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This chapter discusses the philosophy of religion during the twentieth century. The influence of Immanuel Kant and David Hume on the discussion of theological and religious issues by philosophers is examined in the first section. The dual role of philosophy and the main forms of interaction between philosophy and theology are discussed in the next section. The chapter also examines three main themes: the nature and significance of religious experience, the attempts in the twentieth century to deal with some of the links between religion and reason, and the interaction between religious and moral beliefs.

There are conceptual tensions in Darwin's own writings on natural selection. It is not clear how far his reading of the theory still has teleological overtones or presupposes a direction of evolution towards greater complexity and perfection. What is clear is that in his application of the theory to humanity there is virtually no difference between Darwin himself and what has come to be denigrated as ‘social Darwinism’. It is also suggested that Darwinism may be compatible with a far more ‘anthropic’ reading of creation than interpreters like Monod suggest.

Drawing on materials in Hume’s Dialogues, this chapter develops an argument for saying that it is unreasonable to accept either the hypothesis that the universe is ruled by perfect benevolence, or that it is ruled by perfect malice. It then shows how skeptical theists would respond to this argument, and how their response might be imitated by an imaginary “skeptical demonist” (a defender of the "perfect malice" hypothesis). Finally, this chapter gives reasons for thinking that neither skeptical demonism nor skeptical theism is successful in blunting the force of the Humean challenge.

This chapter demonstrates how the Theosophical Society deeply influenced the early days of Indian nationalism and was crucially responsible for the birth of the Indian nationalist movement. Allan Octavian Hume, one of Helena Blavatsky’s closest disciples during the early 1880s, was for example the person behind the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885. This chapter tells in depth the story of Hume’s Theosophical period and analyzes Hume’s writing from that period, followed by a thorough description of his efforts to erect the Indian National Congress, based on his Theosophical beliefs. It shows how Theosophy had a direct influence on the birth of the nationalist movement of the world’s largest democracy.

This chapter deals with the so-called Mahatma Letters allegedly originating from Koot Hoomi and Morya. It systematically analyzes the two original recipients of the letters, Allan Octavian Hume and Alfred Percy Sinnett, showing how they became interested in the Eastern Masters and their teachings. Next the chapter explores the arrival of the letters, problems regarding their publication, and the physical letters themselves. The content of the letters is analyzed to see what they might tell us about the characteristics of the Masters. Helena Blavatsky’s role in the production of these letters is considered from various aspects, as is the purpose and effect of the myth of the Masters.