Theism and Humanism, Balfour’s first course of Gifford Lectures given in 1914, is aimed at defending the tenability of natural theology in a manner which appeals to the sensibilities of the ‘common man’. Balfour’s logic in this series rests on his appeal to common sense, finding Theism to be the most sensible and easily understandable basis for aesthetics, ethics and intellectual values such as reason, perception and intuition.

Sanford’s brief 1982–1983 Gifford Lectures consisted of five lectures that explored the nature of cognition with respect to language, common sense and value. His work is based on the premise that natural theology must take into consideration not only the external natural world but also the symbolic world of concepts, language and cognition.