Kelly James Clark

It is widely claimed that notions of gods and religious beliefs are irrelevant or inconsequential to early Chinese (“Confucian”) moral and political thought. Rejecting the claim that religious practice plays a minimal philosophical role, Kelly James Clark and Justin Winslett offer a textual study that maps the religious terrain of early Chinese texts. They analyze the pantheon of extrahumans, from high gods to ancestor spirits, discussing their various representations, as well as examining conceptions of the afterlife and religious ritual. Demonstrating that religious beliefs in early China are both textually endorsed and ritually embodied, this book goes on to show how gods, ancestors and afterlife are philosophically salient. The summative chapter on the role of religious ritual in moral formation shows how religion forms a complex philosophical system capable of informing moral, social, and political conditions.

Religious believers are often commanded to love like God. On classical accounts, God seems a poor model for human beings: an immutable and impassable being seems incapable of the kind of episodic emotion (sympathy, empathy) that seems required for the best sorts of human love. Models more conducive to human love, on the other hand, are often rejected because they seem to limit God's power and glory. This Element looks first at God and then divine love within the Abrahamic traditions—Islam, Christianity and Judaism. It will then turn to love and the problem of hell, which is argued as primarily a problem for Christians. The author discusses the kind of love each tradition asks of humans and wonders, given recent work in the relevant cognitive and social sciences, if such love is even humanly possible. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Religious believers are often commanded to love like God. On classical accounts, God seems a poor model for human beings: an immutable and impassable being seems incapable of the kind of episodic emotion (sympathy, empathy) that seems required for the best sorts of human love. Models more conducive to human love, on the other hand, are often rejected because they seem to limit God's power and glory. This Element looks first at God and then divine love within the Abrahamic traditions—Islam, Christianity and Judaism. It will then turn to love and the problem of hell, which is argued as primarily a problem for Christians. The author discusses the kind of love each tradition asks of humans and wonders, given recent work in the relevant cognitive and social sciences, if such love is even humanly possible. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

It is widely claimed that notions of gods and religious beliefs are irrelevant or inconsequential to early Chinese (“Confucian”) moral and political thought. Rejecting the claim that religious practice plays a minimal philosophical role, Kelly James Clark and Justin Winslett offer a textual study that maps the religious terrain of early Chinese texts. They analyze the pantheon of extrahumans, from high gods to ancestor spirits, discussing their various representations, as well as examining conceptions of the afterlife and religious ritual. Demonstrating that religious beliefs in early China are both textually endorsed and ritually embodied, this book goes on to show how gods, ancestors and afterlife are philosophically salient. The summative chapter on the role of religious ritual in moral formation shows how religion forms a complex philosophical system capable of informing moral, social, and political conditions.

Does cognitive science show that religious belief is irrational? Kelly James Clark brings together science and philosophy to examine some of humanity's more pressing questions. Is belief in God, as Richard Dawkins claims, a delusion? Are atheists smarter or more rational than religious believers? Do our genes determine who we are and what we believe? Can our very creaturely cognitive equipment help us discover truth and meaning in life? Are atheists any different from Mother Teresa? Clark's surprising answers both defend the rationality of religious belief and contribute to the study of cognitive science. God and the Brain explores complicated questions about the nature of belief and the human mind. Scientifically minded, philosophically astute, and reader-friendly, God and the Brain provides an accessible overview of some new cognitive scientific approaches to the study of religion and evaluates their implications for both theistic and atheistic belief.

From 9/11 to Israel-Palestine to ISIS, the fear of the religious stranger is palpable. Conservative talk show hosts and liberal public intellectuals are united in blaming religion, usually Islam, for the world's instability. If religion is part of the problem, it can and should be part of the solution. Strangers, Neighbors, Friends--co-authored by a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew--aims to inform and inspire Abraham's children that God calls us to extend our love beyond family and fellow believer to the stranger. ""These essays are like rays of light. They provide insight into the Abrahamic traditions, but more importantly, they illuminate the path to a common life together."" --Eboo Patel, author of Interfaith Leadership, President of Interfaith Youth Core Kelly James Clark is Senior Research Fellow at Grand Valley State University's Kaufman Interfaith Institute. He is editor of Abraham's Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict (2012), and author of Religion and the Sciences of Origins (2014), Return to Reason (1990), The Story of Ethics (2003), When Faith Is Not Enough (1997), and 101 Key Philosophical Terms and Their Importance for Theology (2004). Aziz Abu Sarah is an entrepreneur, speaker, peace builder, and author. He is the recipient of the Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East, the Eliav-Sartawi Award, and was named one of the 500 most influential muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the founding Director of the Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where she was ordained in 1982. She co-edited Chapters of the Heart: Jewish Women Sharing the Torah of Our Lives (Wipf and Stock, 2013).

From 9/11 to Israel-Palestine to ISIS, the fear of the religious stranger is palpable. Conservative talk show hosts and liberal public intellectuals are united in blaming religion, usually Islam, for the world's instability. If religion is part of the problem, it can and should be part of the solution. Strangers, Neighbors, Friends--co-authored by a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew--aims to inform and inspire Abraham's children that God calls us to extend our love beyond family and fellow believer to the stranger. ""These essays are like rays of light. They provide insight into the Abrahamic traditions, but more importantly, they illuminate the path to a common life together."" --Eboo Patel, author of Interfaith Leadership, President of Interfaith Youth Core Kelly James Clark is Senior Research Fellow at Grand Valley State University's Kaufman Interfaith Institute. He is editor of Abraham's Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict (2012), and author of Religion and the Sciences of Origins (2014), Return to Reason (1990), The Story of Ethics (2003), When Faith Is Not Enough (1997), and 101 Key Philosophical Terms and Their Importance for Theology (2004). Aziz Abu Sarah is an entrepreneur, speaker, peace builder, and author. He is the recipient of the Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East, the Eliav-Sartawi Award, and was named one of the 500 most influential muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the founding Director of the Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where she was ordained in 1982. She co-edited Chapters of the Heart: Jewish Women Sharing the Torah of Our Lives (Wipf and Stock, 2013).

This concise introduction to science and religion focuses on Christianity and modern Western science (the epicenter of issues in science and religion in the West) with a concluding chapter on Muslim and Jewish Science and Religion. This book also invites the reader into the relevant literature with ample quotations from original texts.

This concise introduction to science and religion focuses on Christianity and modern Western science (the epicenter of issues in science and religion in the West) with a concluding chapter on Muslim and Jewish Science and Religion. This book also invites the reader into the relevant literature with ample quotations from original texts.

Written by two philosophers and a theologian, this book provides easy access to key terms in philosophy and how they are understood and used in theology. The focused entries discuss what the terms have meant in classical and contemporary philosophy and then shift to what these philosophical understandings have meant in the history of Christian theology to the present day. The result is a unique volume that clearly shows the interplay of these disciplines and how theology has been influenced by the language and vocabulary of philosophy.

Doubt and death, God and self, happiness or insignificance, guilt or grace! These fundamental human concerns are deeply intertwined and connect with our heart's deepest longings. They are difficult to understand, yet deeply felt. "When Faith Is Not Enough" is a creative, honest, and original discussion of faith and doubt and the search for human significance. Drawing upon personal experience, literature, psychology, philosophy, and Scripture, philosopher Kelly Clark tackles the difficult question of how we can live with doubt and how we can nurture a faith and develop a self of enduring value. In section one, "The Shadow of a Doubt," Clark takes doubt (and doubters) seriously and sets out to help the reader understand faith in a deeper way. He presents a powerful case for the existence of God, offers hope for understanding the problem of God and human suffering, suggests positive ways for dealing with doubt, and affirms the excitement of embracing the adventure of life. Section two, "Searching for My Self," is a reflection on the meaning of life. We want our lives to count, but we feel insignificant. We desire fame and honor, but we feel forgotten and ignored. Wishing for significant human relationships, we often feel alienated and unable to communicate. And wanting to live worthy lives, we feel shame. Clark probes into these conflicting emotions and addresses how God can unite the disparate elements of our lives into a meaningful and enduring self.

A penetrating critique of the Enlightenment assumption of evidentialism-that belief in God requires the support of evidence or arguments to be rational. Garnering arguments from C. S. Lewis, Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Thomas Reid, William James, and John Calvin, Clark asserts that this Enlightenment demand for evidence is itself both irrelevant and irrational.