Book picks similar to
The Principle of Sufficient Reason: A Reassessment by Alexander R. Pruss
philosophy
metaphysics
philosophy-of-religion
reason
Near-Death Experiences as Evidence for the Existence of God and Heaven: A Brief Introduction in Plain Language
J. Steve Miller - 2012
Miller delivers!" - Jeffrey Long, MD Reports of near-death experiences (NDEs) are flooding the media with books, articles and interviews. People describe hovering over their bodies, details of their surgeries, talking with deceased relatives, and reviewing their lives in vivid detail, often while their brains should be incapable of producing rational thought or memories. While the accounts are no doubt interesting, do they provide any solid evidence for the afterlife and the existence of God? Miller argues, in nontechnical and engaging prose, that it does indeed. He began his study doubting that NDEs provided such evidence, but found himself convinced by the weight of the evidence. In this multiple award-winning book, the reader will explore: The common naturalistic explanations for NDEs. Evidence that NDEs point to God and heaven. The results of 35 years of research into NDEs by doctors and other professionals, fully documented for those who want to study further. A comparison of NDEs with Christian teachings. Recommendations of key books, researchers, and publications for further study. "Can we survive death? Is there a God or a heaven? Miller provides the discerning reader with ample reason to think that the answer to these all-important questions is 'yes'." - Dr. Peter Schaefer, Senior Research Psychologist, Department of Defense
The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom
Gerald Schroeder - 1994
Comparing the key events of the Old Testament with the latest findings in physics, biochemistry, and paleontology, a physicist and theologian shows that science and the Bible can be reconciled to resolve the age-old debates about God.
The Fall of Interpretation: Philosophical Foundations for a Creational Hermeneutic
James K.A. Smith - 2000
Theologians have shared this concern because of their interest in interpreting biblical texts. As postmodern critics have challenged the possibility of understanding any texts, the issue of how to respond has become acute.Among myriad approaches to hermeneutics, both secular and Christian theorists have often assumed the same thing: that the need for interpretation is a lamentable, scandalous, even fallen affair. In an ideal world there would be no need for interpretation, since communication would be immediate, instantaneous and errorless.James K. A. Smith, in this provocative book, cogently surveys contemporary hermeneutical discussion, identifying three traditions and how they understand interpretation. Traditional evangelicals Rex Koivisto and Richard Lints represent a present immediacy model. Wolfhart Pannenberg, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Jargen Habermas represent an eschatological immediacy model. And Martin Heidegger and Jacques Derrida represent a violent mediation model.Questioning the foundational assumption that these secular and religious theories share, Smith deftly draws on and reworks Augustine's biblical understanding of the goodness of creation to propose a creational-pneumatic model of hermeneutics. In his words, such a hermeneutic "would link (Augustine's) insights on the temporality of human be-ing and language with his affirmation of the fundamental goodness creation: the result is an understanding of the status of interpretation as a 'creational task, ' a task which is constitutive of fortitude and thus not a 'labor' to be escaped or overcome. Such an 'interpretation ofinterpretation' revalues embodiment and ultimately ends in a ethical respect for difference as the gift of a creating God who loves difference and loves differently".
Metaphysics (Foundations of Philosophy Series)
Richard Taylor - 1963
This classic, provocative introduction to classical metaphysical questions focuses on appreciating the problems, rather than attempting to proffer answers.
Taoism
Ken Cohen - 1999
In easy-to-follow language, Ken Cohen reveals Lao Tzu's vast spiritual legacy, including: origins, philosophy, and religion; keys to ethical living, inner silence, and simplicity; Taoist meditations, prayers, and rituals, plus teachings on diet, poetry, feng shui, dream yoga; and much more.
The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
Michael Shermer - 2014
The Age of Reason and the Enlightenment led theorists to apply scientific reasoning to the non-scientific disciplines of politics, economics, and moral philosophy. Instead of relying on the woodcuts of dissected bodies in old medical texts, physicians opened bodies themselves to see what was there; instead of divining truth through the authority of an ancient holy book or philosophical treatise, people began to explore the book of nature for themselves through travel and exploration; instead of the supernatural belief in the divine right of kings, people employed a natural belief in the right of democracy.In this provocative and compelling book, Shermer will explain how abstract reasoning, rationality, empiricism, skepticism—scientific ways of thinking—have profoundly changed the way we perceive morality and, indeed, move us ever closer to a more just world.
The Freethinker's Prayer Book
Khushwant Singh - 2012
The Bible and the Granth Sahib speak to us from these pages, as do the Quran and the Vedas. The songs of mystics and saints like Kabir, Rumi and Teresa of vila mix with the verse of poets like Ghalib, Tagore and Keats. In the final section, Khushwant Singh shares some of his own life codes and those of the rebels and mavericks he most admires. Full of spirit, wit and good sense and as free of humbug as the man himself this is a book of inspiration, comfort and entertainment for every discerning reader.
Al-Ghazzali on Knowing Yourself and God
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali - 2003
He says that you should know that you are born with an outer form and an inner essence and it is that inner essence or the spiritual heart that you have to come to know in order to know who you are.
The Scientific Image
Bas C. Van Fraassen - 1980
In this book van Fraassen develops an alternative to scientific realism by constructing and evaluating three mutually reinforcing theories.
Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for Ordinary People
Esther Lightcap Meek - 2003
Longing to Know is a book about knowing: knowing how we know things, knowing how we know people, and knowing how we know God. This book is for those who are considering Christianity for the first time, as well as Christians who are struggling with issues related to truth, certainty, and doubt. As such, it is a wonderful resource for evangelists, pastors, and counselors. This unique look at the questions of knowing is both entertaining and approachable. Questions for reflection make it ideal for students of philosophy and all those wrestling with the questions of knowledge.
New Age Bible Versions: An Exhaustive Documentation of the Message, Men & Manuscripts Moving Mankind to the Antichrist's One World Religion
G.A. Riplinger - 1993
It objectively and methodically documents the hidden alliance between new versions and the New Age Movement's One World Religion.
Am I Just My Brain?
Sharon Dirckx - 2019
We are living, thinking creatures who carry around with us an amazing organic supercomputer in our heads. But what is the relationship between our brains and our minds—and ultimately our sense of identity as a person? Are we more than machines? Is free-will an illusion? Do we have a soul? Brain Imaging Scientist Sharon Dirckx lays out the current understanding of who we are from biologists, philosophers, theologians and psychologists, and points towards a bigger picture, that suggests answers to the fundamental questions of our existence. Not just "What am I?", but "Who am I?"—and "Why am I?" Read this book to gain valuable insight into what modern research is telling us about ourselves, or to give a sceptical friend to challenge the idea that we are merely material beings living in a material world.
Surprised by Meaning
Alister E. McGrath - 2010
But information is not the same as meaning, nor is knowledge identical with wisdom. Many people feel engulfed by a tsunami of facts in which they can find no meaning. In thirteen short, accessible chapters McGrath, author of the bestselling The Dawkins Delusion, leads the reader through a nontechnical discussion of science and faith. How do we make sense of the world around us? Are belief in science and the Christian faith compatible? Does the structure of the universe point toward the existence of God?McGrath's goal is to help readers see that science is neither anathema to faith, nor does it supersede faith. Both science and faith help with the overriding human desire to make sense of things. Faith is a complex idea. It is not a blind leap into the dark but a joyful discovery of a bigger picture of wondrous things of which we are all a part.
The Complete Book of Enoch
Enoch
The Book of Noah, Testament of Solomon, Book of Giants, and a few other extras are also included in this third ePUB edition. The introduction by David Chariot is perhaps the best short form explanation of the book for those who are familiar with the book and those who are just discovering it. Enoch has been logically organized into chapter/verse settings and canonized in this English version which will resemble the King James Version of the Scriptures. Additionally, an XML file has been included with archaeological evidence of fossilized giant humans found throughout the world. All known fragments of the Book of Giants has been included in this edition along with a listing of external references to Enoch in other manuscripts such as the Book of Jubilees and other Scriptures. This is a standardized reference material regarding the body of knowledge presented in the Book of Enoch.
The Origins of Greek Thought
Jean-Pierre Vernant - 1962
The emergence of rational thought, Vernant claims, is closely linked to the advent of the open-air politics that characterized life in the Greek polis. Vernant points out that when the focus of Mycenaean society gave way to the agora, the change had profound social and cultural implications. Social experience could become the object of pragmatic thought for the Greeks, he writes, because in the city-state it lent itself to public debate. The decline of myth dates from the day the first sages brought human order under discussion and sought to define it.... Thus evolved a strictly political thought, separate from religion, with its own vocabulary, concepts, principles, and theoretical aims.