A Natural Theology for Our Time [Book Review]

Based on the 1964 Morse Lectures delivered at the Union Theological Seminary, this brief volume provides the best introduction to Hartshorne's defense of natural theology and the distinctive themes that he has developed in exploring religious and theological matters. Once again he calls for throwing off the intellectual chains in which the Aristotelian, so-called Platonic and neo-Platonic influences have confined theological discussion and for repudiating the claims of Hume and Kant concerning natural theology. Whether discussing the meaning of God, worship, love, the status of theistic proofs, the relations between religion and science, Hartshorne has fresh insights to share. There is a vital optimism that pervades these lectures about the future of natural theology and its ability to answer rationally its critics.--R. J. B.