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Meaning and Mystery: What It Means To Believe in God
 
 
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Meaning and Mystery: What It Means To Believe in God [Paperback]

David M. Holley (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

1405193441 978-1405193443 February 3, 2010 1
Meaning and Mystery offers a challenge to the way Philosophy has traditionally approached the issue of belief in God as a theoretical problem, proposing instead a form of reflection more appropriate to the practical nature of the issue.
  • Makes use of abundant illustrative material, from both literature, such as Les Misérables, Edwin Abott’s Flatland, Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and Leo Tolstoy’s A Confession, and popular culture, such as advertisements, the television series Joan of Arcadia and the film Stranger Than Fiction
  • Uses imaginative scenarios to offer explanations of central concepts
  • Incorporates theories on human thought and behavior in exploring the formation of religious belief
  • Written in a style that is accessible to readers with little background knowledge of philosophy

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"With these minor criticisms in mind, Holley's work should be commended for its unique and provocative approach of defending religious belief in the age of modernity which, at the same time, defends naturalism and atheism. He has revealed to us that one need not be legitimized at the expense of the other." (International Journal For Philosophy of Religion, 8 January 2011)

"Holley makes strong but subtle arguments for a transcendent agent conception of God, and the need for this image for a coherent morality, the value of revelation-bearing traditions, and the priority of practice for discovering belief." (CHOICE, September 2010)"The question of the existence of God has been part of the philosophical debate ...with arguments advanced for and against it. In this heartfelt ... argument for God’s existence, the author studies the subject from every perspective. Echoes of ancient thinkers as well as more contemporary observers of the religious scene are well represented herein. Holley is clearly well versed in the arguments on both sides of the question. And he shows some insight into those who find belief in God to be a thing devoutly to be avoided even while espousing belief as part of his own life. In the end, Holley chooses faith over doubt and offers guidelines for those seeking an experience with the divine. His observations are well worth reading." (Publishers Weekly, January 2010)

Review

"This book achieves something very difficult: it provides a fresh and innovative way of looking at the age-old questions about religious faith that philosophers have argued about for centuries. Written in a clear and engaging style, Holley shows the role 'life-orienting stories' play for both believers and atheists, and, without dogmatism or minimizing difficulties, he shows how religious faith might be possible in the contemporary world."
C. Stephen Evans, Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Baylor University

"The epistemic bearing of all-encompassing narratives on religious belief and disbelief has been largely neglected by philosophers in the English speaking world. Holley's lucid and well-written book is a welcome corrective."
William J. Wainwright, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee


Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (February 3, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1405193441
  • ISBN-13: 978-1405193443
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Got Life-Orienting Story?, February 23, 2010
This review is from: Meaning and Mystery: What It Means To Believe in God (Paperback)
Instead of reducing faith to a pathology, David Holley's book Meaning and Mystery explains, through rigorous research and accessible prose, why human beings need a life-orienting story - a guiding script (primarily written with the ink of faith) - to experience our lives in a fulfilling way. The book is timely for our disenchanted age. Long ago, Modernism boldly dragged God into the court-room, examined and cross-examined him into a fine powder, then left us with a Winter of Facts. Holley has a keen understanding of this historical phenomenon, but his book is in no way a one-dimensional apology for faith, but instead reminds us that without a life-orienting story, we perhaps choose a more dubious path. The book is a rare achievement because it transcends the fog of the culture wars and treats the individual reader in the most compassionate way possible: by addressing her often bewildered interior life.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books in years, January 11, 2011
This review is from: Meaning and Mystery: What It Means To Believe in God (Paperback)
David Holley has written one of the most important books in recent years. I was going to say 'one of the most important books on the topic in years' but since the topic is of first importance, the larger claim is warranted. What is so important about the book? First and perhaps most crucially, Holley distinguishes the third-person and theoreticsl metaphysical question of God's existence and the practical question of whether a particular religous tradition, with its more detailed and personal conception of God, its laws and its ethics, provides the best life-orienting story-line. Although not without value, much of the history of classical philosophy of religion and apologetics has erroneously treated the question in the third-person mode. So the book is of the greatest value as a corrective to thinkers of that tradition. But Holley is also constructing an alternative approach which evokes Jamesian pragmatism, Kierkegaardian fideism and Pascal's wager, but never falls into their excesses. This is another remarkable aspect of the book: after decades of thought and experience in the matter, Holley brings to bear an impressive knowledge of the contours of religious thought and many a sagacioua insight into their nature. Holley's analysis of what make good reasons for belief will be of great personal value for all those on a serious quest for a meaningful life-story.

Given the profundity of the subject and Holley's uniquely impressive contribution to it, I was surprised to find an earlier review focussed primarily on how much easier the book should have been. This was especially surprising since the print is no smaller than is typical for this kind of work, 220 pages is not longer than is typical, the writing is clear and accessible for the educated reader, suggested reading is typical of this genre, and an educated reader will be able to handle a nine-page introduction.
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