Athens and Jerusalem: God, Humans, and Nature

"Athens and Jerusalem is something of a philosophical tour de force. In a time when our thought tends to be as fragmented as it is specialized, it holds promise of reviving a more wholesome and robust debate about the nature of things. Professor Novak handles his subject in sophisticated fashion, engaging both primary and secondary sources on the level of a master, while providing his readers a broad education in ‘the hermeneutics of Nature.’"

Douglas Farrow, School of Religious Studies, McGill University

“With commanding clarity and consummate learning, Novak leads the reader through his account of how theology is no mere generic ‘talking about God’ but a comprehensive vision founded in God’s word and how philosophy in contrast is a method for thinking about such a way of being in the world. Leading the reader painstakingly through three classic accounts of how theology and philosophy might thereby relate for Jewish tradition (Plato and Philo, Aristotle and Maimonides, Kant and his modern Jewish interlocutors), Novak avers that the Kantian challenge remains unfinished business for all Jews, Christians, and Muslims who seek to expound the intersection of revelatory theology and philosophic method for today. The range and systematic insight of this volume is more than worthy of a Gifford lecturer.” Sarah Coakley, Fellow of the British Academy and Norris-Hulse Professor Emerita, University of Cambridge

"The erudition of the volume is extremely impressive, with David Novak demonstrating a magisterial grasp of the primary texts."

Tom Angier, Department of Philosophy, University of Cape Town