The Severity of God: Religion and Philosophy Reconceived

Description

This book explores the role of divine severity in the character and wisdom of God, and the flux and difficulties of human life in relation to divine salvation. Much has been written on problems of evil, but the matter of divine severity has received relatively little attention. Paul K. Moser discusses the function of philosophy, evidence and miracles in approaching God. He argues that if God's aim is to extend without coercion His lasting life to humans, then commitment to that goal could manifest itself in making human life severe, for the sake of encouraging humans to enter into that cooperative good life. In this scenario, divine agape is conferred as free gift, but the human reception of it includes stress and struggle in the face of conflicting powers and priorities. Moser's work will be of great interest to students of the philosophy of religion, and theology.

Paul K. Moser is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University. His most recent books include The Elusive God: Reorienting Religious Epistemology (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and The Evidence for God: Religious Knowledge Reexamined (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He is editor of Jesus and Philosophy: New Essays (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and co-editor, with Daniel Howard-Snyder, of Divine Hiddenness (Cambridge University Press, 2002) and, with Michael McFall, of The Wisdom of the Christian Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2012). Moser is editor of the American Philosophical Quarterly.

'This is an easily readable and compelling book in many respects. The present reviewer found its orientation of religious epistemology around the revelatory event of Jesus Christ much needed. Moser also shows a keen eye for biblical detail. The book is rich with exegetical work and insight.' Reviews in Religion and Theology 'A rewarding reminder of some traditional but neglected important truths connected to the fact that, if the God of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures exists, then the fact will be relevant to every area of inquiry, including how people come to know this fact itself.' Marginalia Review of Books '[The author] incorporates the latest findings and interpretive models on Cypriote history into this thought-provoking survey ... marks the most comprehensive, up-to-date assessment available of Cypriote pre- and protohistory ... Essential. All research libraries, students, and professionals, all levels.' Choice