God and other spirits : intimations of transcendence in Christian experience / Phillip H. Wiebe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wiebe, Phillip H., 1945-

Contributor:

James A. Crawford Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

God--Proof, Empirical.

God.

Experience (Religion).

Spirits.

Physical Description:

vi, 259 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Summary:

Many people believe in angels and evil spirits, and popular culture abounds in talk about encounters with such entities. Yet the question of the existence of such spirits is ignored in the academy. Even the Christian Church, which one might expect to show keen interest in transcendent realities, does not appear to be paying much attention. In this book Phillip Wiebe defends the plausibility of the traditional Christian claim that spirits are real. Wiebe examines descriptions of encounters with both good and evil transcendent beings in biblical times and in later Christian history, along with recent accounts of similar experiences. Grounding his argument in a wide range of phenomena--From near death experiences to demonic possession--Wiebe offers a sophisticated case for belief in God on philosophical and epistemological grounds.

Contents:

Intimations of evil?

Judaeo-Christian experience of the Holy

The theory of spirits

The challenge of naturalism

Naturalizing supernaturalism.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [239]-249) and indexes.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the James A. Crawford Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

0195140125

OCLC:

52091936