Understanding Faith
Historical and Contemporary Readings
Will be published approx. on 24. December 2026
Book
Hardback
888 pages
978-1-350-32950-8 (ISBN)
Description
This new collection of classic and contemporary readings explores questions about the nature, value, and rationality of faith. From the Ancient Greeks to present-day intellectuals, it reveals the variety of answers that thinkers and traditions have offered throughout the ages.
Selecting texts from a diverse range of traditions and perspectives, both secular and religious, it introduces the role and function that faith plays in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Organized thematically around four parts, this one-of-a-kind reader brings together a collection of profound writings from philosophy, religious studies, theology, classics and psychology. Each Part has its own specialized introduction and suggestions for further reading.
Excerpts are taken from core prayers, creeds, teachings and songs. Stretching beyond academic reflections, texts cover the treatment of faith in the media and literature. Noteworthy and hard-to-find selections include:
- The poetry and commentary of a celebrated mystic
- First-hand accounts of the experience of faith and doubt from two women canonized as saints in the Catholic Church
- Historically influential accounts of the nature of faith from Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin.
Offering a critical look at the relationship between faith and reason, the forms it takes and the ways in which it can be misplaced, here is everything you need to understand the place of faith in the twenty-first century.
Selecting texts from a diverse range of traditions and perspectives, both secular and religious, it introduces the role and function that faith plays in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Organized thematically around four parts, this one-of-a-kind reader brings together a collection of profound writings from philosophy, religious studies, theology, classics and psychology. Each Part has its own specialized introduction and suggestions for further reading.
Excerpts are taken from core prayers, creeds, teachings and songs. Stretching beyond academic reflections, texts cover the treatment of faith in the media and literature. Noteworthy and hard-to-find selections include:
- The poetry and commentary of a celebrated mystic
- First-hand accounts of the experience of faith and doubt from two women canonized as saints in the Catholic Church
- Historically influential accounts of the nature of faith from Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin.
Offering a critical look at the relationship between faith and reason, the forms it takes and the ways in which it can be misplaced, here is everything you need to understand the place of faith in the twenty-first century.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 189 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-350-32950-8 (9781350329508)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Daniel McKaughan is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, USA. He is the co-editor of The History and Philosophy of Science: A Reader (Bloomsbury, 2015).
Daniel Howard-Snyder is Professor of Philosophy at Western Washington University, USA.
Daniel Howard-Snyder is Professor of Philosophy at Western Washington University, USA.
Content
List of figures
List of tables
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Copyright Permissions
General Introduction: Understanding Faith
Part 1: Faith Emerging from Sacred Texts and Religious Traditions
Introduction to Part 1
1. Genesis 11.27-22.18, the Abraham narrative (NRSV)
2. The Shema Yisrael, prayer composed of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41 (NRSV)
3. Habakkuk 2.1-5 (NRSV)
4. Louis Jacobs, Faith, from 20th Century Jewish Religious Thought (2009)
5. Menachem Kellner, Dogma, from 20th Century Jewish Religious Thought) (2009)
6. The Gospel According to Mark, translated by David Rhoads, Joanna Dewey, and Donald Michie (2012)
7. Letter to the Hebrews 10.19-12.13 (NRSV)
8. Benjamin Schliesser, Faith in Early Christianity (original contribution)
9. Louis Gardet, Iman, from the Encyclopaedia of Islam (1986)
10. Luis O. Gomez, Faith, from Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004)
11. K. L. Seshagiri Rao, selections from The Concept of S?raddha? (1974)
Further Readings
Part 2: Historically Influential Perspectives on Faith
Introduction to Part 2
2.1 Early and Medieval Christian Thought
12. Teresa Morgan, The Emergence of Christian Faith: The First 400 Years (original contribution)
13. Berard L. Marthaler, I/We Believe: "We believe in...", selection from The Creed (2007)
14. Saint Augustine, selection from On the Trinity [De Trinitate], Book XIII, Chapter 2, Section 5 (c. 417)
15. Saint Thomas Aquinas, selections from Summa Theologiae II-II, Questions 1-7 (c. 1265-1274)
16. Saint Thomas Aquinas, selection from Quaestiones disputatae de veritate (selections) (c. 1256-1259)
17. Eleonore Stump, A Representative Theological Virtue: Faith (2003)
2.2 Reformers and Enlightenment Voices
18. Martin Luther, selection from A Treatise on Christian Liberty, aka On the Freedom of a Christian (1520)
19. Martin Luther, selection from Preface to the Epistle of Paul to the Romans (1522)
20. Martin Luther, selection from The Epistle by Saint Peter: True Faith, True Obedience, and True Holiness (1 Peter 1:13) (1523-24)
21. Augsburg Confession, selection from Article IV "Of Justification" (1530)
22. John Calvin, selection from "Of Faith, the Definition of It, Its Peculiar Properties" (1539)
23. The Reformed Church, selection from Confessio Belgica: The Belgic Confession (1561, Revised 1619)
24. The Heidelberg Catechism, selection from Questions 21-23 "What is True Faith? ..." (1563)
25. The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, selections from "On Justification" (1547)
26. The Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566) (aka The Roman Catechism), selections from Part 1, Chapter 1 "On Faith and the Symbol of Faith," Question 1 and Chapter 2 "On the First Article of the Creed, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth," Questions 1, 2, and 4
27. Second Helvetic Confession, selection from Chapter 16 "Faith and Good Works" (1566)
28. Westminster Assembly, selections from Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
29. Thomas Hobbes, selection from Of Man (from Leviathan, Part One) (1651)
30. John Locke, selections from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)
31. John Locke, selection from The Reasonableness of Christianity, As Delivered in the Scriptures (1695)
32. John Wesley, selections from his Journals 1738-1740
33. John Wesley, selection from "Salvation by Faith," a sermon preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, before the University, on June 18, 1738.
34. Moses Mendelssohn, selection from Jerusalem: A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Authority and Judaism, Volume 2, Section 2 (1783)
35. Immanuel Kant selection from The Critique of Pure Reason (1787)
36. Johannes de Silentio (Soren Kierkegaard), selection from Fear and Trembling: A Dialectical Lyric (1843)
37. Johannes Climacus (Soren Kierkegaard), selection from Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments (1846)
Further Readings
Part 3: The Psychology of Faith: Exemplars of Faith and Interpreting Experiences
Introduction to Part 3
3.1 Exemplars of Faith
38. Dale Tuggy, Jesus as an Exemplar of Faith in the New Testament (2017)
39. Daniel J. McKaughan and Daniel Howard-Snyder, Exemplars of Faith: Abraham, Jesus, and Mother Teresa(original contribution)
3.2 The Psychology of Faith
40. William James, The Will to Believe (1896)
41. James Fowler, selection from Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning (1981)
42. Kenneth I. Pargament and Julie J. Exline, Chapter 1 "Introducing Spiritual Struggles" from Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice (2022)
43. Kenneth I. Pargament and Julie J. Exline, Chapter 10 "Struggles with Doubt" from Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice (2022)
44. Kevin A. Harris, Faith Concepts in Psychology: Defining Faith Using a Definitional Content Analysis (original contribution)
45. Joshua Hook, Daryl Van Tongeren, Don Davis, Peter Hill, M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall, Daniel McKaughan, and Daniel Howard-Snyder, Trust in God: An Evaluative Review of the Literature and Research Proposal (2021)
Further Readings
Part 4: Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives on Faith
Introduction to Part 4
4.1. Nature of Faith
Introduction to Part 4.1
46. Richard Swinburne, The Nature of Faith and Epilogue: Faith is Voluntary (2005) selections from Faith and Reason (2005)
47. Alvin Plantinga, The Extended A/C Model and Faith selections from Knowledge and Christian Belief, (2015)
48. William Alston, Belief, Acceptance, and Religious Faith (1996)
49. Robert Audi, Belief, Faith, Acceptance, and Hope selection from Rationality and Religious Commitment (2011)
50. Jonathan Kvanvig, The Idea of Faith as Trust: Lessons in Noncognitivist Approaches to Faith (2016)
51. Elizabeth Anscombe, What Is It to Believe Someone? (1979)
4.2. Value and Virtue of Faith
Introduction to Part 4.2
52. Annette Baier, Secular Faith (1980)
53. Ryan Preston-Roedder, Three Varieties of Faith (2018)
54. Frances Howard-Snyder, The Pearl of Great Price (2017)
55. Richard Dawkins, selection from A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love (2003)
56. James Muyskens, What is Virtuous About Faith? (1985)
57. John Schellenberg, How to Make Faith a Virtue (2014)
58. Daniel McKaughan and Daniel Howard-Snyder, Faith and Faithfulness (2022)
4.3. Rationality and Practice of Faith
Introduction to Part 4.3
59. Lara Buchak, When is Faith Rational?" (2018)
60. Katherine Dormandy, Evidence-Seeking as an Expression of Faith (2018)
61. John Bishop, Reasonable Faith and Reasonable Fideism (2023)
62. Elizabeth Jackson, Belief, Faith, and Hope: On the Rationality of Long-Term Commitment (2021)
63. Samuel Lebens, Amen to Daat: on the Foundations of Jewish Epistemology (2023)
64. Beth Rath, Christ's Faith, Doubt, and the Cry of Dereliction (2017)
65. Imran Aijaz, The Sceptical Muslim (2023)
66. Terence Cuneo, The Inaccessibility of Religion Problem (2017)
Further Readings
Index
List of tables
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Copyright Permissions
General Introduction: Understanding Faith
Part 1: Faith Emerging from Sacred Texts and Religious Traditions
Introduction to Part 1
1. Genesis 11.27-22.18, the Abraham narrative (NRSV)
2. The Shema Yisrael, prayer composed of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41 (NRSV)
3. Habakkuk 2.1-5 (NRSV)
4. Louis Jacobs, Faith, from 20th Century Jewish Religious Thought (2009)
5. Menachem Kellner, Dogma, from 20th Century Jewish Religious Thought) (2009)
6. The Gospel According to Mark, translated by David Rhoads, Joanna Dewey, and Donald Michie (2012)
7. Letter to the Hebrews 10.19-12.13 (NRSV)
8. Benjamin Schliesser, Faith in Early Christianity (original contribution)
9. Louis Gardet, Iman, from the Encyclopaedia of Islam (1986)
10. Luis O. Gomez, Faith, from Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004)
11. K. L. Seshagiri Rao, selections from The Concept of S?raddha? (1974)
Further Readings
Part 2: Historically Influential Perspectives on Faith
Introduction to Part 2
2.1 Early and Medieval Christian Thought
12. Teresa Morgan, The Emergence of Christian Faith: The First 400 Years (original contribution)
13. Berard L. Marthaler, I/We Believe: "We believe in...", selection from The Creed (2007)
14. Saint Augustine, selection from On the Trinity [De Trinitate], Book XIII, Chapter 2, Section 5 (c. 417)
15. Saint Thomas Aquinas, selections from Summa Theologiae II-II, Questions 1-7 (c. 1265-1274)
16. Saint Thomas Aquinas, selection from Quaestiones disputatae de veritate (selections) (c. 1256-1259)
17. Eleonore Stump, A Representative Theological Virtue: Faith (2003)
2.2 Reformers and Enlightenment Voices
18. Martin Luther, selection from A Treatise on Christian Liberty, aka On the Freedom of a Christian (1520)
19. Martin Luther, selection from Preface to the Epistle of Paul to the Romans (1522)
20. Martin Luther, selection from The Epistle by Saint Peter: True Faith, True Obedience, and True Holiness (1 Peter 1:13) (1523-24)
21. Augsburg Confession, selection from Article IV "Of Justification" (1530)
22. John Calvin, selection from "Of Faith, the Definition of It, Its Peculiar Properties" (1539)
23. The Reformed Church, selection from Confessio Belgica: The Belgic Confession (1561, Revised 1619)
24. The Heidelberg Catechism, selection from Questions 21-23 "What is True Faith? ..." (1563)
25. The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, selections from "On Justification" (1547)
26. The Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566) (aka The Roman Catechism), selections from Part 1, Chapter 1 "On Faith and the Symbol of Faith," Question 1 and Chapter 2 "On the First Article of the Creed, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth," Questions 1, 2, and 4
27. Second Helvetic Confession, selection from Chapter 16 "Faith and Good Works" (1566)
28. Westminster Assembly, selections from Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
29. Thomas Hobbes, selection from Of Man (from Leviathan, Part One) (1651)
30. John Locke, selections from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)
31. John Locke, selection from The Reasonableness of Christianity, As Delivered in the Scriptures (1695)
32. John Wesley, selections from his Journals 1738-1740
33. John Wesley, selection from "Salvation by Faith," a sermon preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, before the University, on June 18, 1738.
34. Moses Mendelssohn, selection from Jerusalem: A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Authority and Judaism, Volume 2, Section 2 (1783)
35. Immanuel Kant selection from The Critique of Pure Reason (1787)
36. Johannes de Silentio (Soren Kierkegaard), selection from Fear and Trembling: A Dialectical Lyric (1843)
37. Johannes Climacus (Soren Kierkegaard), selection from Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments (1846)
Further Readings
Part 3: The Psychology of Faith: Exemplars of Faith and Interpreting Experiences
Introduction to Part 3
3.1 Exemplars of Faith
38. Dale Tuggy, Jesus as an Exemplar of Faith in the New Testament (2017)
39. Daniel J. McKaughan and Daniel Howard-Snyder, Exemplars of Faith: Abraham, Jesus, and Mother Teresa(original contribution)
3.2 The Psychology of Faith
40. William James, The Will to Believe (1896)
41. James Fowler, selection from Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning (1981)
42. Kenneth I. Pargament and Julie J. Exline, Chapter 1 "Introducing Spiritual Struggles" from Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice (2022)
43. Kenneth I. Pargament and Julie J. Exline, Chapter 10 "Struggles with Doubt" from Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice (2022)
44. Kevin A. Harris, Faith Concepts in Psychology: Defining Faith Using a Definitional Content Analysis (original contribution)
45. Joshua Hook, Daryl Van Tongeren, Don Davis, Peter Hill, M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall, Daniel McKaughan, and Daniel Howard-Snyder, Trust in God: An Evaluative Review of the Literature and Research Proposal (2021)
Further Readings
Part 4: Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives on Faith
Introduction to Part 4
4.1. Nature of Faith
Introduction to Part 4.1
46. Richard Swinburne, The Nature of Faith and Epilogue: Faith is Voluntary (2005) selections from Faith and Reason (2005)
47. Alvin Plantinga, The Extended A/C Model and Faith selections from Knowledge and Christian Belief, (2015)
48. William Alston, Belief, Acceptance, and Religious Faith (1996)
49. Robert Audi, Belief, Faith, Acceptance, and Hope selection from Rationality and Religious Commitment (2011)
50. Jonathan Kvanvig, The Idea of Faith as Trust: Lessons in Noncognitivist Approaches to Faith (2016)
51. Elizabeth Anscombe, What Is It to Believe Someone? (1979)
4.2. Value and Virtue of Faith
Introduction to Part 4.2
52. Annette Baier, Secular Faith (1980)
53. Ryan Preston-Roedder, Three Varieties of Faith (2018)
54. Frances Howard-Snyder, The Pearl of Great Price (2017)
55. Richard Dawkins, selection from A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love (2003)
56. James Muyskens, What is Virtuous About Faith? (1985)
57. John Schellenberg, How to Make Faith a Virtue (2014)
58. Daniel McKaughan and Daniel Howard-Snyder, Faith and Faithfulness (2022)
4.3. Rationality and Practice of Faith
Introduction to Part 4.3
59. Lara Buchak, When is Faith Rational?" (2018)
60. Katherine Dormandy, Evidence-Seeking as an Expression of Faith (2018)
61. John Bishop, Reasonable Faith and Reasonable Fideism (2023)
62. Elizabeth Jackson, Belief, Faith, and Hope: On the Rationality of Long-Term Commitment (2021)
63. Samuel Lebens, Amen to Daat: on the Foundations of Jewish Epistemology (2023)
64. Beth Rath, Christ's Faith, Doubt, and the Cry of Dereliction (2017)
65. Imran Aijaz, The Sceptical Muslim (2023)
66. Terence Cuneo, The Inaccessibility of Religion Problem (2017)
Further Readings
Index