The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology

The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology is the first collection to consider the full breadth of natural theology from both historical and contemporary perspectives and to bring together leading scholars to offer accessible high-level accounts of the major themes. The volume 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.

Read the full article on my blog.

What Jesus Accomplished

In my last blog I took a modest line about claims for the divinity of Jesus. In this blog I turn to what Jesus accomplished, and here I take a stronger line. In both cases I believe I am following the New Testament, which is much stronger about the ‘work’ of Christ than about the ‘person’ of Christ.

Strong claims are made for the resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament, but it is interesting that the claim is generally that ‘God raised him up’, rather than that Jesus rose of his own accord, because he was God. That way of phrasing it (‘God raise him up’) seems to indicate that it is not being claimed that Jesus is God.

Read the full article on my website.

The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality

The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality is an interdisciplinary reference for a rapidly emerging approach to contemporary science. It reflects the recent broadening of the field of psychology of religion to include the psychology of spirituality, and engages with some of the post-materialistic assumptions associated with contemporary spirituality. The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality codifies the leading empirical evidence in this emerging field This overarching work provides both a foundation and a roadmap for what is truly a new ideological age.

Read about the book in full on my website.

Was Jesus God?

The claim made by Christians that Jesus was God has become problematic for many people, and deters many people who might otherwise think of themselves as Christians. I think Christians have become over-dogmatic about what Christians have to believe about Jesus, in a way that has become an obstacle to people following him.

Read 'Was Jesus God?' in full on my website.

Handbook of Emotion Regulation

In the Handbook of Emotion Regulation, contributor Fraser Watts, considers the role of religion in emotion regulation. The first section of the chapter considers changing concepts of religion and emotion. Subsequent sections deal with the contribution of different aspects of religion to emotion regulation, with a section on religious practice on the role of mediation in emotion regulation.

Read the full article on my blog.