Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed is a lively examination of the philosophical and theological problems raised by the existence of widespread evil. It explores classic debates around this problem and also engages with more recent ones, from new challenges posed by scientific advances in evolutionary theory, neuroscience, and cosmology, to concerns of climate change and environmental degradation, to questions raised by increasing religious and secular violence. This second edition also contains new chapters and topics such as Jewish, Christian, and Islamic responses to evil and skeptical theism. The result is an even-handed guide to both traditional and contemporary issues raised by the reality and ubiquity of evil.

Religious world-views reserve a central and prominent place for human moral action, yet they must also contend with the reality of human moral failings. Is it possible to anchor moral knowledge and practice in the framework of a moral universe? If so, how do you explain why things go wrong? Must the religions appeal to faith alone, or can they develop a rational framework for their moral visions? The Metaphysics of Kindness: Comparative Studies in Religious Meta-ethics explores the attempted solutions of four pivotal philosophers from very different traditions: the Neo-Confucian Zhu Xi, the German Idealist Arthur Schopenhauer, the Mahayana Buddhist Santideva, and the progenitor of the Kyoto School, Nishida Kitaro. Each position is investigated sympathetically and independently, yet there is an underlying commonality weaving the different studies together: compassion. Each philosopher treats compassion not only as one virtue among others, but as a kind of meta-virtue, the one that is in some respect the logical and/or psychological basis for all the other virtues. It is also a trait that is both at the heart of human nature, and also somehow at the heart of nature itself.

Research is directed by normative standards which need to be transparent in order to secure the quality of the scholarly discussion. The aim of this book is to contribute to such transparency in relation to research on religion and theology representing a combination of empirical and normative claims themselves. What does this combination of empirical and normative claims imply for the normative standards of research? The contributions in this volume discuss different normative dimensions in contemporary research on religion and theology. Presenting articles from systematic theology, practical theology, sociology of religion, ethics, religious studies and missiology it covers a wide range of issues that are relevant for PhD students of theology and religious studies as well as for others who are involved in research on these topics.

Originally published in 1953, Bridge to Islam is a detailed study of the beliefs of Muhammad and his followers, exploring the relationship between the world of Islam and that of Christianity. Drawing attention to the common beliefs between Islam and Christianity, the book examines the relationship between these two prominent religions and poses the argument that it is only through a proper appreciation of the differences in spiritual attitudes that a bridge of understanding and knowledge can be built between them. It traces the religious histories of different countries in the Middle East and assesses the position of Islam and Christianity in each one. Bridge to Islam will appeal to those with an interest in the history of Christianity, the history of Islam, religious studies, and the Middle East.

This book reflects on three broad themes of Confucian-Christian relations to assist in the appreciation of the church's theology of mission. While the themes of this volume are theological in orientation, the dialogue is engaged in from an interdisciplinary approach that prioritises the act of listening. Part I surveys the historical background necessary for an adequate understanding of the contemporary Confucian-Christian dialogues. It examines the history of Confucian-Christian relations, explores the Chinese Rites Controversy, and delineates the contemporary task of indigenizing Christianity by Sino-Christian theologians. Part II compares elements in the Confucian and Christian traditions that exemplify the epitome and fullness of spiritual development. It discusses the Confucian practice of rites (li), interrogates how the noble or exemplary person (junzi) competes, and outlines the Confucian understanding of sageliness (shengren). Lastly, Part III examines different aspects of the church's engagements with the world outside of itself. It advocates for a Confucian-Christian hermeneutic of moral goodness, attends to the Confucian emphasis on moral self-cultivation, proposes that Confucian virtue ethics can shed light on Christian moral living, and offers a Confucian-Christian understanding of care for mother earth. This book is ideally suited to lecturers and students of both Christian studies and Confucian studies, as well as those engaged in mission studies and interfaith studies. It will also be a valuable resource for anyone interested in comparative religious and theological studies on Christianity and Confucianism.

Recent research in the humanities and social sciences suggests that individuals who understand themselves as belonging to something greater than the self-a family, community, or religious or spiritual group-often feel happier, have a deeper sense of purpose or meaning in their lives, and have overall better life outcomes than those who do not. Some positive and personality psychologists have labeled this location of the self within a broader perspective "self-transcendence." This book presents and integrates new, interdisciplinary research into virtue, happiness, and the meaning of life by re-orienting these discussions around the concept of self-transcendence. The essays are organized around three broad themes connected to self-transcendence. First, they investigate how self-transcendence helps us to understand aspects of the moral life as it is studied within psychology, including the development of wisdom, the practice of moral praise, and psychological well-being. Second, they explore how self-transcendence is linked to virtue in different religious and spiritual traditions including Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Finally, they ask how self-transcendence can help us theorize about Aristotelean and Thomist conceptions of virtue, like hope and piety, and how this helps us to re-conceptualize happiness and meaning in life.

In metaethics, there is a divide between those who believe that there exist moral facts independently of human interests and attitudes (i.e., moral realists) and those who don't (i.e., antirealists). In the last half century, the field of religious ethics has been inundated with various antirealist schools of moral thought. Though there is a wide spectrum of different positons within antirealism, a majority of antirealist religious ethicists tend to see moral belief as an historically dependent social construction. This has created an environment where doing religious ethics in any metaphysically substantial sense is often seen not only as out of fashion but also as philosophically implausible. However, there is a lack of clarity as to what antirealists exactly mean by "construction" and what arguments they would use to support their views. Religious Ethics and Constructivism brings together a diverse group of scholars who represent different philosophical and theological outlooks to discuss the merits of constructivism vis-a-vis religious ethics. The essays explore four different kinds of constructivism in metaethics: social (or Hegelian) constructivism, Kantian constructivism, Humean constructivism, and theological constructivism. The overall aim of these essays is to foster dialogue between religious ethicists and moral philosophers, and to open the field religious ethics to the insights that can be provided by contemporary metaethics.

This book is a detailed study of how, according to Thomas Aquinas, God's Holy Spirit is continuously at work in and through humanity's moral activity. Jack Mahoney, SJ, documents from Aquinas's interpretation of scripture his portrait of the Holy Spirit in action, showing that for Aquinas, "the grace of the Holy Spirit" was a matter of the "prompting" or instigation (instinctus) of the Holy Spirit, who "drives" God's children in their decisions (Romans 8:14) and enlightens their minds through the "law of the Spirit of life" (Romans 8:2). Mahoney examines Aquinas's descriptions of various biblical characters responded in the Spirit to personal moral choices and dilemmas, sometimes in unexpected ways, and how the same can happen today, especially in the light of biblical and Aristotelian teaching on the flexible application of general moral rules in varying circumstances. He elaborates the three "constants" that serve for Aquinas as criteria for authenticating the Spirit's dynamic presence in people's moral activity. Finally, Mahoney shows that the overarching structure of Aquinas's thought on the Holy Spirit's role is the deployment in history of God's all-embracing wisdom, "ordering all things well" (Wisdom 8:1).

How should religion and ethics be studied if we want to understand what people believe and why they act the way they do? In the 1980s and '90s postmodernist worries about led to debates that turned on power, truth, and relativism. Since the turn of the century scholars impressed by 'cognitive science' have introduced concepts drawn from evolutionary biology, neurosciences, and linguistics in the attempt to provide 'naturalist' accounts of religion. Deploying concepts and arguments that have their roots in the pragmatism of C. S. Peirce, Believing and Acting argues that both approaches are misguided and largely unhelpful in answering the questions that matter: What did those people believe then? How does it relate to what these people want to do now? What is our evidence for our interpretations? Pragmatic inquiry into these questions recommends an approach that questions grand theories, advocates a critical pluralism about religion and ethics that defies disciplinary boundaries in the pursuit of the truth. Rationality, on a pragmatic approach, is about solving particular problems in medias res, thus there is no hard and fast line to be drawn between inquiry and advocacy; both are essential to negotiating day to day life. The upshot is an approach to religion and ethics in which inquiry looks much like the art history of Michael Baxandall and advocacy like the art criticism of Arthur Danto.

Eph 3:10 (Principalities and Authorities in the Heavenly Places) articulates the related cluster of terms that express the "Pauline" spirit world in Ephesians'. Through a psychological-hermeneutical study, this book contributes to provide a theologically-founded response to the immense challenges the spirit world apprehensions among the Igbo (Africans), pose to true discipleship in these settings. Identifying the strongly influential role played here by the Igbo traditional religion/world view(s) and the foundation of these biblical terms in the attempts at Weltbewaltigung, the book highlights how proper appreciation of the Christological paraenetics of Eph enhances critical consciousness and cognitive reconstruction towards mature faith and societal betterment.

Becoming a Mensch is a "user's guide" to becoming a better person, taking readers through a process of personal growth by means of modern-day vignettes that draw upon the Talmud's ancient wisdom. By examining character traits such as "kindness and compassion," "self-mastery and self discipline," and "humility and flexibility," readers of any or no faith learn what it takes to become a "mensch" -- a decent and honorable human being. Readers are introduced to the greatest sages of the Talmudic era and many modern masters of ethical behavior. Becoming a Mensch is not only a guidebook for personal growth -- it is also a useful guide for parents who want to foster the ethical development of their children.

Ratified by the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1993 and expanded in 2018, "Towards a Global Ethic (An Initial Declaration)," or the Global Ethic, expresses the minimal set of principles shared by people-religious or not. Though it is a secular document, the Global Ethic emerged after months of collaborative, interreligious dialogue dedicated to identifying a common ethical framework. This volume tests and contests the claim that the Global Ethic's ethical directives can be found in the world's religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions. The book features essays by scholars of religion who grapple with the practical implications of the Global Ethic's directives when applied to issues like women's rights, displaced peoples, income and wealth inequality, India's caste system, and more. The scholars explore their respective religious traditions' ethical response to one or more of these issues and compares them to the ethical response elaborated by the Global Ethic. The traditions included are Hinduism, Engaged Buddhism, Shi'i Islam, Sunni Islam, Confucianism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, Indigenous African Religions, and Human Rights. To highlight the complexities within traditions, most essays are followed by a brief response by an expert in the same tradition. Multi-Religious Perspectives on a Global Ethic is of special interest to advanced students and scholars whose work focuses on the religious traditions listed above, on comparative religion, religious ethics, comparative ethics, and common morality.

This volume examines the relationship between Christian legal theory and the fields of private law. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in private law theory, and this book contributes to that discussion by drawing on the historical, theological, and philosophical resources of the Christian tradition. The book begins with an introduction from the editors that lays out the understanding of "private law" and what distinguishes private law topics from other fields of law. This section includes two survey chapters on natural law and biblical sources. The remaining sections of the book move sequentially through the fields of property, contracts, and torts. Several chapters focus on historical sources and show the ways in which the evolution of legal doctrine in areas of private law has been heavily influenced by Christian thinkers. Other chapters draw out more contemporary and public policy-related implications for private law. While this book is focused on the relationship of Christianity to private law, it will be of broad interest to those who might not share that faith perspective. In particular, legal historians and philosophers of law will find much of interest in the original scholarship in this volume. The book will be attractive to teachers of law, political science, and theology. It will be of special interest to the many law faculty in property, contracts, and torts, as it provides a set of often overlooked historical and theoretical perspectives on these fields.

Hinduism and Christianity are different in structure and approach - but have a great deal in common in matters relating to ethics. This book, first published in 1969, is the first systematic and detailed work which attempts to bring out both the differences and similarities. The author selects some of the fundamental problems of philosophical ethics, such as the moral law - its authority and sources, moral effort and human freedom, moral failure and responsibility - and explores the respective answers of Hinduism and Christianity.

This book, first published in 1933, was the first text on the general Hindu attitude to art. It sums up under the wider title of the Hindu view of art all such considerations - religious, philosophic, sociological, aesthetic and technical - as might be helpful for the understanding of Indian art.

This book, first published in 1968, is a collection of twenty-five lectures by Swami Prabhavananda, the outstanding scholar and translator of Hindu scriptures. They present a direct and pragmatic approach to spiritual life, and a clear guide to Hinduism.

This book, first published in 1968, comprises five articles on the immortality of the soul. According to Hindu tradition this immortality cannot be proved by the scientific method of reasoning - it is based upon scriptural evidence and on the direct experience of enlightened souls. These articles examine the Hindu tradition and provide reasoned support to the scriptures and experiences.

This book, first published in 1957, was the first in English to provide a full and clear introduction to one of the most significant of Indian gods, and stresses his supreme role in Indian religion and art. The book relates the full Krishna story, explaining his role in Indian religion, and traces the history of Krishna in Indian painting. There are 39 plates of Indian pictures, each accompanied by a commentary by the author, revealing a wealth of subtle and poetic detail.

Every day, we do commonplace things and interact with ordinary people without giving them much thought. This volume offers a theological guide to thinking Christianly about the ordinary nature of everyday life. Leading ethicist Brent Waters shows that the activities and relationships we think of as mundane are actually expressions of love of neighbor that are vitally important to our wellbeing. We live out the Christian gospel in the contexts that define us and in the routine chores, practices, activities, and social settings that give ordinary life meaning. It is in those contexts that we discover what we were created for, to be, and to become.

This book, first published in 1962, is an analysis of the history of the philosophy of a country that has never distinguished philosophy from religion. Indian philosophy is not merely metaphysical speculation, but has its foundation in immediate perception. This insistence upon immediate perception rather than abstract reasoning is what distinguishes the Indian philosophy of religion from philosophy as Western nations know it.

The ethical treatment of non-human animals is an increasingly significant issue, directly affecting how people share the planet with other creatures and visualize themselves within the natural world. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Animal Ethics is a key reference source in this area, looking specifically at the role religion plays in the formation of ethics around these concerns. Featuring thirty-five chapters by a team of international contributors, the handbook is divided into two parts. The first gives an overview of fifteen of the major world religions' attitudes towards animal ethics and protection. The second features five sections addressing the following topics: Human Interaction with Animals Killing and Exploitation Religious and Secular Law Evil and Theodicy Souls and Afterlife This handbook demonstrates that religious traditions, despite often being anthropocentric, do have much to offer to those seeking a framework for a more enlightened relationship between humans and non-human animals. As such, The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Animal Ethics is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, theology, and animal ethics as well as those studying the philosophy of religion and ethics more generally.

Mark J. Cartledge argues that the contemporary church can be empowered in its engagement with issues in public life through reading specific New Testament texts that focus on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. This book provides a Spirit-empowered approach to church praxis that is located within the discourse of public theology. In this construction, the church is called to "walk alongside" the world in critical companionship for the sake of the common good of all people. What this looks like is explored by means of four specific themes: poverty and health care, race and ethnicity, and sex trafficking and domestic violence. Finally, Cartledge proposes that the church engage with society by "being truthful with love." This posture provides the integrating center for the life of the church and its mission in the world.

Working from within the contours of Christian faith, this book examines the relation between two ways of forming families-through nature (by procreation) and through history (by adoption). Christians honor the biological tie between parents and children, for it is the work of God in creation. Yet Christians cannot forget that it is adoption, and not simply natural descent, that is at the center of the New Testament's depiction of God's grace. Gilbert Meilaender takes up a range of issues raised by the practice of adoption, always seeking to do justice to both nature and history in the formation of families, while keeping at the center of our vision the truth that it is not by nature but by grace that we can become adopted children of the one whom Jesus called his Father. Meilaender begins with reflection on the puzzling relation of nature and history in forming families and proceeds to unpack the meaning of huiothesia, the word used in the New Testament to name the grace by which a follower of Jesus becomes an adopted child of God. That perspective is applied to a range of questions that regularly arise in Christian theological discussions of adoption: Is adoption only for the infertile? Should single persons adopt? Is it wise for adoption to take place across racial or national boundaries? Special attention is paid to the relation between adoption and new reproductive technologies and to what is called "embryo adoption." Interspersed between the chapters are letters written by the author to his own son by adoption. But if the argument of the book is taken seriously, these letters are written not to one who falls within a special category of "adopted son or daughter," but to one who is, simply and entirely, a son or daughter.

In a unique epistolary style, authors Murray Stein and Elena Caramazza share their rich and reflective conversations surrounding the themes of temporality, shame, and evil through letters, essays, and email correspondence. Ignited by Wolfgang Pauli's "The Piano Lesson," Stein and Caramazza study the function of temporality and consider the importance of shame and evil to this relationship. In this book Stein shows how Pauli, as a result of his contact with C.G. Jung and analytical psychology, embarked on a thought experiment to merge two currents of scientific thought: quantum physics and depth psychology. In his work of active imagination "The Piano Lesson," Pauli playfully brings together the former, which supplies a causal explanation of the mechanics of the material world, and the latter, which supplies an approach to meaning. The problem of how to merge the two currents in one language is presented in Pauli's symbolic solution, piano music, which combines the black and white keys in a single harmony. This music symbolizes a unified theory that combines the explanations of causality and the meaning delivered by synchronicity. Presenting an original approach to synchronicity and dis-synchronicity, this interdisciplinary and innovative exchange concludes with a script written by Murray Stein, inspired by Pauli, as well as an afterword by influential Jungian scholars. This book will be a key reference for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and seminars in Jungian and post-Jungian studies, philosophy, psychoanalytic studies, psychology, and the social sciences.

Religion, Politics and Cults in East Africa is the first major, original, and extensive research-based study of the apocalyptic and doomsday Catholic Marian Movement and its Benedictine monastic moral and religious practices, including vows of poverty, celibacy, obedience, daily contemplation in silence, and hard work. The Marian Movement is presented within the cultural, historical, political, and religious context of the East African Revival Movement, the Anglican Balokole Movement, Alice Lakwena's Holy Spirit Movement, Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and other religio-political liberation movements, including the Maji Maji, the Mau Mau, and Nyabingi Liberation Movement. The Marian Movement was locally known as "Abanyabugoto" and "The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God". It began in 1989 as a Catholic women's Marian devotional and moral reformation movement, founded and headed by Keledonia Mwerinde. Faced with African cultural patriarchy and male-dominated Catholic Church hierarchy, Mwerinde recruited Joseph Kibwetere and the Rev. Fr. Dominic Kataribabo to serve as the public face of the Marian Movement. In response to Catholic hierarchy's opposition and persecution, Fr. Kataribabo designed a theology of ritual sacrifice, atonement, and martyrdoms for the devout Marian Catholics, who were devotees of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He martyred the Marian devotees in March 2000, in order to transform them into Mary's saints, and to liberate their souls and send them to heaven, where they would instantly attain eternal life, lasting peace, and happiness.