Faith in the Age of Reason by Jonathan Hill
Lion, 2004 208 pages £8.99 ISBN 0 745 951 309
Setting the scene first in the Middle Ages, Jonathan Hill then embarks on a sweeping, historical survey of the impact of the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, on the Christian faith.
The movement of ideas is traced by country and then by thinker in a way that sustains interest, never flagging.
Inserts in the text give more detail, in summary form, of the main actors in the development of thought with surprising snippets of personal information about those involved.
Quotes from key writings of historical figures give added flavour to a well-presented documentary.
Jonathan Hill is a confident historian and student of philosophy, well versed in the highways and byways of European history, taking the story from the Middle Ages up to the modern age.
The Enlightenment and its developments still have an influence today – New Atheism, for example.
The present age can be better understood, in part at least, by tracing and understanding our recent past.
This book is a reliable and helpful asset in this regard.