The God Problem—Alternatives to Fundamentalism by Nigel Leaves, Polebridge Press 2006.
The author of this 81 page book is the Warden and Dean of Studies of the John Wollaston Anglican Theological College, Perth WA. The expressed intention of Leaves’ book is to outline what he perceives to be the most crucial area of religious discourse for the New Millennium—what he has called the ‘God problem’. ‘Reduced to its simplest terms,’ he says, ‘the issue is whether to adopt a realist or a non-realist understanding of God.’ Leaves deals with four ways of addressing the God problem:
- Panentheism: the views of John Shelby Spong;
- Non-realism: the views of Don Cupitt and Lloyd Geering;
- The spirituality revolution: grassroots spirituality; and
- Religious naturalism: the awe and wonder of nature.
As a comment on the book’s cover says: ‘These are the current responses to the increasing difficulty of God-talk in the context of the latest critical and scientific thinking.’ This book is useful for anyone interested in seeing the several alternatives to fundamentalist theology in a summary form.