In what sense is trust basic for human (co-)existence, and in what sense can trust also show the limits of the social character of the self? How should the loss of trust figure in an account of trust? And how are freedom and transcendence implied in trust as relation, response, and openness? In addressing such questions, this book discusses how to understand trust, arguing for a multifaceted approach, which brings together perspectives from various philosophical traditions, from developmental psychology, sociology, ethics, and from theology. The authors of the essays collected here deal with...

Focusing on the relationship between justification, gift-economy and ontology, this volume addresses fundamental issues in contemporary Reformation theology with an impact on the understanding of creation theology, human passivity/activity, self-giving, the concept of excess, and generosity. This volume brings the discussion of the role of studies in exchanging gifts into a Lutheran context, offering necessary clarifications on Lutheran thinking and Lutheran perspectives on existing discussions in other traditions. With its focus on gift-economy and ontology, this volume provides new...

The interplay between activity and passivity in religious practices in general and religious beliefs and emotions in particular is a central and controversial issue in philosophical, theological and psychological thought past and present. This conference volume is organized around Schleiermacher's central idea of the 'feeling of ultimate dependence' and Kierkegaard's existential analysis of the fundamental passivity of passion. Three studies elucidate important strands in the theological and philosophical background of these insights in Paul the Apostle, Luther, Melanchthon, Hobbes and...