Characters in Search of Their Author: The Gifford Lectures, 1999-2000 [Hardcover]

InCharacters In Search of Their Author, the Gifford Lectures delivered at the University of Glasgow in 1999-2000, Ralph McInerny discusses natural theology as it can be discussed in the present philosophical climate. The first five lectures ask Whatever Happened to Natural Theology? , and trace the fate of philosophical efforts to establish the existence and nature of God in modern times. In the second set of lectures, dealing with The Recovery of Natural Theology, McInerny defends the viability of the philosophical effort against certain dominant trends in contemporary philosophy. It has been the practise of Gifford Lecturers to write a book based on the lectures, often years after the event. This book contains the text of the lectures McInerny actually delivered.

Ralph McInerny is Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies and director of the Jacques Maritain Center, University of Notre Dame. He is the author of numerous works in philosophy, literature, and journalism, includingA First Glance at St. Thomas Aquinas, also published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

In lucidity and breadth and depth,Characters in Search of their Authorresembles Etienne Gilsons Unison of Philosophical Experience, and, like the work of Gilson, should be a permanent addition to the personal library of anyone who is attempting to understand the animosity of contemporary philosophy to matters of faith. The Review of Metaphysics

The main strengths of the book are its breadth and conciseness in examining an important array of contemporary objections to natural theology and the interesting use and analysis of a variety of thinkers in the Christian religious and Western philosophical tradition. M.s book is a well-written, philosophically interesting contribution to a contemporary philosophy of religion. I highly recommend it to both the scholar and the interested layperson. Theological Studies

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