The Idea of Divinity

The Idea of Divinity is the third and most recently published of a series of books based on the belief that ideas cause behavior – that the things people believe to be true strongly influence and often determine one’s actual behavior. The thesis of this volume is that the idea of divinity is innate in human nature. In chapter one the author seeks to validate his thesis based on the research of other scholars, and by the examination and analysis of various primitive cultures. In the remaining chapters Dr. Crowder seeks to identify and trace the origin, growth, and development of the idea of divinity through the world’s great religions, concentrating especially on each religion’s fundamental beliefs and ideas, and the unique contribution each has made to the world of ideas, and to the history of humanity. Though limited in scope and explications, its focus on the essentials does provide a clear and concise reading of man’s search for the divine from the time he became a conscious being to the present. In the “Introduction” to the book, Dr. Crowder states: “I have made a special effort to be as historically accurate as possible, leaving ample room for discussion and improved understanding on the part of the reader. If he or she gains a clearer understanding of the beliefs and ideas of today’s great religions, I shall be compensated for my efforts in full.”

Dr. Crowder holds B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Ball State University; has completed post-graduate work at the University of Miami (FL); University of Southern California; Claremont Graduate School; and New York University. His graduate areas of concentration are social and intellectual history and political philosophy. He also is the founder of the Ideas Association of America which he formulated in the late 1980s. The charter for The Ideas Association of America was officially signed in July 2011. Its website is ideasusa.org. His career covers 40-plus years in education, including public school teacher in Florida and California to professor and Director of Social Science Division at Miami-Dade Community College and founding president of West Virginia Northern Community College; and then post-retirement as Executive Director of the Florida Association of Colleges & Universities (FACU). He has had an interest in studying the impact of Ideas on humanity for most of his academic career. He published his first book, Ideas that Built America, in 1987, and continued his interest during the next several years. Since retiring from the FACU he has continued his study and research in the field, and in the spring of 2010, taught a seminar at Howey-in-the-Hills Community Church in "Ideas that Built America." Later that year he completed research and published Ideas that Shaped the Western World. He is the author of two textbooks, Ideas that Built America and Ideas that Shaped the Western World; an autobiography, An Improbable Journey; and numerous articles and book reviews.