God
A Guide for the Perplexed
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
An inspired and impassioned historical examination of humanity's search for the divine
From Plato to Wittgenstein and religions from Judaism to the Hindu tradition, interspersed with divine influences from Classical Greece, Romantic poetry, and the occasional scene from 'Alien', ‘God: A Guide for the Perplexed’ charts the path of humanity's great spiritual odyssey: the search for God.
Leading the way through this minefield is acclaimed philosopher-theologian Keith Ward, blending the sublime and the eclectic in a narrative which offers wit, erudition and moments of genuine pathos. As a survey of the different manifestations of God through the centuries, and an examination of humanity's search for the divine, this is an engaging and informative book. As a deeply moving testament to our endless capacity for spiritual hope, it is compulsive reading for anyone interested in, or embarking on, the great quest for meaning. ‘A lively and very clearly written discussion summarizing and criticizing the thoughts of many significant thinkers.’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Wry but delightfully non-ironic, intelligent and clear, this book is a blessing. ‘
Publishers Weekly
‘Highly informed, witty and immensely accessible. One of the most congenial, lively and informative introductions to this field.’
Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology, Oxford University
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Professor of theology at Oxford University and no stranger to informed public debate on profound and controversial subjects, Ward offers a book that is witty and accessible, prodigiously erudite (quotes, textual references, a bibliography but no footnotes) and loaded with heavy ammunition to defend the existence of God. The author of 10 other books of theology, he cites and deftly arranges 3,000 years of arguments for, about and occasionally against God, drawn mostly but not exclusively from the Western tradition. A tour guide through the intellectual history of God-talk, Ward makes all the major stops Plato, the Hebrew prophets, Aquinas, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Whitehead, etc. with side trips to some lovely English classic poetry as well (Herbert, Spenser, Arnold). Even while he makes university don-ish jokes about philosophers, Ward takes seriously a topic that has engaged the elite and the common for hundreds of years. Like an old-fashioned, evenhanded teacher, he manages a tone of sympathetic analysis that steers clear of endorsement. This guide begs for comparison with fellow Briton Karen Armstrong's A History of God. Ward's is primarily Christian rather than Abrahamic in scope, but it is equally accessible and solidly learned. Wry but delightfully non-ironic, intelligent and clear, this book is a blessing for a theist camp that is sick of a postmodern universe empty of meaning but stuffed unto death with trivia.
