This excellent edition of the IVP Histories series explores one of the most interesting periods of history--the Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This book begins by describing how the Middle Ages came to an end with the Renaissance and the Reformation, setting the scene for the Enlightenment. Jonathan Hill then takes you on a fascinating tour of the central themes and characters of this turbulent period. Themes covered include the churches; the new science; the new philosophy; the question of authority, politics and society; God, humanity and the world; the reaction; and the legacy. Key figures you'll encounter include Samuel Johnson, Galileo, Newton, Descartes, Hume, Voltaire, Pascal, Locke, Diderot, Rousseau and Kant. Packed with centuries worth of fascinating prose and beautifully glossy four color art yet small enough to fit in your pocket, IVP Histories bring Christian history to life like no other books.

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Customer Reviews for Faith in the Age of Reason: The Enlightenment from Galileo to Kant

Review 1 for Faith in the Age of Reason: The Enlightenment from Galileo to Kant

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:July 2, 2010

John Companion

If you enjoy history, philosophy, or are just nosy about how other believers worked out their faith in different eras (me), you'll really like this little, pithy book.

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2of 2voted this as helpful.

Review 2 for Faith in the Age of Reason: The Enlightenment from Galileo to Kant

Overall Rating:

2 out of 5

Date:July 2, 2010

Paul J. Tetreault Jr., Esq.

Faith in the Age of Reason earns only two stars because it contains a stunning error that renders the entire content of the book questionable. On page 160, next to the famous painting of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, the author claims "most of the fathers of the United States were deists..."I'm an attorney who has spent the last 15 years - including 5 years in a Ph.D program - researching what the Founders believed about the role of religion in society and how the Bible creates freedom and prosperity. There is a continuous line of scholarship, beginning with the writings of the Founders themselves, that explicates their profound Christian convictions. Thankfully, a bit of this material is available today in products from David Barton's Wallbuilders, but there is much more you must dig to find, such as Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Andrew C. McLaughlin's The Foundations of American Constitutionalism which explains in detail how the idea of a political constitution flowed from the church covenant.Faith in the Age of Reason appears to be written by an historian of Christianity, not a Christian. The author fails to understand basic doctrines of Christianity contained in our creeds and confessions. He addresses only one side of Enlightenment scholarship - the side that attempted to replace Scripture with human reason. The author almost totally ignores the work of Christian thinkers during the period.Ironically, the book's focus on the growth of hostility to Scripture and Christ is what makes it valuable, but not suitable for younger students. 2Thess.2:3, Mt.24:5, ITim.4:1 and 2Tim.3:2 all tell us of a time of Apostasy. Even a cursory examination of the direction of US law over the last 140 years reveals that we are in that time, but Dr. Gleason L. Archer places the start of the Apostasy at the turn of the 18th century, with the rise of the Enlightenment skeptics. This book proves the point.

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15of 24voted this as helpful.