The topic of this book is "creation." It breaks down into discussions of two distinct but interrelated questions: What does the universe look like, and what is its origin? Texts considered come from the Hebrew scriptures, Greek philosophy, Jewish philosophy, and contemporary physics. Original conclusions follow about a diversity of topics, including the limits of human reason and religious faith, the relevance of scientific models to religious doctrine, and the nature of the relationship between God and the universe.

Norbert M. Samuelson asks--what is the most reasonable possible conception of the doctrine of "revelation" found in the sources of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) in the light of modern challenges from academic studies of evolutionary psychology, analytic philosophy, and biblical history? The proposed answer is drawn from his extensive knowledge of western philosophy-- from ancient Greece to contemporary England and America and Jewish intellectual history from Maimonides to Buber and Rosenzweig. The book engages with the history of philosophy, religious thought and...