Reason Faith And Revolution

On the one hand, Eagleton demolishes what he calls the "superstitious" view of God held by most atheists and agnostics and offers in its place a revolutionary account of the Christian Gospel. On the other hand, he launches a stinging assault on the betrayal of this revolution by institutional Christianity. There is little joy here, then, either for the anti-God brigade -- Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens in particular -- nor for many conventional believers. --Résumé de l'éditeur.

This book provides a significant rereading of political and ecclesiastical developments during the English Revolution, by integrating them into broader European discussions about Christianity and civil society. Sarah Mortimer reveals the extent to which these discussions were shaped by the writing of the Socinians, an extremely influential group of heterodox writers. She provides the first treatment of Socinianism in England for over fifty years, demonstrating the interplay between theological ideas and political events in this period as well as the strong intellectual connections between England and Europe. Royalists used Socinian ideas to defend royal authority and the episcopal Church of England from both Parliamentarians and Thomas Hobbes. But Socinianism was also vigorously denounced and, after the Civil Wars, this attack on Socinianism was central to efforts to build a church under Cromwell and to provide toleration. The final chapters provide a new account of the religious settlement of the 1650s.

Religious scholar Hart argues that contemporary antireligious polemics are based not only upon conceptual confusions but upon facile simplifications of history and provides a powerful antidote to the New Atheists' misrepresentations of the Christian past.

Were America's Founders Christians or deists? Conservatives and secularists have taken each position respectively, mustering evidence to insist just how tall the wall separating church and state should be. Now Gregg Frazer puts their arguments to rest in the first comprehensive analysis of the Founders' beliefs as they themselves expressed them-showing that today's political right and left are both wrong. Going beyond church attendance or public pronouncements made for political ends, Frazer scrutinizes the Founders' candid declarations regarding religion found in their private writings. Distilling decades of research, he contends that these men were neither Christian nor deist but rather adherents of a system he labels "theistic rationalism," a hybrid belief system that combined elements of natural religion, Protestantism, and reason-with reason the decisive element. Frazer explains how this theological middle ground developed, what its core beliefs were, and how they were reflected in the thought of eight Founders: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington. He argues convincingly that Congregationalist Adams is the clearest example of theistic rationalism; that presumed deists Jefferson and Franklin are less secular than supposed; and that even the famously taciturn Washington adheres to this theology. He also shows that the Founders held genuinely religious beliefs that aligned with morality, republican government, natural rights, science, and progress. Frazer's careful explication helps readers better understand the case for revolutionary recruitment, the religious references in the Declaration of Independence, and the religious elements-and lack thereof-in the Constitution. He also reveals how influential clergymen, backing their theology of theistic rationalism with reinterpreted Scripture, preached and published liberal democratic theory to justify rebellion. Deftly blending history, religion, and political thought, Frazer succeeds in showing that the American experiment was neither a wholly secular venture nor an attempt to create a Christian nation founded on biblical principles. By showcasing the actual approach taken by these key Founders, he suggests a viable solution to the twenty-first-century standoff over the relationship between church and state-and challenges partisans on both sides to articulate their visions for America on their own merits without holding the Founders hostage to positions they never held.

Lately the headlines have delivered dispiriting news about wrongdoing and scandal in business. But behind the headlines lies a surprising, untold story: Corporate America is changing for the better. Faith and Fortune tells the stories of the extraordinary people who are leading the way and the admirable companies they have built. This book is called Faith and Fortune because faith provides the fuel that energizes these people as they strive to do business better and to find meaning in their work. Some have faith in God; others do not. But all have faith in the goodness of people and in the possibility of change. Most of all, they believe that corporations can become a powerful force for good in the world, and that they can—and should—serve people and not the other way around. Faith and Fortune argues that an exciting new model of conducting business is taking hold, not only in small, socially responsible companies like Ben & Jerry’s but inside such bulwarks of the Fortune 500 as Ford, Citigroup, and DuPont. Bit by bit, almost imperceptibly, this new model is replacing a century-old approach that was rooted in the industrial era and looked at business as a series of discrete, win-lose transactions: Executives tried to pay their workers and suppliers as little as possible, charge their customers as much as they could, and maximize their short-term profits. Today, by contrast, forward-thinking executives build their businesses by developing a network of long-lasting, win-win relationships. Great companies serve their workers, customers, shareholders, and the common good. Powerful forces are driving these changes, including the desire of companies to attract and engage their workforce, the emergence of the 1960s’ generation to positions of corporate power, the spirituality-in-the-workplace movement, the rise of social investing, and the growth and sophistication of activist groups. At once realistic and inspiring, Faith and Fortune profiles companies and people who represent the best of business and exemplify these new values. Among the stories told here: •UPS creates opportunities for immigrants and minorities, promotes from within, and provides its people with a much-valued sense of community •Southwest Airlines, the fun-loving airline, has built the concept of servant leadership into its storied culture •Starbucks provides stock options and health insurance even to part-time workers and builds sustainable business models for coffee growers in the developing world •Timberland has turned community services into a valuable corporate asset Other companies profiled here include Hewlett-Packard, Herman Miller, Staples, PepsiCo, Domini Social Investments, Tom’s of Maine, and Greyston Bakery. The book also includes a chapter exploring what the great religious traditions have to teach today’s businesspeople about creating sustainable enterprises and an analysis of the business case for corporate social responsibility. Faith and Fortune is a thoughtful, original, and important book that will reshape the debate about the role of business in America.

Calvinist theology has been debated and promoted for centuries. But is it a theology that should last? Roger Olson suggests that Calvinism, also commonly known as Reformed theology, holds an unwarranted place in our list of accepted theologies. In Against Calvinism, readers will find scholarly arguments explaining why Calvinist theology is incorrect and how it affects God’s reputation. Olson draws on a variety of sources, including Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience, to support his critique of Calvinism and the more historically rich, biblically faithful alternative theologies he proposes. Addressing what many evangelical Christians are concerned about today—so-called “new Calvinism,” a movement embraced by a generation labeled as “young, restless, Reformed” —Against Calvinism is the only book of its kind to offer objections from a non-Calvinist perspective to the current wave of Calvinism among Christian youth. As a companion to Michael Horton’s For Calvinism, readers will be able to compare contrasting perspectives and form their own opinions on the merits and weaknesses of Calvinism.

A new philosophy of religion for a secular world How can we live in such a way that we die only once? How can we organize a society that gives us a better chance to be fully alive? How can we reinvent religion so that it liberates us instead of consoling us? These questions stand at the center of Roberto Mangabeira Unger’s The Religion of the Future: an argument for both spiritual and political revolution. It proposes the content of a religion that can survive without faith in a transcendent God or in life after death. According to this religion—the religion of the future—human beings can be more human by becoming more godlike, not just later, in another life or another time, but right now, on Earth and in their own lives. They can become more godlike without denying the irreparable flaws in the human condition: our mortality, groundlessness, and insatiability.

“A brilliant, wide ranging and powerful series of readings on the possibilities, problems and mysteries of faith. This book belongs on the shelf of every believer—and every serious skeptic.” — Rabbi David Wolpe, author of Why Faith Matters “This life-giving, faith-filled and hard-nosed collection reveals why, as St. Anselm wrote, true faith always seeks to understand.” — Rev. James Martin, author of My Life with the Saints From Dr. Francis Collins, New York Times bestselling author of The Language of God, comes the definitive reader on the rationality of faith.