Revelation and Reconciliation: An Angle on Modernity

Stephen Williams' Revelation and Reconciliation offers a new perspective on the intellectual breakdown of Christianity in the West, focusing on the conflict between belief in human moral self-sufficiency and Christian belief in reconciliation in history. He challenges thinkers such as Michael Polanyi and Colin Gunton and examines the contributions of Descartes, Locke, Barth, and Nietzsche to arrive at conclusions on the theological reading of intellectual history and the prospects of revitalizing a contemporary Christian belief in reconciliation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 210 pages
Publication date: 25 March 2021
Publisher: James Clarke & Co Ltd

This extensively revised second edition of Revelation and Reconciliation, originally published by Cambridge University Press in 1995, presents a fresh perspective on the intellectual collapse of Christianity in the West. Contrary to the conventional emphasis on epistemological dilemmas and the clash between reason and revelation, Stephen Williams contends that the underlying conflict revolves around a profound disagreement between human moral self-sufficiency and Christian belief in reconciliation throughout history. Challenging the ideas of thinkers such as the philosopher of science, Michael Polanyi, and the theologian, Colin Gunton, the argument proceeds by examining the contributions of Descartes, Locke, Barth, and Nietzsche, leading to conclusions on the theological interpretation of intellectual history and the potential for revitalizing a contemporary Christian belief in reconciliation in history. Students of both theology and the history of modern thought will find in Williams' analysis an alternative interpretation of the balance of forces in post-Reformation Western thought, with significant implications for how these issues should be addressed.

Weight: 476g
Dimension: 163 x 242 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780227177389