The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet

In the seventeenth century new scientific discoveries called into question established Christian theology. In the past it has been claimed that contemporary thinkers contributed to this conflict model by using the discoveries of the natural world to prove the existence of God. Calloway challenges this generalized view through close examination of five key texts from the period. She shows that there was considerable difference amongst natural theologians, not just in their aims and arguments but also in their style of rhetoric. This has important lessons for contemporary scientific and theological debates and will be of interest to scholars of religious history, philosophy and literary studies.