Peter Vardy (theologian)

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For other persons of the same name, see Peter Vardy.

Dr. Peter Vardy (born 1945) is a British academic, philosopher, theologian and author. Since 1999 he has held the post of Vice Principal at Heythrop College, London. He is said to have achieved cult status amongst philosophy of religion students through his books, videos on religious studies and his sweater vests (especially The Famous Red Jumper).

Vardy was originally a chartered accountant before becoming an academic. He holds a Masters Degree in Theology (with distinction) and a Ph.D (on ‘The Concept of Eternity’) from King's College London and has lectured in Philosophy of Religion at King's and also at the Institute of Education, London on their Masters Degree in Education programme.

Peter visits Australia and New Zealand several times each year and runs courses on ethics, philosophy, the Bible and science and religion in all the capital cities. Dr. Vardy's PowerPoint presentations are widely used as a teaching aid in philosophy classrooms across the world.

Contents

[edit] Main Academic Interests

  • Ethics and Values Education
  • The Nature of God
  • The relationship between science and religion
  • Truth claims in different religions
  • The philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard
  • Globalisation and the impact on what it means to live a fulfilled human life
  • Providing a spiritual perspective in a secular world
  • Islam
  • What it means to be human

As as result, he has also authored a series of books on the philosophy of religion, including the Puzzle and Thinker's Guide series.

His book, The Puzzle of God, refers to the God who performs miracles for individuals but seems to ignore the masses, such as those in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima. He argues that "Such a God, at the least, needs to face some hard moral questioning."

Dr. Peter Vardy is an outspoken critic of ethologist Richard Dawkins, regularly holding seminars to challenge Dawkins' theories.

[edit] Bibliography

  • And if it's True?' (1987)
  • God of Our Fathers?: Do We Know What We Believe? (1987)
  • Business Morality, People and Profit (1989)
  • The Puzzle of God (1990)
  • The Puzzle of Evil (1992)
  • The Puzzle of Ethics (1997)
  • The Puzzle of Sex (1997)
  • Kierkegaard (1996)
  • What is Truth? (2003)
  • Being Human (2003)

[edit] With other authors

  • The Puzzle of the Gospels (1995) (with Mary Mills)
  • The Thinker's Guide to God (2003) (with Julie Arliss and Robert Van de Weyer)
  • The Thinker's Guide to Evil (2003) (with Julie Arliss)

[edit] As editor

  • Fount Christian Thinkers (Series Editor, 1997)
  • Great Christian Thinkers: The Spiritual Heritage of Six Key Theologians (1999)

[edit] External links

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