The attempt to define what we mean by God, and indeed goodness, has been the central pre-occupation of western religion and philosophy. In the 21st century, with deteriorating relationships between Islam and the West, with fundamentalist movements growing and with terrorism increasing, the quest is as urgent and relevant as ever. Can one have goodness without God? Is goodness real or do we create it? Does the understanding of God change through our own scriptures? Where does our understanding of God and goodness come from? How does it relate to other virtues, particularly those of beauty and truth? What is the role of reason? What about the ways other cultures approach reality, and how can traditions live peaceably together? Peter Vardy concisely explores the range of approaches to God that has influenced the western Christian tradition in an easy-to-read, popular style.