"In this published version of his 2019 Gifford Lectures, Michael Welker develops a natural theology that discerns the activity of the divine Spirit in human culture. Though embattled, the Spirit is constantly at work in movements that incline toward justice, peace, freedom, and truth. Drawing upon his rich experience of interdisciplinary conversation, Welker develops an impressively flexible, dynamic, and historical approach. With its expanded notion of natural theology and capacious doctrine of the Spirit, this is set to become a landmark study in the field."
— David Fergusson
University of Edinburgh
"Welker offers us a truly embodied vision of the human spirit as it reaches for God, but he does so from the context of what various disciplines tell us about the complex dangers and possibilities of life as it is actually lived. He has made natural theology an engaging topic of interest again."
— Frank D. Macchia
Vanguard University of Southern California
"This is vintage Welker—wonderful to read! Those who know his work will recognize the ripened fruit of familiar convictions, insights, and trajectories. At the same time, they may be pleasantly surprised. Welker offers an innovative natural theology by way of ’bottom-up thinking,’ arguing that popular views of humanity as the image of God are hardly convincing, given the abysses of the human spirit that are so painfully obvious in our time. Instead, he argues that being in the image of God means being called to justice, freedom, truth, and peace—thus growing into the image of God."
— Dirk J. Smit
Princeton Theological Seminary
