Faith and Freedom

<p>It is sometimes thought that individual religious faith should be firmly fixed in the traditions of the past. That once it is established in someone’s life it should remain steadfast and unchanging throughout personal cultural or any other changes. This book subverts that idea by showing how it is actually ongoing inquiry examination and indeed change requiring similarly ongoing acts of informed and responsible freedom that will produce a dynamic and meaningful faith.</p><p></p><p>Contending that religious faith should readily encompass deliberate and ongoing acts of personal freedom the text outlines various ways in which these dual aspects are more ally than enemy. It also demonstrates how the ongoing free choices that are required for genuine faith are not absolute but are in fact contextualized and conditioned by genetic makeup environmental conditioning and present character traits produced in part by a person’s past choices. Despite this caveat personal freedom is presented as genuine and real with a vitally important role to play in a person’s religiosity. The book concludes with some observations of this process in practice in the author’s own journey from a Christian theist worldview to that of a religious naturalist. </p><p></p><p>This is a fascinating treatise on the role of personal freedom in religious faith. It will therefore be of significant interest to scholars of religion theology philosophy of religion and religious naturalism.</p>