Contemporary Religious Thinkers: From Idealist Metaphysicians to Existentialist Theologians

This volume contains readings in the religious thought of the present century, drawn from the works of about thirty philosophers and theologians. It can be used as a companion to Professor Macquarrie’s Twentieth Century Religious Thought, but it may also be used independently, as it has abundant introductory comments. The first part of the book contains selections from writers who reflect the many varieties of the nineteenth-century idealist tradition which was still an important influence at the turn of the century. The second part represents the schools of naturalism, realism and empiricism, very much alive in the English-speaking countries. The final part contains the writings of those whose thought is shaped by life and action - pragmatists, personalists and existentialists. Here, in brief, are the forces which have shaped theological thinking today.