The question is, what constitutes truth in religion? Represented here is the whole spectrum of phenomenology--transcendental, existential, hermeneutic, ethical, and deconstructive--presented by some of the most respected names in the philosophy of religion today: Louis Dupré, Merold Westphal, and Edward Farley. Here is also engagement with a wide variety of twentieth-century thinkers such as Husserl, Scheler, and Heidegger; Ricoeur, Gadamer, and Derrida; Freud, van der Leeuw, and Eliade; and Rosenzweig, Tillich, and Schillebeeks. This volume provides unique sources for anyone interested in the philosophical, theological, or scientific study of religion.

There is an interesting knowledge trajectory that God remains incomprehensible, not imperceptible. This lends credence to the fact that religious study since the Enlightenment has dedicated itself almost entirely to the problem of reconciling the non-existence of God in the physical world with his necessary existence in the metaphysical world. When seriously examined, it would be discovered that these two aspects are logically contradictory, and this is a problem with no solution. But interpreting God not as a physical being but as a phenomenological thing changes the nature of the problem enough that a solution emerges almost automatically. In this phenomenological model, the crux of the matter is that God does not exist, but God is real. Therefore, it is imperative to return to experience and verifiability, hence, purging it of unexamined and often hidden assumptions. Phenomenological Approaches to Religion and Spirituality brings together the different disciplines and research approaches to provide a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenology of God and spirituality, as well as offering an effective epistemological apparatus capable of dealing with this concept. The book employs multidisciplinary approaches from religious studies, theology, philosophy, anthropology, and other segments to dissect the subject matter for efficient evaluation and all-inclusive findings. While covering various aspects of religion such as the testaments of the Bible, the church, the religious experience, and various aspects of spirituality, this book is intended for theologians, philosophers, religious leaders, policymakers, academicians, researchers, students, public institutions, and agencies with a special interest in religious matters, values, knowledge, and truth.

Approaching God explores the ways in which phenomenology, metaphysics and theological enquiry can throw light upon each other. This is a matter of great interest and importance to the future of philosophical theology and the philosophy of religion. What, if anything, has philosophical reflection about God to contribute to Christian theology? And if indeed philosophy plays a positive role in theological reflection-what kind of philosophy? The first-person philosophical perspective of phenomenology or the objective philosophical perspective of metaphysics? Masterson devotes three chapters to, respectively, phenomenological, metaphysical, and theological approaches to God. Each are seen as animated by a first principle from which a comprehensive account of everything is said to follow-'Human Consciousness' in the case of phenomenology; 'Being' in the case of metaphysics; and 'God' in the case of theology. Although philosophers and theologians such as Ricoeur, Levinas, Kearney, Caputo, and Barth are considered briefly, Approaching God essentially provides a dialogue about theological and theistic issues between the phenomenological approach of the leading French Christian phenomenologist Jean-Luc Marion and the realist metaphysical approach of Aquinas. Masterson maintains that all three approaches are needed in trying to speak appropriately about God-they are irreducible but complementary.

"Religion today belongs in the forum of study and discussion. Scholars are exploring the claims of theology, the religious roots of culture, and the relation between beliefs and the various areas or disciplines in life. Students have not until now had a series of books which could serve as reliable resources for class or private study, in a time when inquiry into religion is undertaken with new freedom and a sense of urgency. With Harper Forum Books a new generation can confront religion through exposure to significant minds in theology and related humanistic fields." - Martin E. Marty, General Editor

..". a profoundly stimulating and satisfying piece of philosophy.... It is a book from which one really can learn something worthwhile." Idealistic Studies ..". exceptionally well-written philosophy of religion... " Mentalities ..". a most impressive phenomenology of religion... a splendid achievement... " The Reformed Theological Review ..". challenging to scholars... interesting to general audiences." International Journal for Philosophy of Religion ..". equal in clarity of thought and comprehensiveness of scope.... profoundly original." The Reformed Journal "Challenging and thought-provoking, this makes a fine... textbook in the philosophy of religion." Religious Studies Review ..". its virtues as a textbook in phenomenology or philosophy of religion are extraordinary." Faith and Philosophy Examples from the writings of Kierkegaard, Freud, Heidegger, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, and Tolstoi illuminate Westphal s thesis that guilt and death are the central problems of human existence."

Explores religious truth in a range of world religions and discusses the issue and philosophical implications of comparison itself.