The philosopher Paul Weiss once observed, "Philosophers let theories get in the way of what they and everyone else know." For many, the very word "philosophical" has become all but synonymous with "impractical".

Yet whether we like it or not, almost every corner of our lives—from dissertation writing to channel surfing—brings us face to face with competing philosophies and world views, each claiming to tell us definitively what it

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Pantheism is the idea that God and the world are identical—that the creator, sustainer, destroyer, and transformer of all things is the universe itself. From a monotheistic perspective, this notion is irremediably heretical since it suggests divinity might be material, mutable, and multiple. Since the excommunication of Baruch Spinoza, Western thought has therefore demonized what it calls pantheism, accusing it of incoherence, absurdity,

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"Providing an original and systematic treatment of foundational issues in philosophy of religion, J.L. Schellenberg's new book addresses the structure of religious and irreligious belief, the varieties of religious scepticism, and the nature of religion itself. From the author's searching analysis of faith emerges a novel understanding of propositional faith as requiring the absence of belief."--Jacket.

Martin Buber (1878–1965) is known for many influential works in the fields of philosophy of religion and biblical interpretation. His ideas and intellect were globally esteemed, propelled interfaith alliances, and inspired luminaries such as Paul Tillich and Martin Luther King Jr. His books included I and Thou and The Legend of Baal-Shem (Princeton). Leora Batnitzky is the Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion...

Did God create man? Or did man create God? Famed German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach explores the answer in this, his most influential work, published in German in 1841 and translated by celebrated English novelist George Eliot. Using Biblical references, dialectics, and ideas from some of the world's greatest thinkers, he confronts believers with his cogent explanation. Approaching religion from a humanistic perspective, Feuerbach explores the idea...

Drawing from Eastern philosophy and religion, Watts argues that is only by acknowledging what we do not and cannot know that we can find something truly worth knowing.--From publisher description.

In this fascinating book, Richard Smoley examines the roles God has played for us and reconciles them with what we today know through science and reason. In the process, he shows that consciousness is the underlying reality beneath everything in the universe. In one of Hinduism's great myths, Shiva plays a dice game with his consort, Parvati, and loses consistently. If he is the greatest god, why does he lose? Through this story, Richard Smoley explores...

The author of this 1902 meditation on Christianity asserts the religion could not exist without the personal charisma of the historical Jesus, and would have ceased to exist without the metaphysical view of Christ. Influenced by Hegel and other modern thinkers, Fairbairn expresses his reaction to the intellectual ferment of his times.

For readers interested in political theory and political activism, as well as anyone puzzled by the persistence of theistic conviction in the modern world, this critique of religious belief provides insightful analysis. In light of rational standards for belief acceptance that are universally acknowledged in enlightened circles, theistic convictions are deeply problematic. Thus, it is not surprising that some of the most important heirs of the Enlightenment...

The Will to Imagine completes J. L. Schellenberg's trilogy in the philosophy of religion, following his acclaimed Prolegomena to a Philosophy of Religion and The Wisdom to Doubt. This book marks a striking reversal in our understanding of the possibility of religious faith. Where other works treat religious skepticism as a dead end, The Will to Imagine argues that skepticism is the only point from which a proper beginning in religious inquiry-and...