The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology

Abstract

considers the full breadth of natural theology from both historical and contemporary perspectives and brings together leading scholars to offer accessible high-level accounts of the major themes. It 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. This book draws on contemporary scholarship to present a critical overview of the subject area. Thirty eight chapters 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 seam of multi-faceted theological reflection rooted in human nature and the environments within which we find ourselves.