Publications
All the publications below are available to order via email mail@wombateducation.com
A new web site, www.what-matters.org provides recommendations for further reading, a rich anthology of primary texts, questions for discussion and related activities.
ARGUING FOR GOD (5 DVD SET)
Each of the 5 DVDs features 40 minutes of brand-new teaching video from Dr Peter Vardy (divided into ten handy units, which can be embedded in your own presentations). The DVD also contains editable PowerPoints (100+ slides), copyable 10-12 page notes booklet with activities and additional video resources on each argument.
“Arguing for God” is available to order for A$149 For more information, or to place an order, e-mail us.
ETHICS MATTERS (30 Nov 2012) How do we know the difference between right and wrong? How can we make decisions about issues from germ-line genetic engineering to the regulation of banking, from nuclear power to ethnic bioweapons, from end-of-life care to global warming? What does it mean to live a good life? Ethics Matters introduces students and general readers to the business of making moral decisions, engaging them in meaningful dialogue and inspiring them to find out more. Beginning with a discussion of the question of truth in Ethics, Peter and Charlotte Vardy outline and evaluate major approaches to doing ethics from Natural Law and Virtue Ethics to Situation Ethics and Postmodernism, considering how these might inform decision making in today’s world. Ethics Matters places the latest scholarship in context, clarifying how it relates to today’s biggest challenges, without in any sense ‘dumbing down’. 
GOD MATTERS (31 Oct 2013) Perhaps human beings are animals, driven by the will to survive and reproduce, perhaps responsibility is a useful fiction and religion is the opium of the masses. Perhaps death is the end, life is ultimately meaningless, brutish and short. Perhaps man is the measure of all things and beauty, truth and justice are open to interpretation. Or, perhaps not. God matters. The choice over whether and what to believe is inescapable because it determines how we live our lives. Nothing matters more. This book encourages and enables students and general readers to ask fundamental questions about the nature and meaning of human life in an open, engaging but academically rigorous way. Centuries of scholarship in the Philosophy of Religion, from Jewish and Muslim as well as Christian traditions, are put in context and critically evaluated. Examples from art, film, and literature show the contemporary relevance of debates which have raged throughout human history. LIFE AND DEATH COURSEBOOK by Charlotte Vardy (2013)
In a new and insightful analysis, experienced lecturer Charlotte Vardy helps the student navigate around the complex ethical issues surrounding Abortion, Euthanasia, IVF treatments and Genetic Engineering.
“This is an indispensable guide to a fast-moving area of applied ethics at A level, pitched just right.” BP, Somerset, UK
A$19.95 + postage
GOOD & BAD RELIGION (2010)Religion is a central aspect of culture, as is the critical evaluation of different types of religion. Since 9/11 religion and different manifestations of it have been far more in the public eye in western societies than they had been since the Enlightenment. Yet, not all forms of religion are necessarily good for those who adhere to them and for others. Some types of religion are dehumanizing and need to be resisted whilst others are profoundly humanizing and good. In “Good and Bad Religion” Peter Vardy, one of the leading moral educators in the UK, seeks to provide criteria to separate good and bad manifestations of religion – central to this are United Nations declarations on rights and the broad agreement, found in the Western and Eastern philosophical conditions, that there is a single human nature which all human beings share and certain types of attitudes and behaviour can be profoundly damaging.
A$19.95 + postage
WHAT IS TRUTH (2003)At a time when truth is seen increasingly as a dirty word, there seem to be no firm landmarks that can hold sure and unchanged in a sea of relativity. Many deny the validity of any search for truth while others are convinced thay have it and seek to impose it on others. This book charts a course between these opposing movements of relativism and religious fundamentalism, drawing on such thinkers as Aristotle, Plato, Wittgenstein, Marx, Freud, Nietzche and Kant, as well as on a broad spectrum of religious beliefs. It clearly argues for the case of truth and the need to search, challenging us to think about issues that go to the very heart of who we are as human beings and what sort of lives we should live.
A$19.95 + postage
SPCK INTRODUCTION TO KIERKEGAARD (2008)
THE PUZZLE OF GOD (1999) Peter Vardy’s much acclaimed introduction to the study of ideas about God – now revised and updated. A clear, well-written guide to philosophical thinking about God. Starting with the question of what it means to say we believe in God, and looking at the nature of truth, Peter Vardy goes on to examine ideas about God and their influence on Christian thinking. Peter Vardy takes the reader through the arguments, using amusing illustrations and analogies. He writes for the lay person or student, not assuming any specialist knowledge, and not imposing any particular view.
‘This is about the best elementary textbook in the philosophy of God I have come across… an extremely useful book.’ Hugh Meynell, The Tablet.
‘This is a masterpiece of coherence. Step by step the reader is led clearly and humorously through the philosophical maze which confuses our thinking about God.’ Linda Smith, Head of Religious Education, King’s College, London
THE PUZZLE OF ETHICS (1999) A guide to the complex subject of ethics explained in clear and entertaining language. This new edition is fully revised and updated. This popular introduction to the subject of ethics poses vital contemporary questions and explores the approach of leading thinkers. The authors take the reader, step by step, through the complex arguments on issues such as animal an human rights, environmental ethics and the morality of war.
‘It is a great gift to be able to make philosophy accessible to the general reader. This is a wonderfully clear introduction both to moral philosophy and to contemporary ethical concerns.’ David Atkinson, Church Times
THE PUZZLE OF EVIL (1999) A popular introduction to arguments about the existence of evil in the world. Complex issues are explained in clear and entertaining language. Another title in Peter Vardy’s much acclaimed Puzzle series, setting out the classic dilemma of Christian thought – why is there evil in the world if God is good? It seems that either God is not powerful enough, or not good enough to prevent it. Vardy draws on the work of Christian and secular writers to explain the issues. Vardy looks at the argument of free will, the devil, natural evil and absolute value judgments.
‘A refreshing book which teachers and students of religion and philosophy, plus many lay people, will find clear and readable.’ Catholic Herald