Understanding Natural Theology: Mapping the Terrain of Recent Approaches

If God is the creator of all, might creation itself not provide us with ways of seeing God that enrich our understanding--that connect our desire for God with our life in creation?

Natural theology has been a feature of Christian thinking for centuries, but it has also been misunderstood and maligned. What exactly is natural theology, and how might it help us in our pursuit to know and understand God?

In Understanding Natural Theology, theologian and scholar Christopher R. Brewer considers several different versions of natural theology and their proponents, including David Brown, Alvin Plantinga, C. Stephen Evans, Thomas F. Torrance, and even Karl Barth, a noted critic of natural theology. Through this study, readers will come to understand not only what natural theology is but also how it can serve in our collective pursuit to understand God.

Christopher R. Brewer (PhD, University of St Andrews) was an honorary research fellow in the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews and principal with One Brewer Consulting. He previously served as a program officer of the Templeton Religion Trust and more recently served as principal advisor for its Art Seeking Understanding program strategy. He was also the editor-in-chief for giffordlectures.org, which promotes the study of natural theology, and he was the editor of several books, including Christian Theology and the Transformation of Natural Religion: From Incarnation to Sacramentality: Essays in Honour of David Brown.