Alister E. McGrath

The Open Secret

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Natural Theology explores the knowledge of God as it is observed through nature. This book sets forth a new approach to the study of natural theology, reestablishing its legitimacy as a distinct aspect of Christian theology. While remedying some of the criticisms of traditional presentations and perceptions of the concept, this new approach treats natural theology as a cultural phenomenon, broader than Christianity itself yet always possessing a distinctively Christian embodiment.

Beginning with an introduction to human engagement with nature, this volume goes on to explore topics such as beauty, goodness, truth, and the theological imagination; how investigating nature gives rise to both theological and scientific theories; the idea of a distinctively Christian approach to nature; and how natural theology can function as a bridge between the Christianity and other faiths. With a resurgence of interest that is taking place in the field, this book is a first-rate, innovative resource for the study of natural theology.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley & Sons
• 1. Auflage
• Seitenzahl: 386
• Erscheinungstermin: 28. März 2008
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 21mm
• Gewicht: 550g
• ISBN-13: 9781405126915
• ISBN-10: 1405126914
• Artikelnr.: 22961244

Autorenporträt

Alister E. McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University, and Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. He is a world-renowned theologian, and is the author of numerous bestselling titles.

Inhaltsangabe

1 Natural Theology: Introducing an approach. "Nature" is an indeterminate
concept. Natural theology is an empirical discipline. A Christian natural
theology concerns the Christian God. A natural theology is incarnational,
not dualist. Resonance, not proof: Natural theology and empirical fit.
Beyond sense-making: the good, the true, and the beautiful. Part I: The
human quest for the transcendent: The Context for Natural Theology. 2 The
Persistence of the Transcendent. Natural theology and the transcendent. The
triggers of transcendent experiences. The transcendent and religion. 3
Thinking about the transcendent: three recent examples. Iris Murdoch: The
Transcendent and the Sublime. Roy Bhaskar: The Intimation of Meta-Reality.
John Dewey: The Curious Plausibility of the Transcendent. 4 Accessing the
Transcendent: Strategies and Practices. Ascending to the transcendent from
nature. Seeing the transcendent through nature. Withdrawing from nature to
find the transcendent within oneself. Discerning the transcendent in
nature. 5 Discernment and the psychology of perception. Perception is
brain-based. Perception involves dynamic mental structures. Perception is
egocentric and enactive. Perception pays attention to significance.
Perception can be modulated by motivation and affect. Human perception and
natural theology. Conclusion to Part One. Part II: The Foundations of
Natural Theology: Ground-clearing and rediscovery. 6 The Open Secret: The
Ambiguity of Nature. The mystery of the kingdom: Jesus of Nazareth and the
natural realm. The levels of nature: The Johannine "I am" sayings. Gerard
Manley Hopkins on "seeing" nature. 7 A dead end: Enlightenment approaches
to natural theology. The Enlightenment and its natural theologies:
historical reflections. The multiple translation and interpretations of the
"Book of Nature". The flawed psychological assumptions of the
Enlightenment. The Barth-Brunner controversy (1934) and human perception.
Enlightenment styles of natural theology: concluding criticisms. 8 A
Christian approach to natural theology. On "seeing" glory: The Prologue to
John's gospel. A biblical example: the call of Samuel. The Christian
tradition as a framework for natural theology. Natural theology and a
self-disclosing God. Natural theology and an analogy between God and the
creation. Natural theology and the image of God. Natural theology and the
economy of salvation. Natural theology and the incarnation. Conclusion to
Part Two. Part III: Truth, Beauty and Goodness: An agenda for a renewed
natural theology. 9 Truth, Beauty and Goodness: Expanding the Vision for
Natural Theology. 10 Natural Theology and Truth. Resonance, not proof:
natural theology and sense-making. The big picture, not the gaps: Natural
theology and observation of the world. Natural theology, counterintuitive
thinking, and anthropic phenomena. Natural Theology and Mathematics: A
"natural" way of representing Reality. Truth, Natural Theology and Other
Religious Traditions. On retrieving the richness of truth. Truth and a
Natural Theology of the Imagination. 11 Natural Theology and Beauty.
Recovering the place of beauty in natural theology. The Neglect of Beauty:
The "Deconversion" of John Ruskin. Hugh Millar on the aesthetic
deficiencies of sense-making. John Ruskin and the representation of nature.
The Beauty of Theoretical Representations of Nature. Beauty, awe, and the
aesthetic engagement with nature. Aesthetics and the "seeing" of beauty.
Beauty, Natural Theology and Christian Apologetics. 12 Natural Theology and
Goodness. The moral vision of reality. Natural theology and natural law.
The eternal return of natural law. The moral ambivalence of nature. The
knowability of goodness in nature. The discernment of Goodness: The
Euthyphro Dilemma. Conclusion. Acknowledgements. Index

Rezensionen

?Unlike many working in the sciencetheology field, McGrath makes a real effort to address issues of biblical criticism, which gives his work some significant depth, as he incorporates an engagement with the Jesus of history and an application of this to contemporary understandings of natural theology.? ( Reviews in Science and Religion , May 2009)
?McGrath seeks to develop a specifically Christian approach to natural theology, anchoring it in the Christ event, and interpreting natural theology as something that is both historically located in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth and theologically interpreted by the church.? ( New Testament Abstracts , January 2009)

?As we have come to expect from McGrath, the book is historically well-researched, conversant with recent literature, theologically creative, and carefully argued. It will certainly reshape contemporary discussions of natural theology and natural law.? ( Religious Studies Review , March 09)

"McGraths book starts from distinctively Christian Trinitarian theology and then develops what the author sees as ways for Christian beliefs to create a means of seeing nature with a new sense of vision?with the purpose of understanding the connections between Christian belief and natural science. It is extremely well-researched and footnoted, with an extensive bibliography of sources cited. Summing Up: Recommended." ( CHOICE )

"The book is learned, covering a great deal of historical ground." ( First Things )