{"product_id":"the-open-secret-isbn-9781405126922","title":"The Open Secret","description":"Natural theology, in the view of many, is in crisis. In this long-awaited book, Alister McGrath sets out a new vision for natural theology, re-establishing its legitimacy and utility.  \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eA timely and innovative resource on natural theology: the exploration of knowledge of God as it is observed through nature\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eWritten by internationally regarded theologian and author of numerous bestselling books, Alister McGrath\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eDevelops an intellectually rigorous vision of natural theology as a point of convergence between the Christian faith, the arts and literature, and the natural sciences, opening up important possibilities for dialogue and cross-fertilization\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eTreats natural theology as a cultural phenomenon, broader than Christianity itself yet always possessing a distinctively Christian embodiment\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eExplores topics including beauty, goodness, truth, and the theological imagination; how investigating nature gives rise to both theological and scientific theories; the idea of a distinctively Christian approach to nature; and how natural theology can function as a bridge between Christianity and other faiths\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments ix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 Natural Theology: Introducing an Approach 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Nature” is an Indeterminate Concept 7\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology is an Empirical Discipline 10\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Christian Natural Theology Concerns the Christian God 12\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Natural Theology is Incarnational, Not Dualist 14\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResonance, Not Proof: Natural Theology and Empirical Fit 15\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeyond Sense-Making: The Good, the True, and the Beautiful 18\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I The Human Quest for the Transcendent: The Context for Natural Theology 21\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 The Persistence of the Transcendent 23\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and the Transcendent 28\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Triggers of Transcendent Experiences 33\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Transcendent and Religion 36\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 Thinking About the Transcendent: Three Recent Examples 41\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIris Murdoch: The Transcendent and the Sublime 46\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRoy Bhaskar: The Intimation of Meta-Reality 50\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJohn Dewey: The Curious Plausibility of the Transcendent 53\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4 Accessing the Transcendent: Strategies and Practices 59\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAscending to the Transcendent from Nature 60\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeeing the Transcendent Through Nature 66\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithdrawing from Nature to Find the Transcendent Within Oneself 69\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiscerning the Transcendent in Nature 73\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 Discernment and the Psychology of Perception 80\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerception is Brain-Based 84\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerception Involves Dynamic Mental Structures 86\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerception is Egocentric and Enactive 92\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerception Pays Attention to Significance 98\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerception Can Be Modulated by Motivation and Affect 102\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHuman Perception and Natural Theology 105\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion to Part I 110\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II The Foundations of Natural Theology: Ground-Clearing and Rediscovery 113\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6 The Open Secret: The Ambiguity of Nature 115\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Mystery of the Kingdom: Jesus of Nazareth and the Natural Realm 117\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Levels of Nature: The Johannine “I am” Sayings 126\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGerard Manley Hopkins on “Seeing” Nature 133\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7 A Dead End? Enlightenment Approaches to Natural Theology 140\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Enlightenment and its Natural Theologies: Historical Reflections 141\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Multiple Translations and Interpretations of the “Book of Nature” 147\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Flawed Psychological Assumptions of the Enlightenment 156\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Barth–Brunner Controversy (1934) and Human Perception 158\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEnlightenment Styles of Natural Theology: Concluding Criticisms 165\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8 A Christian Approach to Natural Theology 171\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn “Seeing” Glory: The Prologue to John’s Gospel 172\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Biblical Example: The Call of Samuel 174\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Christian Tradition as a Framework for Natural Theology 177\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and a Self-Disclosing God 179\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and an Analogy Between God and the Creation 185\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and the Image of God 190\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and the Economy of Salvation 198\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and the Incarnation 209\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion to Part II 216\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart III Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: An Agenda for a Renewed Natural Theology 219\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9 Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: Expanding the Vision for Natural Theology 221\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10 Natural Theology and Truth 232\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResonance, Not Proof: Natural Theology and Sense-Making 233\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Big Picture, Not the Gaps: Natural Theology and Observation of the World 238\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology, Counterintuitive Thinking, and Anthropic Phenomena 240\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and Mathematics: A “Natural” Way of Representing Reality 245\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTruth, Natural Theology, and Other Religious Traditions 248\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Retrieving the Richness of Truth 252\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTruth and a Natural Theology of the Imagination 255\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e11 Natural Theology and Beauty 261\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecovering the Place of Beauty in Natural Theology 262\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Neglect of Beauty: The “Deconversion” of John Ruskin 265\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHugh Miller on the Aesthetic Deficiencies of Sense-Making 268\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJohn Ruskin and the Representation of Nature 271\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Beauty of Theoretical Representations of Nature 273\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeauty, Awe, and the Aesthetic Engagement with Nature 277\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAesthetics and the “Seeing” of Beauty 280\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeauty, Natural Theology, and Christian Apologetics 282\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e12 Natural Theology and Goodness 291\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Moral Vision of Reality 292\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Theology and Natural Law 294\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Eternal Return of Natural Law 297\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Moral Ambivalence of Nature 300\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Knowability of Goodness in Nature 306\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Discernment of Goodness: The Euthyphro Dilemma 310\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion to Part III 312\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e13 Conclusion 314\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBibliography 316\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 366\u003c\/p\u003e  ?Unlike many working in the sciencetheology field, McGrath makes a real effort to address issues of biblical criticism, which gives his work some significant depth, as he incorporates an engagement with the Jesus of history and an application of this to contemporary understandings of natural theology.? ( \u003ci\u003eReviews in Science and Religion\u003c\/i\u003e, May 2009)  \u003cp\u003e\"I tried out his NT approach in a Bible study on one of the 'miracles of creation' with a group of mainly young adults to see if his stratified view of the natural world would 'prove' to be more convincing in this context: it certainly helped.\" (\u003ci\u003eScience and Christian Belief\u003c\/i\u003e, April 2009)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e?McGrath seeks to develop a specifically Christian approach to natural theology, anchoring it in the Christ event, and interpreting natural theology as something that is both historically located in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth and theologically interpreted by the church.? (\u003ci\u003eNew Testament Abstracts\u003c\/i\u003e, January 2009)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e?As we have come to expect from McGrath, the book is historically well-researched, conversant with recent literature, theologically creative, and carefully argued. It will certainly reshape contemporary discussions of natural theology and natural law.? (\u003ci\u003eReligious Studies Review\u003c\/i\u003e, March 2009)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"McGrath's book starts from distinctively Christian Trinitarian theology and then develops what the author sees as ways for Christian beliefs to create a means of seeing nature with a new sense of vision?with the purpose of understanding the connections between Christian belief and natural science. It is extremely well-researched and footnoted, with an extensive bibliography of sources cited. Summing Up: Recommended.\" (\u003ci\u003eCHOICE\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The book is learned, covering a great deal of historical ground.\" (\u003ci\u003eFirst Things\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eAlister E. McGrath\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University and Gifford Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen for 2009. He is a world-renowned theologian, and is the author of numerous best-selling titles.  Natural theology, in the view of many, is in crisis. In his long-awaited book, Alister McGrath sets out a new vision for natural theology, re-establishing its legitimacy and utility. Meeting traditional criticisms head-on, McGrath develops an intellectually rigorous vision of natural theology as a point of convergence between the Christian faith, the arts and literature, and the natural sciences, opening up important possibilities for dialogue, cross-fertilization, and enrichment. Natural theology, he argues, is about seeing nature in a Christian manner, and hence discerning its truth, beauty, and goodness.  \u003cp\u003eThis major book is certain to be a fundamental resource and stimulus for the growing interest in reclaiming a viable natural theology in the early twenty-first century.\u003c\/p\u003e  \"Alister McGrath's \u003ci\u003eThe Open Secret\u003c\/i\u003e provides nothing less than the foundations of a vigorous renewal of natural theology for our time. Theologians and others who have considered natural theology an exhausted topic will have second thoughts after reading this richly nuanced, scholarly, creative, and enjoyable book.\"\u003cbr\u003e –\u003cb\u003eJohn F. Haught\u003c\/b\u003e, Georgetown University\u003cbr\u003e   \u003cp\u003e\"This is vintage McGrath: confident, capacious in scope, brisk in exposition, decisive in argument. Noone is better placed to make a case for a revisionary theology of nature; this book is sure to command a wide audience and to generate profitable debate.\" \u003cbr\u003e –\u003cb\u003eJohn Webster\u003c\/b\u003e, King's College, Aberdeen\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"For much of the twentieth century natural theology was regarded as intellectually moribund and theologically suspect. In this splendid new book, best-selling author and distinguished theologian Alister McGrath issues a vigorous challenge to the old prejudices. Building on the foundation of the classical triad of truth, beauty and goodness, he constructs an impressive case for a new and revitalized natural theology. This is a well-conceived, timely, and thought-provoking volume.\" \u003cbr\u003e –\u003cb\u003ePeter Harrison\u003c\/b\u003e, Harris Manchester College, Oxford\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990304932069,"sku":"NP9781405126922","price":121.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781405126922.jpg?v=1761787280","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-open-secret-isbn-9781405126922","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}