Contents

Foreword -- pg. 7

1. Man in the Cosmos -- pg. 15

2. Creation and cosmology -- pg. 26

3. World Picture and World view -- pg. 35

4. The World View of Biology -- pg. 46

5. This-World and Other-World -- pg. 58

6. The Origin of Man -- pg. 74

7. The Meaning of Miracle -- pg. 94

8. The Biblical Message of Miracles -- pg. 113

9. Fate and Providence -- pg. 131

10. Faith in Providence - Christian and Secular -- pg. 139

11. Freedom and bondage in History -- pg. 150

12. The Reality of The Demonic -- pg. 163

13. Free will and predestination -- pg. 199

Postscript for Theological Readers -- pg. 213

Index -- pg. 221

These chapters were first written and spoken in the face of death - when the only thing that was of any help at all was the Gospel itself. Helmut Thielicke faces the people of today with his own basic questions and offers the Christian faith as a vital answer. Delivered during World War II when one after another Dr Thielicke's meeting places were bombed, the lectures were not aimed at those who were conventional churchgoers and were not accustomed to the language and premises of the church. They were for people who had to be met on their own ground, and then introduced to the Christian faith. Dr Thielicke had a unique gift for finding that 'point of contact' and addressing the Gospel to that point. Every chapter is a model of how to latch on to modern ways of thinking and to make contact with the modern temper. With illustrations which have immediate meaning to men and women of the 21st century, the author brings the Christian affirmation to grips with questions in many areas, among them ethics, politics, the state, wart, atomic power, economics, sex and art. In a valuable epilogue, he sets forth his position with regard to this way of presenting the Christian message. His statement has implications for theological writing, pastoral care, preaching, and any form of proclaiming the Christian faith.