The Paradox Of Human Nature And Religious Faith

Author : Christopher G. Smith
Publisher : Troubador Publishing Ltd
Page : 112 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2020-11-28
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781800461154

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The Paradox of Human Nature and Religious Faith by Christopher G. Smith Pdf

This is a book for our time. The advent of Covid-19 is turning our world upside down and highlighting the paradoxical nature of human behaviour. A minority of thoughtless people are indulging in selfish activities that threaten our safety, whilst NHS workers heroically risk their own lives to save others. In South Africa members of rival drug gangs, who would normally kill each other without a second thought, have called a truce and are now working together in order to ensure that food is distributed to needy families. Human nature is paradoxical because it is capable of perceiving both the finite (secular) and infinite (spiritual) which are juxtaposed within the context of reality. What makes this book different is that spirituality is not considered to be other-worldly. What we refer to as the secular and the spiritual are viewed as ‘two sides of a coin’ that co-exist as part of one reality, within the context of temporality. Both contribute to what we perceive to be a sense of ‘self’. They are different perceptions of consciousness that influence human behaviour through conscious and subconscious processes. The aim of this book is to consider the factors that contribute to the paradoxical nature of being human and to explore the issues that cloud our perceptions and cause confusion. It proffers a vision of how a religious faith can be made intelligible at a time when the majority of people, living in our postmodern age, consider it to be irrelevant.

Author : William James
Publisher : Xist Publishing
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2015-09-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781681950891

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The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature by William James Pdf

The Best Nonfiction Masterpiece of the 20th Century? “There are two lives, the natural and the spiritual, and we must lose the one before we can participate in the other.” - William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature is not a book about a specific religion. The author, psychologist Williams James does not try to convince the reader one religion is better than the other. He doesn’t even make a case for atheism and the scientific approach. The book is in fact about human nature and how we experience religion at a psychological level. Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes

Author : Nicolas G. Mertens
Publisher : Nova Publishers
Page : 150 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1560728957

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An Essay on Faith, Reason, and Human Nature by Nicolas G. Mertens Pdf

Discusses questions such as, what is knowledge, what qualifies as knowledge, and what does not; what does it mean to say, "I know, I understand," what is truth, and what is certainty? When can we affirm and be certain that -- I know this or that, this or that is a universal truth I can rely upon, and I know that it so because I have a method and at least one criterion to determine that this or that is indeed a universal truth. Furthermore, how do knowledge and understanding compare with belief: Are there evidences so compelling that, in certain cases, propositions of the form 'I know that X' are indeed expressions of knowledge, and in other cases merely expressions of opinions and/or beliefs? Can the words 'belief', 'understanding', and 'knowledge' be used interchangeably? And by the way, what role does reason play in our endeavours to seek knowledge? And what role does human nature play in that endeavour?

Author : Reinhold Niebuhr
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 664 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 1949
Category : Theological anthropology
ISBN : PSU:000030509757

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The Nature and Destiny of Man: Human nature by Reinhold Niebuhr Pdf

Author : Keith Ward
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 346 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 1998-11-19
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780191588273

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Religion and Human Nature by Keith Ward Pdf

Continuing Keith Ward's series on comparative religion, this book deals with religious views of human nature and destiny. The beliefs of six major traditions are presented: the view of Advaita Vedanta that there is one Supreme Self, unfolding into the illusion of individual existence; the Vaishnava belief that there is an infinite number of souls, whose destiny is to be released from material embodiment; the Buddhist view that there is no eternal Self; the Abrahamic belief that persons are essentially embodied souls; and the materialistic position that persons are complex material organisms. Indian ideas of rebirth, karma, and liberation from samsara are critically analysed and compared with semitic belief in the intermediate state of Sheol, Purgatory or Paradise, the Final Judgement and the resurrection of the body. The impact of scientific theories of cosmic and biological evolution on religious beliefs is assessed, and a form of 'soft emergent materialism' is defended, with regard to the soul. In this context, a Christian doctrine of original sin and atonement is presented, stressing the idea of soterial, as opposed to forensic, justice. Finally, a Christian view of personal immortality and the 'end of all things' is developed in conversation with Jewish and Muslim beliefs about judgement and resurrection.

Author : Robert Hugh Benson,Aeterna Press
Publisher : Aeterna Press
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 1913
Category : Religion
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Paradoxes of Catholicism by Robert Hugh Benson,Aeterna Press Pdf

The mysteries of the Church, a materialistic scientist once announced to an astonished world, are child’s play compared with the mysteries of nature. He was completely wrong, of course, yet there was every excuse for his mistake. For, as he himself tells us in effect, he found everywhere in that created nature which he knew so well, anomaly piled on anomaly and paradox on paradox, and he knew no more of theology than its simpler and more explicit statements. Aeterna Press

Author : Orlando Rodriguez
Publisher : Orlando Rodriguez
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2019-02-04
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN : 9781790987887

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The True Nature Of Human Nature by Orlando Rodriguez Pdf

•"Prove to me that God does not exist." •"God has designed every being to be this way. Evolution is a farce." •"God's existence is proven by the Bible.” •"Hitler and Stalin were Atheists and look at what happened!" These are but a few of the comments you may hear from people who have faith in a god. We depart on a guided thought experiment to understand how religion came to be, why religion has been a mainstay in modernity and what armamentarium to use in our fight against religious zealots. If you are a theist, the purpose of this book is to reason you out of something you had no reason to believe in the first place. If you are already on the fence, I look to burn down that structure. As I plant the flag for all to see, we will journey through fables, morality, science, and sin and verify if religion can, in fact, be eradicated. Born in Brentwood, NY, Orlando Rodriguez has moved many times since his childhood. He settled down in Manhattan in 2002. In what can only be described as love at first sight, he met and married his wife in 2003 and has three children. After living in Manhattan for several years, they all moved to Freehold, NJ, where they enjoy the relaxed life on weekends. Orlando’s hobbies include astronomy, working out, playing the guitar and the violin. The True Nature Of Human Nature Is Orlando’s first published work. His next book will be called When Dinosaurs Fall.

Author : Ralph H. Johnson,Paul Rennick
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 175 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2020-05-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781527551961

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The Future of Religion by Ralph H. Johnson,Paul Rennick Pdf

Religion evokes strong emotions and raises hard questions. This volume addresses many of the contentious elements that religion provokes and challenges some of the easy answers contemporary society has produced. The frequent and often facile dictum about the separation of church and state, when examined closely, may prove to contribute to the erosion of some of our most cherished human values, rather than to their preservation. The science-versus-religion dichotomy is dogma for many, yet the empiricism that is the hallmark of scientific method and knowledge can be singularly absent from positions that claim to be science. The current spate of attacks against God and religion that are now commonplace, when critically scrutinized, often fail to provide compelling arguments or even to be as objective as their authors claim. These and other explorations are the focus of this book. From the Forward in which Charles Kimball challenges the West to re-evaluate its perspective and understanding of the East, particularly Islam, to the Afterword in which theologian Gregory Baum chronicles the extraordinary reversal of sociology’s estimation of religion, the invitation from this volume to all of us is to review our pieties and presuppositions as we reflect on the future of religion.

Author : Gilbert Keith Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 96 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2020-08-25
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798679075221

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Orthodoxy by Gilbert Keith Gilbert Keith Chesterton Pdf

In the preface, Chesterton specifies his goal for the book: to explain how he personally established his faith in his personal theology.He begins by explaining that human nature seems to betray itself. On the one hand, humans feel a strong desire to explore, to learn, and to grow through journeying into the unknown. On the other hand, humans feel a need for security and safety. He explains that sanity contains both sets of emotions. Chesterton explains that Christianity is a suitable belief system to mitigate the effects of that paradox.

Author : Allen A. Sweet,Fritz Jaensch,C. Francis Sweet
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2012-09-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 1475930585

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The Unity of Truth by Allen A. Sweet,Fritz Jaensch,C. Francis Sweet Pdf

Many of the seven billion people who live on the earth look to either science or religion as the ultimate source of authority in their lives. But why must there be a conflict between the two? Why cant science and religion support each other? The Unity of Truth shows why and how it makes perfect sense for science and religion to be mutually supportive. Beginning with the accepted truths of modern science and the beliefs of traditional Christianity, authors Allen A. Sweet, C. Frances Sweet, and Fritz Jaensch use their diverse expertise to deliver a deeper level of understanding of the ways in which science and religion can coexist. Relying on a thorough knowledge of physics, theology, and mathematics, this study addresses the paradox of how God communicates with our material world without violating any of the laws of science. Individual chapters discuss some of the most popular quandaries associated with combining science and religion. In addition, it considers the beginning and end of our universe, the evolution of life, and the meaning of human emotions from the scientific and theological perspectives, thus pushing understanding to a higher plateau of wisdom. Rational and devoid of rhetoric, The Unity of Truth seeks to help resolve the ongoing battle between religion and science, delivering a thoughtful narrative designed to open minds and hearts.

Author : Desmond M. Clarke
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2016
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780198749578

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French Philosophy, 1572-1675 by Desmond M. Clarke Pdf

Desmond M. Clarke presents a thematic history of French philosophy from the middle of the sixteenth century to the beginning of Louis XIV's reign. He explores the thought of lawyers, political leaders, theologians, and scholars, in relation to topics ranging from political theory, scepticism, and ethics, to philosophy of mind and women's equality.

Author : Dennis P. McCann
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2001-08-30
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781579107390

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Christian Realism and Liberation Theology by Dennis P. McCann Pdf

Christian Realism and Liberation Theology provides the best interpretation and critique we have of liberation theology. Equally important, however, is McCann's interpretation of Reinhold Niebuhr. For it is McCann's contention that Niebuhr is best appreciated as attempting to provide a form of spirituality sufficient to sustain the frustrations of political struggle. By bringing Niebuhr and liberation theology into creative contrast McCann not only illuminates the contributions and shortcomings of each but helps us better understand the issues confronting the development of an adequate Christian social ethic. This is a book that has needed writing for some time. We are in McCann's debt. -- Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics Divinity School, Duke University

Author : Edward O. Wilson
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2012-10-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780674076556

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On Human Nature by Edward O. Wilson Pdf

In his new preface E. O. Wilson reflects on how he came to write this book: how The Insect Societies led him to write Sociobiology, and how the political and religious uproar that engulfed that book persuaded him to write another book that would better explain the relevance of biology to the understanding of human behavior.

Author : William James
Publisher : The Floating Press
Page : 824 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2009-01-01
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781877527463

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The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James Pdf

Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature explores the nature of religion and, in James' observation, its divorce from science when studied academically. After publication in 1902 it quickly became a canonical text of philosophy and psychology, remaining in print through the entire century. "Scientific theories are organically conditioned just as much as religious emotions are; and if we only knew the facts intimately enough, we should doubtless see 'the liver' determining the dicta of the sturdy atheist as decisively as it does those of the Methodist under conviction anxious about his soul. When it alters in one way the blood that percolates it, we get the Methodist, when in another way, we get the atheist form of mind."

Author : David W. Noble
Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 1958-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780816658374

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The Paradox of Progressive Thought by David W. Noble Pdf

The Paradox of Progressive Thought was first published in 1958. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. This book describes and analyzes an important aspect of American intellectual history, the climate of opinion in which nine leaders of progressive thought in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were important creators and spokesmen. By closely examining the central ideas of these men, Professor Noble presents an illuminating view of a significant phase of the liberal tradition in America. At the same time, he questions many of the generally accepted views about the philosophical basis of traditional liberalism and demonstrates the paradox of progressive thought. The social philosophers whose writings and teachings he scrutinizes are Herbert Croly, long-time editor of the New Republic; James Mark Baldwin, psychologist and philosopher; Charles H. Cooley, author of Social Organization; F. H. Johnson, theologian whose name was linked with Darwinism; Henry Demarest Lloyd, reformer and newspaperman who attacked the evils of monopoly in his book Wealth and Commonwealth; Richard T. Ely, economist and early advocate of Christian socialism; Simon N. Patten, whose work The Premises of Political Economy lifted him to fame; Thorstein Veblen, whose Theory of the Leisure Class is a household word today; and Walter Rauschenbusch, the Baptist clergyman who wrote Christianity and the Social Crisis and Christianity and the Social Order. In addition, there is extensive consideration of the thought and influence of Carl L. Becker, the noted historian and analyst of thought and philosophy in action.