Customer Reviews

Disputed Questions in Theology and the Philosophy of Religion

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I first encountered the theology of John Hick in his *The Metaphor of God Incarnate.* I was impressed and wanted to know more. In *Disputed Questions* Hick expounds on the same ideas in much greater detail: problems surrounding the traditional interpretations of the trinity, the atonement, and Christian exclusivism. The scope of this book is much broader, however, in that it also explores the nature of religious experience in general, suggests the applicability of Buddhist doctrines to the problem of pluralism, and theorizes about various life-after-death scenarios. I am not a person with a theological background--just a spiritual seeker--but I find Hick's writing to be highly accessible and his arguments to be exceedingly reasonable. This book was helpful to me in resolving some important issues in my personal Christian faith, and I would recommend it to anyone who finds traditional Christian doctrine untenable yet desires to remain within the Christian tradition.

I am intimidated by writers who can express so much in not very many words. Hick is such a man, so was John A.T. Robinson, so was Paul Tillich (when he wanted to be).

Hick has been called, "a man who knows how to poke a bear with a stick." This is quite right, his ideas are provocative. One cannot simply read them, nod, and move on. Virtually every paragraph of this book incites a vast array of thoughts in a vast number of directions. This is not the sort of book one can gallop through in an afternoon, despite its length. This is one of those pondering, ponderous reads. This was the first piece of Hick's that I ever read and he quickly jumped to the top of my short list of theologians.

Best of all, the man is still going, there's more to come and we get to read it.