Will Humanity Survive Religion?: Beyond Divisive Absolutes [Hardcover]

When the human sciences in the West followed the physical sciences in the 18th and 19th centuries with new measurements, methods, and language, the metaphysics of infinity lost its credibility. The response of Western religions was to retrench in a stronger authoritarianism, especially by the last half of the 19th century. While the new human sciences were being extended even to study the history and philosophy of religions, those religions themselves placed more emphasis on their understanding of the Absolute or Unquestionable. That split became a burden both to those who were religious and to those who were not.



Here, W. Royce Clark argues that humanitys survival may depend on the development of a universal or inclusive ethic in which religions move beyond their Absolutes. Clark poses the sharp challenge: Are religious communities ready to abandon the foundations that until now they have insisted were the only adequate foundation for ethics?

In Will Humanity Survive Religion? Beyond Divisive Absolutes, W. Royce Clark confronts the burden borne by contemporary religious communities: the problem of reconciling scientific ways of understanding the world with the absolutist traditions inherited from the distant past. He does not confine his examination to the works of Western philosophers and theologians, but also uses insights gained from eastern religions, fictional literature, and even music theory. Among others, he analyzes the attempts of thinkers such as Crossan, Pannenberg, and Rubenstein to come to terms with the significance of ancient texts.

This is not a volume to ease the doubts of the doubter. It is a call to stimulate the seeker to find a universal ethic based on human relationships. Carolyn Hunter, emerita, Pepperdine University

This massive volume of philosophical theology is a rewarding intellectual journey of an age-old Hegelian dialectic: thelcå