Keith Ward (b. 1938) is a British philosopher, theologian, and a priest of the Church of England. He was the F. D. Maurice Professor of Moral and Social Theology at the University of London (1983-1986), Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University (1991-2004), a visiting professor at Claremont Graduate University (1992), the Gresham Professor of Divinity at Gresham college (2004-2008), and is currently (of 2018) on the council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy (1).

He is a member of the editorial boards for numerous publications including Studies in Inter-Religious Dialogue, World Faiths Encounter, Religious Studies, and the Journal of Contemporary Religion (2). Ward has taught widely over his academic career in the fields philosophy, logic, theology, and religious studies.

Ward is an idealist as he believes in the supremacy of Spirit or Mind. He believes that the material universe is an expression or creation of a Supreme Mind, namely that of God’s (3). He does not hold to biblical inerrancy, has been critical of atheism, and the atheist public intellectuals such as Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett. Ward’s main interests is the relationship between science and religion and comparative theology, which form the basis of many of his writings (4). His writings can be classified into three categories/classes: philosophy, religion, and Christian theology. These writings engage several fields ranging from apologetics, revelation, ethics, faith, and reason as well as many other topics.

His book God, Chance and Necessity (1996) is about the role of chance in a created world and in which Ward considers evolutionary theory as compatible with Christianity. Concepts of God (1998) studies comparative religions. God: a Guide for the Perplexed (2002) focuses on the philosophical questions about God and details the changing philosophical views of God from the ancient Greeks to the modern secular West. Christianity; a Guide for the Perplexed (2007) and Re-Thinking Christianity (2007) argue in favour of a rational Christian faith in the modern world and is geared towards modern readers. This includes an analysis of Christian doctrines, the development of historical Christianity, and the possible future of Christianity. The Big Questions in Science and Religion (2008) explores the relationship between religion and modern science. Pascal’s Fire – Scientific Faith and Religious Understanding (2006) is a defense of a religious view in a scientific context and focuses on Pascal’s question: is the God of the scientists the same as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Why There is Almost Certainly a God (2008) is a critique of the New Atheists and particularly focuses on Richard Dawkins. If one wishes for an idealist take on the history of Western philosophy, The God Conclusion (2009) is one such engagement with the history of Western philosophy from an idealist perspective. It also engages the thoughts of famous philosophers such as Plato, Aquinas, Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche.

Readers can access Ward’s official site here.

References

1. Ward, K. CV. Available.

2. Closer To Truth. Keith Ward: Philosopher of Religion and Author. Available.

3. Ward, K. About. Available.

4. Ward, K. About.