Four Existentialist Theologians

The author states his purpose in his no-nonsense Preface: To present representative selections from the writings of "four of the most significant religious thinkers of our time"--Jacques Maritain, Nicolas Berdyaev, Martin Buber, and Paul Tillich. Also supplies a robust Introduction which explains that the connection between his subjects -- why they belong together -- is that they profoundly influence each other. He includes Bibliographies.

I was surprised by his bold Preface: "Much of the best creative thinking these days is being done in theology and religious philosophy." He hopes to reveal the sources of this thinking and "its relevance to the problems and perplexities of our time." [viii] He writes without irony about the "creative" show more thinking done by brilliant minds caught in up in the "desire to see God" (Maritain), the necessity of universal salvation under the lens of sex (Berdyaev), the suspension of dialogue and ethics (Buber), and the ontological problems of a biblical religion (Tillich). show less