Does God Have a Strategy?

A philosopher and a business leader have a friendly debate about whether it makes sense to speak of God having a strategy for the human race. What might a divine strategy look like, in light of the biblical portrait of God and the historical record of religions that claim to carry out God's strategy? With so much violence in our religious history, can there be a divine strategy of peace rather than war--where our religions do not strategize to defeat their enemies but to bless them? In other words, could God have a strategy that overcomes rather than continues the legacy of Cain and Abel? If so, to what future might it point us? ""It is far easier to achieve sunny consensus among the like-minded than to disagree over first principles in a sustained, vivid, and intelligent way. Cary and Phelizon do the latter, and as a result cast fresh light on a perennial issue of theology and on the intellectual gulfs that define our contemporary situation."" --R. Kendall Soulen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary ""This provocative book, fully available in English here for the first time, regards God as a grand strategist who seeks to defeat those antagonistic to his scheme for human well-being, that his goal for the blessing of creation might succeed. The format of the book itself illustrates the challenge that God faces in dealing with recalcitrant antagonists who resent God's way for them. It is an exchange of letter between two interlocutors who want to forge a strategy for remaining friends although disagreeing on first principles. And so the message plays out on two levels. Their strategy for getting antagonists to converse civilly is to join together to uncover God's odd strategy for leading resistant people to blessing against their own inclinations."" --Ellen T. Charry, Princeton Theological Seminary ""This book is a conversation--a carefully executed and always energetic conversation--that thrives on the deep differences between its two authors. Cary and Phelizon speak different languages, from differing theoretical frameworks, and with perceptibly different slants on the same set of questions. But their differences make their conversation creative and productive, as each one keeps having to explain his reasons for saying what he's just said. Don't look for tidy conclusions in this book. That's not what it's for. Instead, listen in as two clear-thinking minds stretch each other to think more clearly about God and God's activity in the world in bright new ways."" --Jonathan Yonan, Associate Professor of History, Dean of Templeton Honors College, Eastern University Phillip Cary is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern University, near Philadelphia. He is the author of several books on St. Augustine as well as a commentary on the book of Jonah. Jean-Francois Phelizon was CEO of a large corporation headquartered near Philadelphia. His numerous books cover topics in strategy, economics, and linguistics.