"When Darwin returned to Britain from the Beagle voyage in 1836, the most talked-about scientific books were the Bridgewater Treatises. This series of eight books was funded by a bequest of the last Earl of Bridgewater, and they were authored by leading men of science, appointed by the President of the Royal Society, and intended to explore "the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, as manifested in the creation." Securing public attention beyond all expectations, the series gave Darwin's generation a range of approaches to one of the great questions of the age: how to incorporate the newly emerging disciplinary sciences into Britain's overwhelmingly Christian culture. Drawing on a wealth of archival and published sources, including many unexplored by historians, Jonathan R. Topham examines how and to what extent the series contributed to a sense of congruence between Christianity and the sciences in the generation before the infamous Victorian "conflict between science and religion." He does so by drawing on the distinctive insights of book history, using close attention to the production, circulation, and use of the books to open up new perspectives not only on aspects of early Victorian science but also on the whole subject of science and religion. Its innovative focus on practices of authorship, publishing, and reading helps us to understand the everyday considerations and activities through which the religious culture of early Victorian science was fashioned. And in doing so, Reading the Book of Nature powerfully reimagines the world in which a young Charles Darwin learned how to think about the implications of his theory"--

The conviction that Nature was God's second revelation played a crucial role in early modern Dutch culture. This book offers a fascinating account on how Dutch intellectuals contemplated, investigated, represented and collected natural objects, and how the notion of the 'Book of Nature' was transformed.

Is stewardship a useful way of regarding our relationship with our environment - or is it a dangerous excuse for plunder? Is it possible for us to be effective stewards? This book gathers together expositions of stewardship with criticisms of the concept and adds other contributions written especially for this collection.

Examines ways in which beliefs and values interact with science and science teaching

Reimagining Nature is a new introduction to the fast developing area of natural theology, written by one of the world’s leading theologians. The text engages in serious theological dialogue whilst looking at how past developments might illuminate and inform theory and practice in the present. This text sets out to explore what a properly Christian approach to natural theology might look like and how this relates to alternative interpretations of our experience of the natural world Alister McGrath is ideally placed to write the book as one of the world’s best known theologians and a chief proponent of natural theology This new work offers an account of the development of natural theology throughout history and informs of its likely contribution in the present This feeds in current debates about the relationship between science and religion, and religion and the humanities Engages in serious theological dialogue, primarily with Augustine, Aquinas, Barth and Brunner, and includes the work of natural scientists, philosophers of science, and poets

This collection casts light on various aspects of the life and thought of Nicholas of Cusa. The first part is concerned with the context in which he made his contributions. The second part is concerned with Nicholas' work for ecclesiastical reform and his thought on the Church. The third part deals with Cusanus' ideas on Christ and mystical experience, as well as the larger significance of his speculative works.

Reformation Thought Praise for previous editions: “Theologically informed, lucid, supremely accessible: no wonder McGrath’s introduction to the Reformation has staying power!” —Denis R. Janz, Loyola University “Vigorous, brisk, and highly stimulating. The reader will be thoroughly engaged from the outset, and considerably enlightened at the end.” —Dr. John Platt, Oxford University “[McGrath] is one of the best scholars and teachers of the Reformation... Teachers will rejoice in this wonderfully useful book.” —Teaching History Reformation Thought: An Introduction is a clear, engaging, and accessible introduction to the European Reformation of the sixteenth century. Written for readers with little to no knowledge of Christian theology or history, this indispensable guide surveys the ideas of the prominent thought leaders of the period, as well as its many movements, including Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anabaptism, and the Catholic and English Reformations. The text offers readers a framework to interpret the events of the Reformation in full view of the intellectual landscape and socio-political issues that fueled its development. Based on Alister McGrath’s acclaimed lecture course at Oxford University, the fully updated fifth edition incorporates the latest academic research in historical theology. Revised and expanded chapters describe the cultural backdrop of the Reformation, discuss the Reformation’s background in late Renaissance humanism and medieval scholasticism, and distill the findings of recent scholarship, including work on the history of the Christian doctrine of justification. A wealth of pedagogical features—including illustrations, updated bibliographies, a glossary, a chronology of political and historical ideas, and several appendices—supplement McGrath’s clear explanations. Written by a world-renowned theologian, Reformation Thought: An Introduction, Fifth Edition upholds its reputation as the ideal resource for university and seminary courses on Reformation thought and the widespread change it inspired in Christian belief and practice.

The computer revolution is upon us. The future of books and of reading are debated. Will there be books in the next millennium? Will we still be reading? As uncertain as the answers to these questions might be, as clear is the message about the value of the book expressed by medieval writers. The contributors to the volume The Book and the Magic of Reading in the Middle Ages explore the significance of the written document as the key icon of a whole era. Both philosophers and artists, both poets and clerics wholeheartedly subscribed to the notion that reading and writing represented essential epistemological tools for spiritual, political, religious, and philosophical quests. To gain a deeper understanding of the cultural significance of the medieval book, the contributors to this volume examine pertinent statements by medieval philosophers and French, German, English, Spanish, and Italian poets.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most important figures in American nature writing, yet until now readers have had no book devoted to this central theme in his work. "The Best Read Naturalist" fills this lacuna, placing several of Emerson’s lesser-known pieces of nature writing in conversation with his canonical essays. Organized chronologically, the thirteen selections—made up of sermons, lectures, addresses, and essays—reveal an engagement with natural history that spanned Emerson’s career. As we watch him grapple with what he called the "book of nature," a more environmentally connected thinker emerges—a "green" Emerson deeply concerned with the physical world and fascinated with the ability of science to reveal a correspondence between the order of nature and that of the mind. "The Best Read Naturalist" illuminates the vital influence that the study of natural history had on the development of Emerson’s mature philosophy.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1838.