The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology

by Re Manning, Russell; Brooke, John Hedley; Watts, Fraser

• ISBN13: 9780199556939
• ISBN10: 0199556938
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-03-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theologyis the first collection to consider the full breadth of natural theology from both historical and contemporary perspectives and to bring together leading scholars to offer accessible high-level accounts of the major themes. The volume embodies and develops the recent revival of interest in natural theology as a topic of serious critical engagement. Frequently misunderstood or polemicized, natural theology is an under-studied yet persistent and pervasive presence throughout the history of thought about ultimate reality - from the classical Greek theology of the philosophers to twenty-first century debates in science and religion. Of interest to students and scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this authoritative handbook draws on the very best of contemporary scholarship to present a critical overview of the subject area. Thirty eight new essays trace the transformations of natural theology in different historical and religious contexts, the place of natural theology in different philosophical traditions and diverse scientific disciplines, and the various cultural and aesthetic approaches to natural theology to reveal a rich seam of multi-faceted theological reflection rooted in human nature and the environments within which we find ourselves.

Author Biography

Russell Re Manning is Lord Gifford Fellow in the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy at University of Aberdeen.

John Hedley Brooke is Emeritus Fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford.

Fraser Watts is Reader in Theology and Science, University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Introduction
I: Historical Perspectives on Natural Theology
1. Classical Origins of Natural Theology, Stephen Clark
2. Natural Theology and the Christian Bible, Christopher Rowland
3. Natural Theology in the Patristic Period, Wayne Hankey
4. Natural Theology in the Middle Ages, Alexander Hall
5. Early Modern Natural Theologies, Scott Mandelbrote
6. Nineteenth-Century Natural Theology, Matthew Eddy
7. Natural Theology in the Twentieth Century, Rodney Holder
II: Theological Perspectives on Natural Theology
8. Jewish Perspectives on Natural Theology, Daniel Frank
9. Islamic Perspectives on Natural Theology, Robert Morrison
10. Natural Theology in Eastern Religions, Jessica Frazier
11. Catholic Perspectives on Natural Theology, Denis Edwards
12. Protestant Perspectives on Natural Theology, Russell Re Manning
13. Natural Theology and the Eastern Orthodox Tradition, Christopher C. Knight
14. Theological Critiques of Natural Theology, Andrew Moore
III: Philosophical Perspectives on Natural Theology
15. Perspectives on Natural Theology from Analytical Philosophy, Keith Parsons
16. A Perspective from Continental Philosophy, Russell Re Manning
17. Process Thought and Natural Theology, David Ray Griffin
18. The Design Argument and Natural Theology, Neil A. Manson
19. Morality and Natural Theology, William Schweiker
20. Religious Experience and Natural Theology, Mark Wynn
21. Postmodernity and Natural Theology, Clayton Crockett
22. Feminist Perspectives on Natural Theology, Pamela Sue Anderson
23. Comparative Natural Theology, Wesley Wildman
24. Philosophical Critiques of Natural Theology, Charles Taliaferro
IV: Scientific Perspectives on Natural Theology
25. Natural Theology: The Biological Sciences, Michael Ruse
26. Physical Sciences and Natural Theology, Paul Ewart
27. Chemical Sciences and Natural Theology, David Knight
28. Mathematics and Natural Theology, John Polkinghorne
29. Natural Theology and Ecology, Christopher Southgate
30. Sciences of the Mind and Natural Theology, Fraser Watts
31. A Sociological Perspective on Natural Theology, Richard Fenn
32. Scientific Critiques of Natural Theology, Philip Clayton
V: Perspectives on Natural Theology from the Arts
33. Aesthetics and the Arts in Relation to Natural Theology, Frank Burch Brown
34. Imagination and Natural Theology, Douglas Hedley
35. Natural Theology and Literature, Guy Bennett-Hunter
36. Natural Theology and Music, Jeremy Begbie
37. Images in Natural Theology, Kristof Nyiri
38. The Film Viewer and Natural Theology God's "Presence" at the Movies, Robert Johnston