Will appeal to thoughtful readers who ponder the 'big question' of the meaning of life. It explores the question both in a philosophical way and through using classical and contemporary Jewish texts. Both philosophy and Judaism run into ineliminable doubt. This shared circumstance can promote honest dialogue.

There is a lively discussion in contemporary philosophy that explores the meaning of life or, more modestly, meaning in life. Philosophers, for the most part, assume that religion has little to contribute to this inquiry. They believe that the Western religions, such as Judaism, have doctrinaire beliefs which have become implausible and can no longer satisfy the search for meaning. In this book, Alan L. Mittleman argues that this view is misconceived. He offers a presentation of core Jewish beliefs by using classical and contemporary texts that address the question of the meaning of life in a philosophical spirit. That spirit includes profound self-questioning and self-criticism. Such beliefs are not doctrinaire: Jewish sources, such as the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes, are, in fact, open to an absurdist reading. Mittleman demonstrates that both philosophy and Judaism are prone to ineliminable doubts and perplexities. Far from pre-empting a conversation, they promote honest dialogue.

Exile and Restoration in Jewish Thought presents the history of an idea originating at the intersection of Judaic piety and the social history of the Jews: faith in a protective sovereign deity amid contrary conditions. Exiled primordially (Eden), during the Patriarchal era, in the sixth century bce, and from the first century to the twentieth, the Jewish experience of alienation has been the historical backdrop against which affirmations of divine benevolence have been constructed. While histories of Jewish thought have tended to accentuate the speculative creativity of medieval and modern Jewish philosophers, the intellectual tradition can come into focus only with attention to these thinkers' understanding of diaspora and persecution. Ralph Keen describes the distinguishing feature of Jewish thought as a religious hermeneutic in which the primitive promise made to Abraham is preserved not just as a pious memory but as a certain hope for eventual restoration. Intended for readers with some familiarity with the history of philosophy, this book offers the historical context necessary for understanding the distinctively Judaic character of this tradition of thought, and elucidates the role of religious experience in the long process of negotiating between adversity and expectation.

Philosophy of religion has experienced a renaissance in recent times, paralleling the resurgence in public debate about the place and value of religion in contemporary Western societies. The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising over thirty chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into seven parts: theoretical orientations conceptions of divinity epistemology of religious belief metaphysics and religious language religion and politics religion and ethics religion and scientific scrutiny. Within these sections central issues, debates and problems are examined, including: religious experience, religion and superstition, realism and anti-realism, scientific interpretation of religious texts, feminist approaches to religion, religion in the public square, tolerance, religion and meta-ethics, religion and cognitive science, and the meaning of life. Together, they offer readers an informed understanding of the current state of play in the liveliest areas of contemporary philosophy of religion. The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion is essential reading for students and researchers of philosophy of religion from across the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Includes section "Book reviews."

Vols. for 1969- include a section of abstracts.

Taking an unwavering historical approach to its subject, Breslauer's text was born out of a contention that student's best learn the fundamentals of Judaism through an engagement with the historical contexts that generated the variety of Jewish religious beliefs and practices. Encountering Jewish religious expressions both within particular historical periods and across chronological eras, readers of this text will discover Judaism as a dynamic tradition, not merely a set of static ideas and actions. Above all, they will come to recognize Judaism as a religion marked perennially by a notable and important diversity.