scholars to offer accessible high-level accounts of the major themes. The volume embodies and develops the recent revival of interest in natural theology as a topic of serious critical engagement. Frequently misunderstood or polemicized, natural theology is an under-studied yet persistent and pervasive presence throughout the history of thought about ultimate reality - from the classical Greek theology of the philosophers to twenty-first century debates in science and religion. Of interest to students and scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this authoritative handbook draws on the very best of contemporary scholarship to present a critical overview of the subject area. Thirty eight new essays trace the transformations of natural theology in different historical and religious contexts, the place of natural theology in different philosophical traditions and diverse scientific disciplines, and the various cultural and aesthetic approaches to natural theology to reveal a rich seam of multi-faceted theological reflection rooted in human nature and the environments within which we find ourselves.

The subject of Christology has been a struggle for the church from the very beginning. It has resulted in divisions, crusades, inquisitions, persecutions, and a wide range of creeds. Each group claims it possesses the truth-a truth revealed to them, a particular turn on belief they alone rightly proclaim. In "And Jacob Digged a Well," author Pastor Theodore M. Snider provides a commentary on religion-where it's been, where it's headed, and how it fits in the modern world. He seeks to answer this question: why do we believe what we believe?

Snider discusses how scientific and technological discoveries have changed not only our worldviews but also our Godviews and how consciousness and brain research are altering the way we understand each other and how beliefs are formed. He compiles a diverse amount of information on topics relevant to both secular and religious audiences, including creationism, evolution, intelligent design, and artificial intelligence through historical, scientific, cognitive, and psychological avenues.

And Jacob Digged a Well reminds us that "natural" may not be as clear as we once thought. Faith in the twenty-first century needs to look quite different from the past century.

Peter C. Hodgson explores Hegel's bold vision of history as the progress of the consciousness of freedom. Following an introductory chapter on the textual sources, the key categories, and the modes of writing history that Hegel distinguishes, Hodgson presents a new interpretation of Hegel's conception of freedom. Freedom is not simply a human production, but takes shape through the interweaving of the divine idea and human passions, and such freedom defines the purpose of historical events in the midst of apparent chaos. Freedom is also a process that unfolds through stages of historical/cultural development and is oriented to an end that occurs within history (the 'kingdom of freedom'). The purpose and the process of history are tragic, however, because history is also a 'slaughterhouse' that shatters even the finest human creations and requires a constant rebuilding. Hegel's God is not a supreme being or 'large entity' but the 'true infinite' that encompasses the finite. History manifests the rule of God ('providence'), and it functions as the justification of God ('theodicy'). But the God who rules in and is justified by history is a crucified God who takes the suffering, anguish, and evil of the world into and upon godself, accomplishing reconciliation in the midst of ongoing estrangement and inescapable death. Shapes of Freedom addresses these themes in the context of present-day questions about what they mean and whether they still have validity.

The question of God and cosmology is far from abstract. In fact, the subject raises the deepest questions of human existence: "Why is there something rather than nothing?" Or, to put it more personally, "Why am I here?", Structured as a debate, the 2014 Greer-Heard Forum focused on the issue of God and cosmology and its impact on life and self-understanding. Christian philosopher William Lane Craig and atheist cosmologist Sean Carroll presented their views before a packed crowd of more than nine hundred people. Spirited, civil, and often humorous, the debate highlighted not only their positions, but the full range of possibilities. In this volume, the content of that debate is reprinted and supplemented by a range of reflections by other conference presenters. The purpose of the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum is to provide a venue for fair-minded dialogue on subjects of importance in religion and culture. The goal is a respectful exchange of ideas, without compromise.

What can we know about ourselves and the world through the sense of touch and what are the epistemic limits of touch? Scepticism claims that there is always something that slips through the epistemologist's grasp. A Touch of Doubt explores the significance of touch for the history of philosophical scepticism as well as for scepticism as an embodied form of subversive political, religious, and artistic practice. Drawing on the tradition of scepticism within nineteenth- and twentieth-century continental philosophy and psychoanalysis, this volume discusses how the sense of touch uncovers contradictions within our knowledge of ourselves and the world. It questions 1) what we can know through touch, 2) what we can know about touch itself, and 3) how our experience of touching the other and ourselves throws us into a state of doubt. This volume is intended for students and scholars who wish to reconsider the experience of touching in intersections of philosophy, religion, art, and social and political practice.

Reflections on the Religious, the Ethical, and the Political presents fourteen essays devoted to the interconnected topics of religion, ethics, and politics, along with an introductory interview with the author regarding his philosophical development over the years. This volume serves two interconnected purposes: as an introduction or reintroduction to Calvin O.Schrag s intellectual contributions to a critical consideration of these three topics, and as a critical companion and supplement to Schrag s published work on these topics. The topics of religion, ethics, and politics have served as pivot points throughout Schrag s career in the academy, which spans half a century."

This interdisciplinary study introduces readers to Friedrich Schleiermacher's diverse pathways of reflection and creative practice that are related to the field of translation. By drawing attention to Schleiermacher's various writings on a range of subjects (including philology, criticism, hermeneutics, dialectics, rhetoric and religion), the author makes it clear that the frequently cited lecture UEber die verschiedenen Methoden des UEbersetzens (On the Different Methods of Translating) represents but a fraction of Schleiermacher's contributions to modern-day insights into translation. The analysis of Schleiermacher's various pathways of reflection on translation presented in this book leads to the conclusion that translation is part of the essence of the world, as it is a fundamental tool of our cognition and a foundation of our existence. In Schleiermacher's works, transfer, translation, mediation, and communication underpin our very existence in the world and our self-awareness. At the same time, they represent fundamental categories for a project that focuses on the consolidation and assimilation - through translation - of that which is foreign, different, diverse.

Primordial Traditions was the winner of the 2009 Ashton Wylie Award for Literary Excellence. This new second edition of the original award winning collection features a selection of essays by Gwendolyn Taunton and other talented authors from the original periodical Primordial Traditions (2006-2010). The new version of Primordial Traditions offers a revised layout and a new binding. This edition also has content not contained in the original publication. The first section of Primordial Traditions deals with aspects of perennial philosophy covering the broader applications of the Primordial Tradition in the modern world. Alchemy, philosophy, civilization, the Kali Yuga, and even the problems afflicting the economy are addressed here from a traditional perspective. This section deals with the nature of the Primordial Tradition and how all True Spiritual Traditions consequently relate to it in this new philosophy of religion. The second section of the book then breaks down Traditions into geographic locations to discuss European, Eastern, Middle Eastern and South American Traditions at an advanced level. Topics covered here include: Tibetan Tantra, Sufism, Yezidi, Tantrism, Vedic Mythology, Theravada Buddhism, Thai Magic, Tantrism, Oneiromancy, Norse Berserkers, Runes, Celtic Mythology, Mithras, Hellenic Mythology and Mayan Ceremonial Astrology to name but a few fascinating obscurities. Content includes the following articles by Gwendolyn Taunton: Sophia Perennis: The Doctrine of Ascension, The Primordial Tradition, The Age of Darkness: Prophecies of the Kali Yuga, Mercury Rising: The Life & Writing of Julius Evola, Ars Regia: The Royal Art Revisited, Tantra: Fifth Veda or Anti-Veda?, Aesthetics of the Divine in Hinduism, Divine Mortality: Nataraja, Shankara & Higher Consciousness in the Imagery of Siva, Monks & Magic: The Use of Magic by the Sangha in Thailand, Does Practice Make One Perfected? The Role of gTum-mo in the Six Yogas of Naropa, Clarifying the Clear Light, Oneiromancy: Divination by Dreams, Of Wolves and Men: The Berserker and the Vratya, Ancient Goddess or Political Goddess? and The Black Sun: Dionysus in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche & Greek Myth. Primordial Traditions also contains articles by Damon Zacharias Lycourinos, Matt Hajduk, Krum Stefanov, Bob Makransky and many more.....