Part 1 of this volume is a discussion of aspects of religion in general: moral, social, magical. Part 2 is an account of the development of the religion of the people of Israel to Temple Judaism, and of the influence on its formulation of law, prophecy, and eschatology. Part 3 is a historical analysis of the development of Christianity from the ‘historic Jesus’ to ‘the Christ of the Creed’.

Symbolism and Belief and Holy Images, based on Bevan’s Gifford Lectures, examines the relationship of symbolical conceptions to unseen Reality or Divine Being, explaining how religious beliefs have been interpreted literally or/and symbolically. He reviews the different approaches to religious symbols from the ancient Greek philosophy through the medieval period to contemporary world religions. Symbolism is well balanced in the sense that it analyzes concrete symbols like height, time, light, spirit and the wrath of God, while discussing general theories of religious symbols and concluding that belief in God can be justified not by reason but by faith alone. Holy Images deals with idolatry and image-worship in ancient paganism and in Christianity.

Symbolism and Belief and Holy Images, based on Bevan’s Gifford Lectures, examines the relationship of symbolical conceptions to unseen Reality or Divine Being, explaining how religious beliefs have been interpreted literally or/and symbolically. He reviews the different approaches to religious symbols from the ancient Greek philosophy through the medieval period to contemporary world religions. Symbolism is well balanced in the sense that it analyzes concrete symbols like height, time, light, spirit and the wrath of God, while discussing general theories of religious symbols and concluding that belief in God can be justified not by reason but by faith alone. Holy Images deals with idolatry and image-worship in ancient paganism and in Christianity.

Humanism fails to withstand the radical secularization of the humanist tradition. These lectures discuss the historical role of religion and religious knowledge in society, the need to study the phenomenon of religion as a source of cultural knowledge, and the potential of spiritual life to operate as an instrument of cultural change.

History and Eschatology charts the shift away from an ancient cyclical interpretation of history to teleological and eschatological alternatives. Bultmann explains the fundamental shift in historical understanding introduced in the Judeo-Christian tradition and explains why the disappointment faced by the early church in Christ’s belated return prompted a reinterpretation of history. This brought about a teleological understanding of history which was adopted by later Renaissance and secular traditions. Even Marxism continued to hold onto this teleological approach.