Richard Harries is both a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. After nineteen years as Bishop of Oxford he was made a Life Peer (Lord Harries of Pentregarth) and he remains active in the House of Lords on human rights issue. He is Emeritus Gresham Professor of Divinity and a Visiting Professor of Theology at King's College, London, where he was formerly Dean. His voice is well known to many through his regular contributions to the Today programme.

Among his many highly commended books are The Re-enchantment of Morality, which was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize, and Art and the Beauty of God, selected as book of the year by Anthony Burgess in The Observer.

Life is at once wonderful and appalling, beautiful and horrific. Although we can all give meaning to our lives by trying to live well, is there some given meaning to be discovered? Science cannot answer this question, and philosophical arguments leave the issue open. The monotheistic religions claim that the meaning has been revealed to us, and Christians see this is above all in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Described by Rowan Williams as 'that rarity, a Christian public intellectual', Richard Harries considers the Christian claim in the context of an in-depth discussion of the nature of evil and how this is to be reconciled with a just and loving God. Drawing on a wide range of modern literature, he argues that belief in the resurrection and hope in the face of death is fundamental to faith, and suggests that while there is no final intellectual answer to the problem of evil, we must all, believer and nonbeliever alike, protest against the world and seek to change it, rather than accept it as it is.

Life is at once wonderful and appalling, beautiful and horrific. How can we live with this contradiction? And how can we believe in a just and loving God in the face of all the evils of the world in which we have evolved?

Richard Harries

CoverImage

Praise

Title Page

Imprint

Dedication

1. Life – so astonishing and so appalling

2. Asking the right questions

3. Knowing and unknowing

4. Pursuing the truth

5. Truth in its beauty

6. A living tradition

7. What do we know about Jesus and why does it matter?

8. One religion among many

9. Why did it all begin?

10. The mystery of good and evil

11. Overcoming evil

12. Hope in the face of death

13. Why suffering?

14. Refusing to be comforted

15. Rebellion or acceptance?

16. Beyond tragedy

17. Towards a true humanism

18. ‘Keep your mind in hell and do not despair’

Notes

Copyright acknowledgements

Search terms

Charity

__'For anyone who is fascinated by the phenomenon of religion, this is a deeply interesting book.'__  
__Mary Warnock__

Although we can all give meaning to our lives by trying to live well, is there some given meaning to be discovered?

Science cannot answer this question, and philosophical arguments leave the issue open. The monotheistic religions claim that the meaning has been revealed to us, and Christians see this is above all in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Described by Rowan Williams as 'that rarity, a Christian public intellectual', Richard Harries considers the Christian claim in the context of an in-depth discussion of the nature of evil and how this is to be reconciled with a just and loving God. Drawing on a wide range of modern literature, he argues that belief in the resurrection and hope in the face of death is fundamental to faith, and suggests that while there is no final intellectual answer to the problem of evil, we must all, believer and nonbeliever alike, protest against the world and seek to change it, rather than accept it as it is.

Life is at once wonderful and appalling, beautiful and horrific. Although we can all give meaning to our lives by trying to live well, is there some given meaning to be discovered? Science cannot answer this question, and philosophical arguments leave the issue open. The monotheistic religions claim that the meaning has been revealed to us, and Christians see this is above all in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Richard Harries considers the Christian claim in the context of an in-depth discussion of the nature of evil and how this is to be reconciled with a loving God. He argues that belief in the resurrection and hope in the face of death is fundamental to faith, and suggests that while there is no final intellectual answer to the problem of evil, we must all, believer and non-believer alike, protest against the world as it is, rather than seeking forms of escape, whether in this life or the next.

Baron Harries of Pentegarth is a life peer in the House of Lords, aFellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006 and before that Dean of King's College London, where he is now a Fellow and Honorary Professor of Theology. Lord Harries has served as a member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and was chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Stem Cell Research. He currently serves as an Advisory Steering Group Member for the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life.

How can suffering be tied up with a world of beauty? This new book from Richard Harries searches for God in existence.

Life is at once wonderful and appalling, beautiful and horrific. Although we can all give meaning to our lives by trying to live well, is there some given meaning to be discovered? Science cannot answer this question, and philosophical arguments leave the issue open. The monotheistic religions claim that the meaning has been revealed to us, and Christians see this is above all in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Described by Rowan Williams as `that rarity, a Christian public intellectual', Richard Harries considers the Christian claim in the context of an in-depth discussion of the nature of evil and how this is to be reconciled with a just and loving God. Drawing on a wide range of modern literature, he argues that belief in the resurrection and hope in the face of death is fundamental to faith, and suggests that while there is no final intellectual answer to the problem of evil, we must all, believer and nonbeliever alike, protest against the world and seek to change it, rather than accept it as it is.

A major new defence of Christianity, which does not flinch from asking the hard questions about the kind of God who has created the kind of world we live in. Richard Harries is one of our greatest Christian intellectuals- both an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and one of just two ordained Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature (the other is Rowan Williams).

Richard Harries is both a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. After nineteen years as Bishop of Oxford he was made a Life Peer (Lord Harries of Pentregarth) and he remains active in the House of Lords on human rights issue. He is Emeritus Gresham Professor of Divinity and a Visiting Professor of Theology at King's College, London, where he was formerly Dean. His voice is well known to many through his regular contributions to the Today programme. Among his many highly commended books are The Re-enchantment of Morality, which was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize, and Art and the Beauty of God, selected as book of the year by Anthony Burgess in The Observer.

\["Filled with question about suffering and death?","This book is an exploration of why horrors exist, and what our response can be","You'll find answers and deep questions to mull over as you read"\]

How can suffering be tied up with a world of beauty? This new book from Richard Harries searches for God in existence and pain.

Beauty and the Horror

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Beauty and the Horror

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