Traces of Transcendence

Auteur

Duncan Ferguson has served in the church and higher education as a chaplain, professor, and senior administrator. He received his PhD from the University of Edinburgh and has had an interest in writing across his career. His recent books are Exploring the Spirituality of the World Religions (2010), Lovescapes: Mapping the Geography of Love (2012), and The Radical Teaching of Jesus (2015). He has been engaged in several programs related to international peace and justice and is currently focusing on Israel and Palestine.

Texte du rabat

The author, Duncan Ferguson, draws upon his years as chaplain and professor in university settings, where seeking answers to hard and perplexing questions are the order of the day. One that continually surfaces is whether there is any evidence of divine transcendence in the natural world, in history, or in the human experience. Is there a God who might provide universal values, guidance to those seeking solutions to the overwhelming problems we face, and a measure of inner peace for troubled souls? This question is considered one of the most difficult to answer in a definitive way, and in a university setting, it is often answered by a clear no or simple neglect in that the question is not generally viewed as within the domain of the goals of the university. Dr. Ferguson believes that it is, and that it should be explored by our best minds in our universities and indeed the best minds in the world, by those with game-changing power, and by committed and compassionate seekers. It is especially not the exclusive domain of cultic preachers. He explores what might be interpreted as evidence of a divine Transcendence, looking within the natural world, human history, the history of religious thought in the great religions, and the need for divine guidance as the human family faces the critical crisis of the survival of planet Earth. Universal values, compassion, justice, and peace, often rooted in the great religious traditions, should guide us.