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When people encounter an argument for or against God's existence, it often raises more questions than it answers. In Letters to Doubting Thomas, C. Stephen Layman offers a fresh, insightful approach to the issue of God's existence--a way to organize what can seem like a blizzard of claims and concepts--bringing clarity to a debate often mired in confusion. Layman explores the evidence for the existence of God in a series of fictionalized letters between two characters--Zachary, a philosopher, and Thomas, an old college friend who appeals to Zach for help in sorting out his thoughts about God. As their correspondence grows, Zachary leads Thomas through an informal and highly readable comparison of Naturalism (the belief that there is no God and that ultimate reality is physical reality), and Theism (the idea that there is an almighty, perfectly good God). In engaging letters that break down complex philosophical arguments into easily digestible bits, the two friends delve into such weighty topics as the reliability of religious experience, various arguments for God's existence (such as the cosmological, design, and moral arguments), the question of free will, and the problem of evil. A piece at a time, they build an argument that shows that Theism, on balance, provides a better explanation of the world and human life than does Naturalism. Here then is a highly accessible account of the major arguments for and against the existence of God, capturing some of the best new insights of modern philosophy in a marvelously clear and engaging format.
"Arguments for or against God's existence can be intense, complex, and disconcerting; in fact, they often raise more questions than they answer. In [this book], C. Stephen Layman offers an innovative approach to the debate--a way to organize a seeming multitude of related claims and ideas--bringing clarity to a discussion that is often mired in confusion."--Publisher description, from p. [4] of cover.
A religious historian argues that historical revisionism has distorted the religious views of Thomas Jefferson, making him appear far more skeptical than he was. Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers intended a strict separation of church and state, right? He would have been very upset to find out about a child praying in a public school or a government building used for religious purposes, correct? Actually, the history on this has been very distorted. The standard accepted story on the faith of Thomas Jefferson (or the lack thereof) is not accurate. While he did harbor some doubts about orthodox Christianity by the end of his life, he was actually quite active in supporting the church in America. Meanwhile, in his name today, because of a misunderstanding about “the separation of church and state” (a phrase that comes from an obscure letter he wrote), religious expression is being curtailed all over the place in modern America. And he would absolutely object to that, as seen in his own actions and writings. While Jefferson may seem to be the patron saint of the ACLU, his words and actions showed that he would totally disagree with the idea of driving God out of the public square. Doubting Thomas documents that. In short, it’s time to set the record straight.
Thomas McGurrin is a fourth-grade teacher and openly gay man at a private primary school serving Portland, Oregon's wealthy progressive elite when he is falsely accused of inappropriately touching a male student. The accusation comes just as Thomas is thrust back into the center of his unusual family by his younger brother's battle with cancer. Although cleared of the accusation, Thomas is forced to resign from a job he loves during a potentially life-changing family drama. Davison's novel explores the discrepancy between the progressive ideals and persistent negative stereotypes among the privileged regarding social status, race, and sexual orientation and the impact of that discrepancy on friendships and family relations.
THE BOOK OF THOMAS THE DOUBTER: Uncovering the Secret Teachings is a biblical, historical novel based on the Gospel of Thomas and Acts of Thomas uncovered among the ancient Nag Hammadi texts. The book depicts Thomas carrying out Jesus' secret teachings as a disciple and as an apostle in India. In India, there are sites and landmarks commemorating Thomas. Also in India are the Thomas Christians (the Syrian Nasrani), affirming their founder as the disciple Thomas.
Examines questions in regards to the world's origin, how it functions, and why; and features logical arguments that are supported by physics and theology; and also discusses the relationship between science and religion.
About the disciple known as Doubting Thomas, everyone knows at least this much: he stuck his finger into the risen Jesus’ wounds. Or did he? A fresh look at the Gospel of John reveals how little we may really understand about this most perplexing of biblical figures, and how much we might learn from the strange twists and turns Thomas’s story has taken over time. From the New Testament, Glenn W. Most traces Thomas’s permutations through the centuries: as Gnostic saint, missionary to India, paragon of Christian orthodoxy, hero of skepticism, and negative example of doubt, blasphemy, stupidity, and violence. Rife with paradoxes and tensions, these creative transformations at the hands of storytellers, theologians, and artists tell us a great deal about the complex relations between texts and their interpretations—and about faith, love, personal identity, the body, and twins, among other matters. Doubting Thomas begins with a close reading of chapter 20 of the Gospel of John, set against the conclusions of the other Gospels, and ends with a detailed analysis of the painting of this subject by Caravaggio, setting it within the pictorial traditions of late antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. Along the way, Most considers narrative reactions to John’s account by storytellers of various religious persuasions, and Christian theologians’ interpretations of John 20 from the second century ad until the Counter-Reformation. His work shows how Thomas’s story, in its many guises, touches upon central questions of religion, philosophy, hermeneutics, and, not least, life.
Jefferson regarded Jesus as a moral guide rather than a divinity. In his unique interpretation of the Bible, he highlights Christ's ethical teachings, discarding the scriptures' supernatural elements, to reflect the deist view of religion.