Experience and God by John Smith

Experience and God by John Smith

A modern philosopher described religion as that region in which all the enigmas of the world are solved.Smith argues in Experience and God that religion itself has become an enigma for modern man. In the book, smith attempts to reunite philosophy with religion. He argues that in recent decades the prevailing attitude has been chiefly one of indifference. This indifference, leading to the failure of understanding can be overcome only through radical reflection and self-criticism: a re-consideration of the nature of religion, its place in the total structure of human life, and its relations to the secular culture in which the faith of man must live. The task Smith lays out must be of a largely philosophical nature, not only because of the necessity to understand religion in relation to a comprehensive scheme of things, but also because the idea of religion is intimately connected with the issues of metaphysics. Smith's purpose is to bridge the gap between the ontological approach to God as represented by Augustine, Anselm, and Bonaventure, and the cosmological approach represented by Thomas Aquinas and Albert the Great. Smith shows that, although the two approaches significantly differ, they can be interpreted as ways of leading the meditating mind to the Presence of God, through the soul and through the world.

This well-reasoned defense of the role of metaphysics in the philosophy of religion furnishes a much-needed corrective-Religious Education

John Smith is Clark Professor Emeritus at Yale University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780823216253
ISBN 10	082321625X
Title	Experience and God
Author	John Smith
Series	American Philosophy
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Fordham University Press
Year published	1999-01-01
Number of pages	209
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.