Download or read book Letters to Doubting Thomas written by C. Stephen Layman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-10-16 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When people encounter an argument for or against God's existence, it often raises more questions than it answers. In Letters to Doubting Thomas, C. Stephen Layman offers a fresh, insightful approach to the issue of God's existence--a way to organize what can seem like a blizzard of claims and concepts--bringing clarity to a debate often mired in confusion. Layman explores the evidence for the existence of God in a series of fictionalized letters between two characters--Zachary, a philosopher, and Thomas, an old college friend who appeals to Zach for help in sorting out his thoughts about God. As their correspondence grows, Zachary leads Thomas through an informal and highly readable comparison of Naturalism (the belief that there is no God and that ultimate reality is physical reality), and Theism (the idea that there is an almighty, perfectly good God). In engaging letters that break down complex philosophical arguments into easily digestible bits, the two friends delve into such weighty topics as the reliability of religious experience, various arguments for God's existence (such as the cosmological, design, and moral arguments), the question of free will, and the problem of evil. A piece at a time, they build an argument that shows that Theism, on balance, provides a better explanation of the world and human life than does Naturalism. Here then is a highly accessible account of the major arguments for and against the existence of God, capturing some of the best new insights of modern philosophy in a marvelously clear and engaging format.
Download or read book Letters to Doubting Thomas written by C. Stephen Layman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Arguments for or against God's existence can be intense, complex, and disconcerting; in fact, they often raise more questions than they answer. In [this book], C. Stephen Layman offers an innovative approach to the debate--a way to organize a seeming multitude of related claims and ideas--bringing clarity to a discussion that is often mired in confusion."--Publisher description, from p. [4] of cover.
Download or read book Letters to Doubting Thomas written by Charles Stephen Layman and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exchange of letters between two characters on the existence of God, this work provides a cumulative case for Theism (the belief that God exists). Chapter by chapter, theism is compared with Naturalism, concluding that Theism (on balance) provides an explanation of the world and human life than does Naturalism.
Download or read book Doubting Thomas written by Mark A. Beliles and published by Morgan James Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-21 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A religious historian argues that historical revisionism has distorted the religious views of Thomas Jefferson, making him appear far more skeptical than he was. Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers intended a strict separation of church and state, right? He would have been very upset to find out about a child praying in a public school or a government building used for religious purposes, correct? Actually, the history on this has been very distorted. The standard accepted story on the faith of Thomas Jefferson (or the lack thereof) is not accurate. While he did harbor some doubts about orthodox Christianity by the end of his life, he was actually quite active in supporting the church in America. Meanwhile, in his name today, because of a misunderstanding about “the separation of church and state” (a phrase that comes from an obscure letter he wrote), religious expression is being curtailed all over the place in modern America. And he would absolutely object to that, as seen in his own actions and writings. While Jefferson may seem to be the patron saint of the ACLU, his words and actions showed that he would totally disagree with the idea of driving God out of the public square. Doubting Thomas documents that. In short, it’s time to set the record straight.
Download or read book Doubting Thomas written by Glenn W. Most and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2007-09-30 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About the disciple known as Doubting Thomas, everyone knows at least this much: he stuck his finger into the risen Jesus’ wounds. Or did he? A fresh look at the Gospel of John reveals how little we may really understand about this most perplexing of biblical figures, and how much we might learn from the strange twists and turns Thomas’s story has taken over time. From the New Testament, Glenn W. Most traces Thomas’s permutations through the centuries: as Gnostic saint, missionary to India, paragon of Christian orthodoxy, hero of skepticism, and negative example of doubt, blasphemy, stupidity, and violence. Rife with paradoxes and tensions, these creative transformations at the hands of storytellers, theologians, and artists tell us a great deal about the complex relations between texts and their interpretations—and about faith, love, personal identity, the body, and twins, among other matters. Doubting Thomas begins with a close reading of chapter 20 of the Gospel of John, set against the conclusions of the other Gospels, and ends with a detailed analysis of the painting of this subject by Caravaggio, setting it within the pictorial traditions of late antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. Along the way, Most considers narrative reactions to John’s account by storytellers of various religious persuasions, and Christian theologians’ interpretations of John 20 from the second century ad until the Counter-Reformation. His work shows how Thomas’s story, in its many guises, touches upon central questions of religion, philosophy, hermeneutics, and, not least, life.
Download or read book Doubting Thomas A Novel written by Matthew Clark Davison and published by Bywater Books. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thomas McGurrin is a fourth-grade teacher and openly gay man at a private primary school serving Portland, Oregon's wealthy progressive elite when he is falsely accused of inappropriately touching a male student. The accusation comes just as Thomas is thrust back into the center of his unusual family by his younger brother's battle with cancer. Although cleared of the accusation, Thomas is forced to resign from a job he loves during a potentially life-changing family drama. Davison's novel explores the discrepancy between the progressive ideals and persistent negative stereotypes among the privileged regarding social status, race, and sexual orientation and the impact of that discrepancy on friendships and family relations.
Download or read book The Book of Thomas the Doubter written by George Tyrrell and published by Booklocker.com. This book was released on 2015-02-01 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE BOOK OF THOMAS THE DOUBTER: Uncovering the Secret Teachings is a biblical, historical novel based on the Gospel of Thomas and Acts of Thomas uncovered among the ancient Nag Hammadi texts. The book depicts Thomas carrying out Jesus' secret teachings as a disciple and as an apostle in India. In India, there are sites and landmarks commemorating Thomas. Also in India are the Thomas Christians (the Syrian Nasrani), affirming their founder as the disciple Thomas.
Download or read book A Case for the Existence of God written by Dean L. Overman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2009 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines questions in regards to the world's origin, how it functions, and why; and features logical arguments that are supported by physics and theology; and also discusses the relationship between science and religion.
Download or read book Letters to Doubting Thomas written by C. Stephen Layman and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2008-06-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguments for or against God's existence can be intense, complex, and disconcerting; in fact, they often raise more questions than they answer. In Letters to Doubting Thomas: A Case for the Existence of God, C. Stephen Layman offers an innovative approach to the debate—a way to organize a seeming multitude of related claims and ideas—bringing clarity to a discussion that is often mired in confusion. Letters to Doubting Thomas explores the evidence for the existence of God through an exchange of fictionalized letters between two characters—Zachary, a philosopher (and believer), and Thomas, a layperson (and doubter) who appeals to Zachary for help in sorting out his own thoughts about God. Point by point, Zachary leads Thomas through a highly readable comparison of Naturalism (the belief that there is no God and that ultimate reality is physical reality) and Theism (the idea that there is an almighty, perfectly good God). Incorporating recent developments in philosophy, each exchange of letters addresses one complex philosophical issue, breaking it down into manageable units. Topics covered include free will, religious experience, the cosmological argument, the fine-tuning design argument, the problem of evil, divine foreknowledge and human freedom, the ontological argument, the divine command theory of ethics, and a moral argument for God's existence. As the dialogue proceeds, Zachary develops a cogent, cumulative case for Theism over Naturalism, while Thomas raises critical questions all along the way. Featuring a unique format and lucid writing style, Letters to Doubting Thomas is ideal for courses in the philosophy of religion and accessible to students with little or no background in philosophy. It is also engaging reading for professors, theologians, and anyone interested in the question of the existence of God.
Download or read book Letters to a Young Doubter written by William Sloane Coffin and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Jefferson Bible written by Thomas Jefferson and published by Wyatt North Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2014-01-05 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it is formally titled, was a book constructed by Thomas Jefferson in the latter years of his life by cutting and pasting numerous sections from various Bibles as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson's composition excluded sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Four Evangelists. In 1895, the Smithsonian Institution under the leadership of librarian Cyrus Adler purchased the original Jefferson Bible from Jefferson's great-granddaughter Carolina Randolph for $400. A conservation effort commencing in 2009, in partnership with the museum's Political History department, allowed for a public unveiling in an exhibit open from November 11, 2011, through May 28, 2012, at the National Museum of American History.
Download or read book Letters to the Scattered and Other Papers written by Thomas Toke Lynch and published by . This book was released on 1872 with total page 598 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Letters of Saint Teresa written by Saint Teresa (of Avila) and published by . This book was released on 1921 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Master s Men written by John MacArthur and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses elements of the commissioning of Jesus' disciples: their initiation, their impact, and their identity. Based on Matthew 10:1-4.
Download or read book Israelite Religions written by Richard S. Hess and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2007-10-15 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Helps readers consider the importance of contemporary archaeological discoveries and juxtapose them with the biblical narrative to understand ancient Israelite religions.
Download or read book Daylight Atheism written by Adam Lee and published by . This book was released on 2012-08-09 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Adam Lee's writing has made him one of the most widely-read atheist bloggers - and rightfully so. This effort should secure him a place amongst atheism's most informative and relatable authors."--J.T. Eberhard, blogger at Freethought Blogs, campus organizing coordinator for the Secular Student AllianceTo a believer, atheism can seem dark, cold, and frightening. Adam Lee opens the shutters and lets the sunlight in. Daylight Atheism speaks clearly and passionately of the joy of living a reality-based existence guided by respect for each human person. Highly recommended. --Mary Johnson, author of An Unquenchable Thirst: A MemoirDaylight Atheism sums up the freethinking beliefs held by Adam Lee, known for his popular blog of the same name.Says Adam Lee: "Even without gods, existence is overflowing with possibility. This life offers so much transcendent beauty, so many deep and beckoning mysteries, and so many opportunities for happiness that there's no reason to ever be a nihilist. . . atheism is nothing less than a resounding affirmation of this life."
Download or read book Inheritors of the Earth written by Chris D. Thomas and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human activity has irreversibly changed the natural environment. But the news isn't all bad. It's accepted wisdom today that human beings have permanently damaged the natural world, causing extinction, deforestation, pollution, and of course climate change. But in Inheritors of the Earth, biologist Chris Thomas shows that this obscures a more hopeful truth -- we're also helping nature grow and change. Human cities and mass agriculture have created new places for enterprising animals and plants to live, and our activities have stimulated evolutionary change in virtually every population of living species. Most remarkably, Thomas shows, humans may well have raised the rate at which new species are formed to the highest level in the history of our planet. Drawing on the success stories of diverse species, from the ochre-colored comma butterfly to the New Zealand pukeko, Thomas overturns the accepted story of declining biodiversity on Earth. In so doing, he questions why we resist new forms of life, and why we see ourselves as unnatural. Ultimately, he suggests that if life on Earth can recover from the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs, it can survive the onslaughts of the technological age. This eye-opening book is a profound reexamination of the relationship between humanity and the natural world.
