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Home > Religion, Philosophy & Sprituality > Religion and beliefs > Aspects of religion > Theology > The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology
The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology

The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology


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About the Book

Natural theology, in the view of many, is in crisis. In this long-awaited book, Alister McGrath sets out a new vision for natural theology, re-establishing its legitimacy and utility. A timely and innovative resource on natural theology: the exploration of knowledge of God as it is observed through nature Written by internationally regarded theologian and author of numerous bestselling books, Alister McGrath Develops an intellectually rigorous vision of natural theology as a point of convergence between the Christian faith, the arts and literature, and the natural sciences, opening up important possibilities for dialogue and cross-fertilization Treats natural theology as a cultural phenomenon, broader than Christianity itself yet always possessing a distinctively Christian embodiment Explores topics including 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 Christianity and other faiths

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments ix 1 Natural Theology: Introducing an Approach 1 “Nature” is an Indeterminate Concept 7 Natural Theology is an Empirical Discipline 10 A Christian Natural Theology Concerns the Christian God 12 A Natural Theology is Incarnational, Not Dualist 14 Resonance, Not Proof: Natural Theology and Empirical Fit 15 Beyond Sense-Making: The Good, the True, and the Beautiful 18 Part I The Human Quest for the Transcendent: The Context for Natural Theology 21 2 The Persistence of the Transcendent 23 Natural Theology and the Transcendent 28 The Triggers of Transcendent Experiences 33 The Transcendent and Religion 36 3 Thinking About the Transcendent: Three Recent Examples 41 Iris Murdoch: The Transcendent and the Sublime 46 Roy Bhaskar: The Intimation of Meta-Reality 50 John Dewey: The Curious Plausibility of the Transcendent 53 4 Accessing the Transcendent: Strategies and Practices 59 Ascending to the Transcendent from Nature 60 Seeing the Transcendent Through Nature 66 Withdrawing from Nature to Find the Transcendent Within Oneself 69 Discerning the Transcendent in Nature 73 5 Discernment and the Psychology of Perception 80 Perception is Brain-Based 84 Perception Involves Dynamic Mental Structures 86 Perception is Egocentric and Enactive 92 Perception Pays Attention to Significance 98 Perception Can Be Modulated by Motivation and Affect 102 Human Perception and Natural Theology 105 Conclusion to Part I 110 Part II The Foundations of Natural Theology: Ground-Clearing and Rediscovery 113 6 The Open Secret: The Ambiguity of Nature 115 The Mystery of the Kingdom: Jesus of Nazareth and the Natural Realm 117 The Levels of Nature: The Johannine “I am” Sayings 126 Gerard Manley Hopkins on “Seeing” Nature 133 7 A Dead End? Enlightenment Approaches to Natural Theology 140 The Enlightenment and its Natural Theologies: Historical Reflections 141 The Multiple Translations and Interpretations of the “Book of Nature” 147 The Flawed Psychological Assumptions of the Enlightenment 156 The Barth–Brunner Controversy (1934) and Human Perception 158 Enlightenment Styles of Natural Theology: Concluding Criticisms 165 8 A Christian Approach to Natural Theology 171 On “Seeing” Glory: The Prologue to John’s Gospel 172 A Biblical Example: The Call of Samuel 174 The Christian Tradition as a Framework for Natural Theology 177 Natural Theology and a Self-Disclosing God 179 Natural Theology and an Analogy Between God and the Creation 185 Natural Theology and the Image of God 190 Natural Theology and the Economy of Salvation 198 Natural Theology and the Incarnation 209 Conclusion to Part II 216 Part III Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: An Agenda for a Renewed Natural Theology 219 9 Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: Expanding the Vision for Natural Theology 221 10 Natural Theology and Truth 232 Resonance, Not Proof: Natural Theology and Sense-Making 233 The Big Picture, Not the Gaps: Natural Theology and Observation of the World 238 Natural Theology, Counterintuitive Thinking, and Anthropic Phenomena 240 Natural Theology and Mathematics: A “Natural” Way of Representing Reality 245 Truth, Natural Theology, and Other Religious Traditions 248 On Retrieving the Richness of Truth 252 Truth and a Natural Theology of the Imagination 255 11 Natural Theology and Beauty 261 Recovering the Place of Beauty in Natural Theology 262 The Neglect of Beauty: The “Deconversion” of John Ruskin 265 Hugh Miller on the Aesthetic Deficiencies of Sense-Making 268 John Ruskin and the Representation of Nature 271 The Beauty of Theoretical Representations of Nature 273 Beauty, Awe, and the Aesthetic Engagement with Nature 277 Aesthetics and the “Seeing” of Beauty 280 Beauty, Natural Theology, and Christian Apologetics 282 12 Natural Theology and Goodness 291 The Moral Vision of Reality 292 Natural Theology and Natural Law 294 The Eternal Return of Natural Law 297 The Moral Ambivalence of Nature 300 The Knowability of Goodness in Nature 306 The Discernment of Goodness: The Euthyphro Dilemma 310 Conclusion to Part III 312 13 Conclusion 314 Bibliography 316 Index 366

About the Author :
Alister E. McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University and Gifford Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen for 2009. He is a world-renowned theologian, and is the author of numerous best-selling titles.

Review :
?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) "I tried out his NT approach in a Bible study on one of the 'miracles of creation' with a group of mainly young adults to see if his stratified view of the natural world would 'prove' to be more convincing in this context: it certainly helped." (Science and Christian Belief, April 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 2009) "McGrath's 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)


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Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781405126922
  • Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • Publisher Imprint: Wiley-Blackwell
  • Height: 236 mm
  • No of Pages: 384
  • Returnable: N
  • Spine Width: 27 mm
  • Weight: 770 gr
  • ISBN-10: 1405126922
  • Publisher Date: 28 Mar 2008
  • Binding: Hardback
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: N
  • Returnable: N
  • Sub Title: A New Vision for Natural Theology
  • Width: 160 mm


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