Oxford theologian Leonard Hodgson's first course of Gifford Lectures surveyed the revealed structures that undergird natural theology. For this his second course of lectures, published as For Faith and Freedom volume two and delivered in 1956/7, Hodgson presents a ten-part exposition of key Christian Doctrines which point to the revelation of God in the Person and Work of Christ. Hodgson argues that this revelation is evidenced in the fabric of cosmic history and epitomised by the eschatological and messianic community of the Christian Church.

The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers gives an account of those ideas of Greek Philosophers which have decisively affected the subsequent development of theological thought. The selection of topics is confined mainly to the writings of Plato and Aristotle, to the main representatives of the Stoic philosophy, and to Philo and Plotinus among the Neo-Platonists.

While in his academic life Simon Sommerville Laurie refrained from subscribing to any neo-Hegelian schools of thinking, his Gifford Lectures are nonetheless steeped in a Hegelian interpretation of history and spirituality. In his ‘dialectic’ view of humanity’s progression through the ages, Laurie argues that the ultimate goal of human life is to unite our spirits with God—that is, with the ‘Absolute’ or ‘Unconditioned One’. Yet, unlike some of his predecessors, Laurie does not focus his Gifford Lectures on the sinful or fallen nature of human life. Rather, he argues that God preordained all aspects of life. The evils inherent in it are also a part of Divine life. It is true that while life is at times brutal and evil, it is not in vain, he concludes. Life is a constant struggle, but a struggle with an ‘end’. Each struggle we overcome, each ‘evil’ we avoid, is a progression toward a greater knowledge of God and therefore a reunification with him. In the meantime, we can know God empirically through our perceptions of the natural world, which includes human nature. By better understanding our ethical motivations, for example, we can come to know that part of God that is resident within ourselves. Life is a hunt for the eternal in the world of the finite, and while the ‘eternal’ will never be fully clear to us during our lifetimes, the mystery of God gives us the hope to go on living.

While in his academic life Simon Somerville Laurie refrained from subscribing to any neo-Hegelian schools of thinking, his Gifford Lectures are nonetheless steeped in a Hegelian interpretation of history and spirituality. In his ‘dialectic’ view of humanity’s progression through the ages, Laurie argues that the ultimate goal of human life is to unite our spirits with God—that is, with the ‘Absolute’ or ‘Unconditioned One’. Yet, unlike some of his predecessors, Laurie does not focus his Gifford Lectures on the sinful or fallen nature of human life. Rather, he argues that God preordained all aspects of life. The evils inherent in it are also a part of Divine life. It is true that while life is at times brutal and evil, it is not in vain, he concludes. Life is a constant struggle, but a struggle with an ‘end’. Each struggle we overcome, each ‘evil’ we avoid, is a progression toward a greater knowledge of God and therefore a reunification with him. In the meantime, we can know God empirically through our perceptions of the natural world, which includes human nature. By better understanding our ethical motivations, for example, we can come to know that part of God that is resident within ourselves. Life is a hunt for the eternal in the world of the finite, and while the ‘eternal’ will never be fully clear to us during our lifetimes, the mystery of God gives us the hope to go on living.

The principal purpose of these lectures is to examine critically the true significance of Enlightenment philosophy and 19th century biology for Christian theism. A discussion of Kant's attempt to found religious belief on moral experience leads to an exploration of the foundations of the Idealist philosophy of Hegel and his successors, and to its rival — positivistic naturalism.

Evolutionary biology has liberating insights for both theology and philosophy, provided the theory of evolution is understood correctly. Ironically, this proper understanding shows Christianity's moral rival — ethical humanism — to be anti-scientific.

Further reflection on the deficiencies of positivism confirms the cogency of Absolute Idealism, which is not to be confused with pan-psychism, mentalism or “subjective” idealism. The mistakes of some Idealist philosophers have to be corrected, however, chief among them the tendency of Idealist philosophy to deny reality to “finite selves.” Once amended, Idealism gives us reason to abandon the conception of God as a superhuman Creator in favour of creation conceived as an evolutionary “process,” and also provides a more satisfactory answer to the traditional problem of evil.

In Nature, Man, and God, Archbishop Temple sets the groundwork for his “Philosophical Theology” by exploring issues related to the study of mind, and concluding with the person and work of Christ in what can be described as a Christocentric metaphysic.

This volume represents the first course of Leonard Hodgson's Gifford Lectures presented at the University of Glasgow in 1955/6. Hodgson presents a ten-part exposition. The first five lectures (Part I) review the author's theological and philosophical autobiography, while the second five lectures (Part II) examines the natural world as it relates to metaphysics, free will and theodicy.