New Institutes denies that science and moral consciousness are incompatible or in conflict with their basic assumptions or respective disciplinary domains. Written in a simple discursive style that is a pleasure to read, Weiser reinterprets three key concepts--faith, death, and resurrection--to arrive at practical insights about America and religion, morality and science, ecology and economics, history and ethics. This slim primer reassesses nine classic arguments for God's existence (Appendix I), reconciles and harmonizes the sister religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with new age spirituality, and takes seriously the secular eschatology of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Weiser offers a refreshing interpretation of: atheism, gods and goddesses, Calvinism, Jesus' mission, intelligent design, Christian ethics, science and religion, corporations and capitalism, ecology and economy. Weiser also provides readers the basic tools of logic and epistemology, with a view to exercising responsible citizenship (Appendix II). Avoiding polemics and technical jargon, this unique work clears the air of cant and drivel, consigning the evangelical bunk of Pat Robertson and Jack Van Impe, of religionist and anti-religionist alike, to the flames. New Institutes is truly what it declares itself to be: A Primer of Practical Theology for Twenty-First-Century America.
