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 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 cognitive science of religion is an inherently heterogeneous subject, incorporating theory and data from anthropology, psychology, sociology, evolutionary biology, and philosophy of mind amongst other subjects. One increasingly influential area of research in this field is concerned specifically with exploring the relationship between the evolution of the human mind, the evolution of culture in general, and the origins and subsequent development of religion. This research has exerted a strong influence on many areas of religious studies over the last twenty years, but, for some, the so-called 'evolutionary cognitive science of religion' remains a deeply problematic enterprise. This book's primary aim is to engage critically and constructively with this complex and diverse body of research from a wide range of perspectives. To these ends, the book brings together authors from a variety of relevant disciplines, in the thorough exploration of many of the key debates in the field. These include, for example: can certain aspects of religion be considered adaptive, or are they evolutionary by-products? Is the evolutionary cognitive science of religion compatible with theism? Is the evolutionary cognitive approach compatible with other, more traditional approaches to the study of religion? To what extent is religion shaped by cultural evolutionary processes? Is the evolutionary account of the mind that underpins the evolutionary cognitive approach the best or only available account? Written in accessible language, with an introductory chapter by Ilkka Pyssiainen, a leading scholar in the field, this book is a valuable resource for specialists, undergraduate and graduate students, and newcomers to the evolutionary cognitive science of religion.

This book examines the role of religious and spiritual experiences in people's understanding of their environment. The contributors consider how understandings and experiences of religious and place connections are motivated by the need to seek and maintain contact with perceptual objects, so as to form meaningful relationship experiences. The volume is one of the first scholarly attempts to discuss the psychological links between place and religious experiences.The chapters within provide insights for understanding how people's experiences with geographical places and the sacred serve as agencies for meaning-making, pro-social behaviour, and psychological adjustment in everyday life.

In Metaphysics as Christology, Jonael Schickler presents a major contribution to both philosophy and theology. First he examines the key philosophical problems with which Kant and Hegel grappled, and finds in the work of Rudolf Steiner the essence of a solution to them; he claims that Steiner returned to Hegel's philosophical problems but was better able to solve them. Schickler uses these philosophical debates about knowledge and truth to understand the significance of Christ. Building on the work of Hegel, Schickler argues that Christ has made possible the developments in human consciousness that restore humanity's relationship to the surrounding world. This is a bold and rigorous work that opens up new directions in both philosophy and theology. Fraser Watts contributes the Foreword and George Pattison an extensive Preface.

This comprehensive introduction to psychology has been devised for those training for and working in the clergy. Ideal both as a professional handbook and a textbook, it covers social, developmental, educational, occupational and counselling psychology, as well as the psychology of religion. It carefully considers the processes of personal change and growth central to religion.

Published in 1999. How can we reconcile assumptions about the lawfulness of the universe with provision for chance events? Do the 'laws of nature' indicate what absolutely must happen, or just what is most likely to happen? These are important questions for both science and theology, and are explored here in the first in-depth coverage of an important but neglected topic. Including perspectives from prestigious contributions, and published with the backing of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR), Creation: Law and Probability employs the disciplines of history and philosophy, as well as cosmology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience in a fascinating dialogue of faith traditions.

This book presents a celebration, survey and critique of the theological work of arguably the most important and most widely-read contributor to the modern dialogue between science and theology: John Polkinghorne. Including a major survey by Polkinghorne himself of his life's work in theology, this book draws together contributors from among the most important voices in the science-theology dialogue today to focus on key aspects of Polkinghorne's work, with Polkinghorne providing responses. Anybody exploring contemporary aspects of the science-religion debate will find this book invaluable.

This book presents a celebration, survey and critique of the theological work of arguably the most important and most widely-read contributor to the modern dialogue between science and theology: John Polkinghorne. Including a major survey by Polkinghorne himself of his life's work in theology, this book draws together contributors from among the most important voices in the science-theology dialogue today to focus on key aspects of Polkinghorne's work, with Polkinghorne providing responses. Anybody exploring contemporary aspects of the science-religion debate will find this book invaluable.

Published in 1999. How can we reconcile assumptions about the lawfulness of the universe with provision for chance events? Do the 'laws of nature' indicate what absolutely must happen, or just what is most likely to happen? These are important questions for both science and theology, and are explored here in the first in-depth coverage of an important but neglected topic. Including perspectives from prestigious contributions, and published with the backing of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR), Creation: Law and Probability employs the disciplines of history and philosophy, as well as cosmology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience in a fascinating dialogue of faith traditions.

Many people are now interested in the relationship between religion and science, but links between Christian belief and psychology have been relatively neglected. This book opens up the dialogue between Christian theology and modern scientific psychology, approaching the dialogue in both directions. Current scientific topics like consciousness and artificial intelligence are examined from a religious perspective. Christian themes such as God's purposes and activity in the world are then examined in the light of psychology. This accessible study on psychology and Christian belief offers students and general readers alike important insights into new areas of the 'science and religion' debate. Fraser Watts is Starbridge Lecturer in Theology and Natural Science at the University of Cambridge, UK, and author of many books including Christians and Bioethics (SPCK); Science Meets Faith (SPCK), Psychology for Christian Ministry (Routledge), and The Psychology of Religious Knowing (CUP).

In Metaphysics as Christology, Jonael Schickler presents a major contribution to both philosophy and theology. First he examines the key philosophical problems with which Kant and Hegel grappled, and finds in the work of Rudolf Steiner the essence of a solution to them. He claims that Steiner returned to Hegel's philosophical problems but was better able to solve them. Schickler uses these philosophical debates about knowledge and truth to understand the significance of Christ. Building on the work of Hegel, Schickler argues that Christ has made possible the developments in human consciousness that restore humanity's relationship to the surrounding world. This is a bold and rigorous work that opens up new directions in both philosophy and theology. Fraser Watts contributes the Foreword and George Pattison an extensive Preface.

Many people are now interested in the relationship between religion and science, but links between Christian belief and psychology have been relatively neglected. This book opens up the dialogue between Christian theology and modern scientific psychology, approaching the dialogue in both directions. Current scientific topics like consciousness and artificial intelligence are examined from a religious perspective. Christian themes such as God's purposes and activity in the world are then examined in the light of psychology. This accessible study on psychology and Christian belief offers students and general readers alike important insights into new areas of the 'science and religion' debate. Fraser Watts is Starbridge Lecturer in Theology and Natural Science at the University of Cambridge, UK, and author of many books including Christians and Bioethics (SPCK); Science Meets Faith (SPCK), Psychology for Christian Ministry (Routledge), and The Psychology of Religious Knowing (CUP).

This introduction to psychology has been devised for those training for and working in the clergy. Ideal both as a professional handbook and a textbook, it covers social, developmental, educational, occupational and counselling psychology, as well as the psychology of religion. It carefully considers the processes of personal change and growth central to religion.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203398246

Here is a book that takes people on a personal journey, a journey that is both spiritual and psychological: a three-fold journey that leads you, the reader, to face issues about yourself, raises challenges about relationships, and points towards what is above and beyond. Fraser Watts draws on his own Christian tradition in a way that is relevant to spiritual people everywhere, whatever tradition they belong to, or if they are of no religious tradition at all. It is a book to be read reflectively, giving some time to make connections between what is gently written in the pages and your own experience of life; if you let it, Living Deeply will help you join up a spiritual perspective with your own psychological issues.Such a journey could change a life. Perhaps it will change yours, helping you to see what deeper issues are at stake as you journey through life, and give you a spiritual compass to respond to life's challenges. This book will help you,indeed, to be living more deeply.

'Rethinking Biology offers many useful perspectives on a range of topics: why neuroscience and brain imaging threaten to create a reductive view of self and behaviour every bit as misleading as the genetic one, why adaptationism needs taming in evolutionary narratives ...'Public Understanding of ScienceBiologists always need to grapple with integrating two explanatory approaches. On the one hand, there is necessarily an effort to drill down to the lowest possible level to explain what is happening in whatever is being studied. That involves looking at how higher-level processes arise from lower level ones. On the other hand, there is a need to consider how the broader context influences bottom-up processes; that involves looking at how the whole influences the parts. Neither approach is satisfactory on its own. There is always a need to integrate the consideration of how parts influence wholes with how wholes influence parts.This book arises from a concern that in the public dissemination of biology the need to integrate these different perspectives is not coming across well. In popularisations, simplistic micro explanations always seem to arouse most interest and to capture the headlines. That risks distorting and simplifying the complexity of biological processes, and can mislead people. In this book we are urging a concerted attempt to come to grips with the interactive complexity of biology, and to find ways of conveying it to the public accessibly and effectively.We are particularly concerned with how biology is communicated to the public. Too often, what comes over to the public is a crude, out-of-date, simplistic, mono-causal, reductionist biology. Why so? Why is biology so misrepresented? Who is responsible? It is partly the media, of course, but we suggest that biologists themselves are often partly responsible. When it comes to communication with the public, they tend to over-simplify in a way that distorts.Related Link(s)

'Rethinking Biology offers many useful perspectives on a range of topics: why neuroscience and brain imaging threaten to create a reductive view of self and behaviour every bit as misleading as the genetic one, why adaptationism needs taming in evolutionary narratives ...'Public Understanding of ScienceBiologists always need to grapple with integrating two explanatory approaches. On the one hand, there is necessarily an effort to drill down to the lowest possible level to explain what is happening in whatever is being studied. That involves looking at how higher-level processes arise from lower level ones. On the other hand, there is a need to consider how the broader context influences bottom-up processes; that involves looking at how the whole influences the parts. Neither approach is satisfactory on its own. There is always a need to integrate the consideration of how parts influence wholes with how wholes influence parts.This book arises from a concern that in the public dissemination of biology the need to integrate these different perspectives is not coming across well. In popularisations, simplistic micro explanations always seem to arouse most interest and to capture the headlines. That risks distorting and simplifying the complexity of biological processes, and can mislead people. In this book we are urging a concerted attempt to come to grips with the interactive complexity of biology, and to find ways of conveying it to the public accessibly and effectively.We are particularly concerned with how biology is communicated to the public. Too often, what comes over to the public is a crude, out-of-date, simplistic, mono-causal, reductionist biology. Why so? Why is biology so misrepresented? Who is responsible? It is partly the media, of course, but we suggest that biologists themselves are often partly responsible. When it comes to communication with the public, they tend to over-simplify in a way that distorts.Related Link(s)

This book examines the role of religious and spiritual experiences in people's understanding of their environment. The contributors consider how understandings and experiences of religious and place connections are motivated by the need to seek and maintain contact with perceptual objects, so as to form meaningful relationship experiences. The volume is one of the first scholarly attempts to discuss the psychological links between place and religious experiences.The chapters within provide insights for understanding how people's experiences with geographical places and the sacred serve as agencies for meaning-making, pro-social behaviour, and psychological adjustment in everyday life.

Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality provides readers with a critical overview of what psychology tells us about religion and spirituality. It is concise without being simplistic, and the first such broad overview to be published for some years. Fraser Watts recognizes that 'religion' is complex and multi-faceted, taking different forms in different people and contexts. The book presents a broad view of psychology; whatever kind of psychology you are interested in, you will find it covered here, from biological to social, and from experimental to psychoanalytic. It focuses particularly on the varied concepts that psychologists have employed to make sense of religion and subjects them to critical examination. The book is also concerned with practical applications, helping those engaged in religious ministry. It will be of interest to undergraduates and general readers, as well as specialists in religious studies, psychology, and philosophy of religion.

The book seeks to describe the psychological processes that are involved in arriving at religious knowledge. The view that direct knowledge is impossible in the religious domain, only 'faith' possible, is rejected. It is argued that the ways in which people come to know other things, in particular how people arrive at personal insights, is close at many points to how they arrive at religious insights. The psychological processes involved in religious knowing are described in the terminology of contemporary cognitive psychology.

Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality provides readers with a critical overview of what psychology tells us about religion and spirituality. It is concise without being simplistic, and the first such broad overview to be published for some years. Fraser Watts recognizes that 'religion' is complex and multi-faceted, taking different forms in different people and contexts. The book presents a broad view of psychology; whatever kind of psychology you are interested in, you will find it covered here, from biological to social, and from experimental to psychoanalytic. It focuses particularly on the varied concepts that psychologists have employed to make sense of religion and subjects them to critical examination. The book is also concerned with practical applications, helping those engaged in religious ministry. It will be of interest to undergraduates and general readers, as well as specialists in religious studies, psychology, and philosophy of religion.

There has recently been much interest in the relationship between science and religion, and how they combine to give us a 'binocular' perspective on things. One important phenomenon which has been neglected in recent work is the concept of spiritual healing. This edited collection explores a variety of approaches to spiritual healing from different religious points of view, identifying both what it is and how it works. The authors also explore the biological and psychological processes, open to scientific enquiry, through which healing may be mediated. As such, this book indicates the central proposition that religious and scientific perspectives answer different questions about healing, and there is not necessarily any conflict between them.

The last 20 years have seen the development of a growing body of psychological literature on the long-neglected subject of forgiveness. Forgiveness has been widely regarded as a purely religious construct, and its associations with a 'neurotic; Christianity perhaps led to its exile from the consulting room. However, recently it has been advocated in many different secular contexts as offering an appropriate and healthy means of release from the wrongdoing on social, interpersonal and individual levels. 'Forgiveness in Context' represents a comprehensive volume dealing with a whole range of contextual issues in which forgiveness may be embedded, and continues to address the idealism which has sometimes influenced discussions on the subject. The book continually engages the reader on both psychological and theological levels in a sustained dialogue that has not permeated any of the books already available on forgiveness to the extent we propose here. Although some of the chapters have a more psychological 'flavour', whilst others are theological in tone, it is central to the ethos of this book that it should weave psychology and theology together throughout all chapters.