Most Popular Books by Keith Ward

A robust defence of the philosophy of Idealism - the view that all reality is based on Mind - which shows that this is strongly rooted in classical traditions of philosophy.

A short, definitive account of Keith Ward's theology, based on the philosophy of personal idealism, this book records his views about God, revelation, the kingdom of God, life after death, the incarnation, atonement, and the Trinity. In summary, it is a concise and clear account of most central Christian doctrines, formed in the light of modern science and Idealist philosophy. In the My Theology series, the world's leading Christian thinkers explain some of the principal tenets of their theological beliefs in concise, pocket-sized books.

BL A complete analysis of the fundamental religious idea of revelation BL Discusses the work of major scholars in the study of religion: Aquinas, Tillich, Barth, Temple, Frazer, and Evans-Pritchard

Can religious beliefs survive in the scientific age? Are they resoundingly outdated? Or, is there something in them of great importance, even if the way they are expressed will have to change given new scientific context? These questions are among those at the core of the science-religion dialogue. An Anglican priest who was once an atheist offers compelling insights into the often contentious relationship between diverse religious views and new scientific knowledge. He identifies ten basic questions about the nature of the universe and human life. Among these are: Does the universe have a goal or purpose? Do the laws of nature exclude miracles? Can science provide a wholly naturalistic explanation for moral and religious beliefs? Has science made belief in God obsolete? Are there any good science-based arguments for God? Ward considers concepts from Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity, while featuring the speculations of cosmologists, physicians, mathematicians, and philosophers.

Language about God is something like the language of poetry—intended not to increase our information about the world—we know facts about the world already—but to evoke in us a certain attitude or way of looking at things or feeling about things. What sort of view of the world, then, is language about God trying to convey? Keith Ward suggests it is that the world is an expression of a reality beyond it. In this book, he unpacks the meaning of the word God and explains why we need to get rid of the crude and unhelpful assumptions that still abound. This is a book for all who are curious about how God, and God’s actions, can be understood today.

Corporate Financial Strategy is a practical guide to understanding the elements of financial strategy, and how directors and advisors can add value by tailoring financial strategy to complement corporate strategy. The book sets out appropriate financial strategies over the key milestones in a company's life. It discusses the practicalities behind transactions such as: * Raising venture capital * Flotation on a stock exchange * Making acquisitions * Management buyouts * Financial restructuring In explaining financing structures, the book sets out the basic building blocks of any financial instrument to enable the reader to appreciate innovations in the field. It also illustrates how and why different types of security might be used. The second edition of this very popular textbook brings to bear the considerable commercial and academic experience of its co-authors. Throughout, the book offers a range of up-to-date case studies, abundant diagrams and figures, and frequent 'Working Insight' sections to provide practical illumination of the theory. This book will enable you to understand the potential value added by the best financial strategy, while fully demonstrating the working role of financial strategy within an overall corporate strategy. An excellent practical guide for senior financial managers, strategic-decision makers and qualified accountants, the text is also invaluable as a clear-sighted and thorough companion for students and senior executives on finance courses (including MBA, MSc and DMS).

Continuing Keith Ward's series on comparative religion, this book deals with religious views of human nature and destiny. The beliefs of six major traditions are presented: the view of Advaita Vedanta that there is one Supreme Self, unfolding into the illusion of individual existence; the Vaishnava belief that there is an infinite number of souls, whose destiny is to be released from material embodiment; the Buddhist view that there is no eternal Self; the Abrahamic belief that persons are essentially embodied souls; and the materialistic position that persons are complex material organisms. Indian ideas of rebirth, karma, and liberation from samsara are critically analysed and compared with semitic belief in the intermediate state of Sheol, Purgatory or Paradise, the Final Judgement and the resurrection of the body. The impact of scientific theories of cosmic and biological evolution on religious beliefs is assessed, and a form of 'soft emergent materialism' is defended, with regard to the soul. In this context, a Christian doctrine of original sin and atonement is presented, stressing the idea of soterial, as opposed to forensic, justice. Finally, a Christian view of personal immortality and the 'end of all things' is developed in conversation with Jewish and Muslim beliefs about judgement and resurrection.

Jesus' teaching has changed the world. Yet his sayings can often seem cryptic and hard to understand. In Love Is His Meaning, Keith Ward explores the various figures of speech and images that Jesus used, and finds they are all ways of expressing and evoking the self-giving love of God, manifested supremely in Jesus' life. They communicate spiritual truths, often not in a literal but in a poetic way. They encourage us to take our own moral decisions with sensitivity and care for others. They show that God's love will never abandon anyone, and that it extends to everyone in the world without exception. And they promise a fulfilment of our hopes for a just and peaceable world that surpasses anything we might describe or imagine. Putting aside literalist, authoritarian, legalistic, judgemental and divisive presentations of Jesus' teachings, the author shows that what remains is the gospel of a divine love - a love stronger than death, and the only power that can and will redeem our disordered world.

A brilliant and accessible rebuttal of The God Delusion from one of Christianity's most incisive thinkers In this, his first new book since the best-selling God: A Guide for the Perplexed (Oneworld, 2002), Keith Ward turns his attention to the role - and the validity of religion over the centuries and in the world today. His erudite yet informative and factual narrative outlines the various attempts that have been made throughout history to explain religion, including the anthropological, psychological, sociological and philosophical theories of key thinkers from Immanuel Kant to Sigmund Freud. Adopting a comparative approach, the book covers all the religious traditions from West and East alike, concluding in a compelling manner that not only are the world faiths much more than a series of theoretical perspectives, but that, in the face of discord and violence, religious understanding retains more resonance than ever before within our global community.

From ultra-light flying to vibrating bombs, The Cactus Flower offers an array of short stories, personal memoirs, and poetry that reflect the life of author Keith Neale Ward. The selections address the realities of family, the adventures of youth, the inspirational messages of life, and the knowledge gained from experience. In the lead fiction story, The Thinking Man, an interesting phenomenon occurs when The Director combines the occupants of two separate, but adjoining auditoriums. An inspirational entry, Infinite Possibilities, tells the story of one of Ward's more unique engineering professors who challenges the law of gravity. In A Shot in the Dark, Ward narrates the account of employing a unique solution to rescue his brother, Ricky, from a Cleveland pool hall. In The Cactus Flower, Ward shares his experiences and the lessons learned during his lifetime. Some humorous and entertaining, others inspirational and moving, the stories reiterate Ward's contention that something special happens during every encounter, every day. The key is to share the joy of these experiences with other people.

Originally published in 1972, The Development of Kant's Ethics is Keith Ward's exceptional analysis of the history of Kant's ideas on ethics and the emergence of Kantian ethics as a mature theory. Through a thorough overview of all of Kant's texts written between 1755 and 1804, Ward puts forth the argument that the critical literature surrounding Kantian ethics has underplayed Kant's concern with the role of happiness in relation to morality and the significance of the tradition of natural law for the development of Kantian ethics. Covering all of Kant's extant works from Nova Dilucidatio to Opus Postumum, Ward traces the progression of Kant's views from his early ideas on Rationalism to Moral Sense Theory and the development of Critical Philosophy, and finally to his later-life writings on the relationship between morality and faith. Through careful analysis of each of Kant's works, Ward details the scientific, philosophical, and theological ideas that influenced Kant—such as the works of Emanuel Swedenborg—and demonstrates the critical role these influences played in the development of Kantian ethics. Offering a rare and extraordinary historical view of some of Kant's most important contributions to philosophy, this is an invaluable resource for scholars engaged in questions on the origins and influences of Kant's work, and for students seeking a thorough understanding of Kant's historical and philosophical contexts.

Many commentators claim that religion is dangerous and harmful. In addressing this question, this book begins by defining what religion actually is and how most human harm has been caused. It then looks at why people say that religion is dangerous, focusing particularly on religious wars and conflicts and on specific attacks on religion.

Religion is an important social force, both for good and evil, in the modern world. In the final volume of his comparative theology, Keith Ward considers the main ways in which religion and society interact, and the ways in which the major world religions need to adapt themselves in the modern world. These religions are examined as forms of social life, ranging from communities which seek to renounce the world, to those which seek to embody the laws of God in society, those which see religions in critical dialogue with social structures, and those which see religion as a primarily individual matter. The ideas of eretz Yisrael, the umma of Islam, the Buddhist sangha, the Christian church, and the Hindu sampradaya are critically analysed. Ward also considers the doctrine of the church in Aquinas, Calvin, Schleiermacher, and Tillich, and develops a view of the church in a global perspective by means of both a historical and thematic approach. He proposes a radical vision of the church as a person-affirming, world-transforming society in the emerging global community of many faiths and cultures. The relation of religious belief and morality, and the ambiguous role of religion in society, is investigated, and the need for a new religious paradigm is defended, expressing a global perspective without insistence on uniformity.

Keith Ward clarifies the Trinitarian doctrine in light of contemporary scientific thought, offering a coherent, wholly monotheistic interpretation of God.

This timely, new book from renowned theologian and philosopher Keith Ward tells us what Western philosophys greatest thinkers from Plato and Aquinas to Kant and Hegel thought about questions such as the existence of God, the nature of reality and humanity, meaning, value, and purpose. Far from being the enemy of religion, philosophy has more often than not supported a non-materialist view of the universe, argues Ward. This book will be seen as both a brilliant armchair philosophers primer on the history of religious thought.

First published in 1989. Financial Aspects of Marketing is designed particularly for students taking the Part 2 Certificate paper in Financial and Management Accounting of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. The increased emphasis on marketing issues of the new paper and the use of financial information as an aid to decision making provide students with the ability to be 'financially literate'. Practical applications of financial concepts and tech­niques and their relevance to the marketing function are demonstrated. Contents include Introduction and overview: Analysis -establishing the starting point; Planning - setting objectives and strategies: Control - monitoring achievements: Applications and examples.

Building on the author's previous book, Financial Aspects of Marketing, Marketing Finance stresses the pivotal relationship between finance and strategy in the marketing process, and clearly demonstrates the techniques and calculations that are necessary to formulate a comprehensive plan. Professor Ward also concentrates on how financial input in marketing can create shareholder value and demonstrates how to achieve the required integration of the finance function with marketing for the successful modern business. Marketing Finance is backed up with a number of integrated industry examples and case studies to demonstrate the success and failure caused by the marketing finance interface.

Providing a corporate configurations model which demonstrates four ways in which corporate centres can add significant value, this work presents international examples and cases from an array of well-known multi-national organizations that add practical value to the arguments raised.