Overview

"In ""Faith"", the theologian Theo Hobson explores the notion of faith and the role it plays in our lives. He unpacks the concept to ask whether faith is dependent on religion or whether it is also a general secular phenomenon. In exploring this question Hobson ranges widely over theology, philosophy, politics and psychology and engages with the writings of Christian and atheist thinkers alike. The book begins by considering attitudes to faith in recent works of atheism. Hobson shows how Richard Dawkins and other writers, while attacking faith in one sense, have exhibited faith in another. The book goes on to explore the wider meaning of faith, including our faith in free-market capitalism, the part faith plays in democratic politics and the role faith has in our psychological well-being. To understand the role of faith in modernity, Hobson argues, we must attend to the specifically Christian concept of faith. Hobson then returns to the religious meaning of faith by exploring the account of faith in the Bible and charting the tension between faith and reason in Christian thought. The final chapter takes an autobiographical turn and relates how the author came to take faith seriously and to question what Christians are meant to have faith in. From the Old Testament story of Abraham to the visionary poetry of W. B. Yeats, from the polemics of Luther to the rhetoric of Barack Obama, the author presents us with a fresh and illuminating meditation on the nature of faith. In doing so, he reveals how trust and faith, the religious and secular, are utterly entwined and how the attraction of religious faith outweighs the intellectual difficulties it presents."

Full Product Details

Author:   Theo Hobson
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Acumen Publishing Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 13.80cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.204kg
ISBN:  

9781844652020

ISBN 10:   1844652025
Pages:   160
Publication Date:   01 September 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Reviews

The book exhibits the author's usual qualities of forceful argument expressed with a conversational elegance. - Diarmaid MacCulloch, University of Oxford With his fearlessness, his honesty about the intellectual difficulties faith presents, his literary sensibilities, and the liberty he takes in not feeling the need to defend every corner, Hobson has produced an informative, confident and original meditation on faith. A really refreshing read. - Third Way

Author Information

"Theo Hobson is a Christian theologian and writer. His books include Anarchy, Church and Utopia (2005), Against Establishment (2003) and Milton's Vision (2008). He regularly writes for The Times, Guardian and the Tablet. He is current the Spectator's faith bloggerA""."

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions