God : A Guide for the Perplexed

A comprehensive and humorous introduction to the mysteries of the divine reveals truths and ideas as presented in ancient Greek tales, by key philosophers, in modern film, and from other sources, citing societal influences on our knowledge and understanding of a higher force.

Any book that can help readers discover "why nineteenth century Germans became more and more depressed," tell them something useful about flavors in Oxford ice cream parlors, quote Marx in context, and deliver a meaningful introduction to a long philosophical conversation about God in an engaging narrative is well worth reading. Ward covers a remarkable range of material, from the Iliad to Wittgenstein, contemporary compatibilism, and process thought, and he does it with elegance and surprising simplicity--qualities that open this material to readers who otherwise would find it entirely inaccessible. This is an excellent introduction to the philosophy of religion, suitable for students inside and outside of the academy. Steven Schroeder
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"Believing in God," states Oxford divinity professor Ward, "is just a bit more complicated than you might think." For a quarter century, Ward (God, Chance and Necessity) has been a reliable guide to spirituality and religion. Here he provides a whirlwind tour of how God has been conceived in Western thought, beginning with Homer and Descartes and progressing through thinkers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Kant and poets like Blake and Wordsworth. Along the way, he discusses the prophets, the Ten Commandments, the idea of evil, and more. What makes this work Ward's own is his leitmotif: a belief that the trouble with much of the popular understanding of God is that it is too literal. To help us go beyond such popular conceptions, Ward, with humor and skill, deftly and accurately guides us through the ages of reflection on what can and cannot be known about God. The danger of such an approach is that it will leave readers with caricatures of the great thinkers' positions. The value is that readers will become intrigued and will go directly to the sources listed in Ward's "Find Out More..." bibliographies at the end of each chapter. In the end, this book inspires considerable thought and thus belongs in every library. Steve Young, McHenry Cty. Coll. Lib., Crystal Lake, IL
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